CityNews 211209

KEEPING UP THE ACT HOW THE GOVERNMENT FIXES A FOOTPATH DECEMBER 9, 2021

Well written, well read

DEVELOPMENT

Sport clubs take to the field as land developers

PAUL COSTIGAN SPORT

Matt makes a Brave decision to head for home

SIMON ANDERSON WHIMSY

Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant...

CLIVE WILLIAMS

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www.liveattheaerie.com | 265 Goyder Street, Narrabundah *Pricing and availability advertised are correct at the time of printing but are subject to change without notice. Information about the services and facilities providing in the village is correct at the time of printing but may change as the needs of residents change. Photographs are for illustrative purposes. Some images may depict items not provided by Lendlease within the units such as furniture and other decorative items. November 2021.

Published by Lendlease RL Realty (NSW) Pty Ltd ABN 27 138 535 823

NEWS / pet stress

Well written, well read

Cover photo: Martin Ollman. Since 1993: Volume 27, Number 49. Phone: 6189 0777

Pets get anxious as the lockdown routine lifts

By Lily

PASS PRESIDENT of the ACT Companion Dog Club Anne Robertson is the proud owner of Kilti, a four-year-old Irish setter.

The dog has a generalised anxiety disorder that developed when it was 15 months old because of environmental factors and negative experiences.

“She was very susceptible to responding to those experiences negatively. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to behave, it was that she was mentally and emotionally not able to cope under the circumstances,” says Anne.

Anne sought the help of Narrabundah vet Dr Isabelle Resch, a member of the Australia/NZ College of Veterinary Scientists in Animal Behaviour.

“I sought help from Isabelle to determine whether there were physiological factors that were contributing to Kilti’s behaviour and she confirmed it,” says Anne.

Isabelle has concerns that with the recent lockdown and people returning to work, she will see more pets who develop anxiety disorders.

Anne Robertson (left), Kilti and vet Dr Isabelle Resch… “When you go back to work 40 hours a week, you’re radically changing the environment the dog is in,” says Isabelle.

Photo: Lily Pass “We’ve already had a few issues with separation anxiety and I think there is going to be an increase in incidents,” says Isabelle.

She says every species behaves the way they do because of genetics, the

experiences that they’ve had and the environment they live in.

“Kilti has a lack of confidence around dogs that she doesn’t know, but her circumstances changed during the lockdown and I noticed

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that she really missed the social interaction,” says Anne.

Isabelle says that when a pet’s routine is changed, a new standard is set. When the ACT suddenly went into lockdown, routines changed and many pets became used to having their owners around 24/7.

“When you go back to work 40 hours a week, you’re radically changing the environment the dog is in, they have expectations and we’ve just totally turned that upside down,” says Isabelle.

“I can’t see that it would be different for any other species, I think it’s more the fact that we don’t recognise it. We don’t understand or perceive their emotions because we don’t really talk cat or lizard or guinea pig.”

Anne says: “The deterioration in Kilti’s behaviour was when she was travelling in the car, she would see dogs on the street and she would explode and would give the appearance of being an aggressive dog.”

Isabelle says this is a really common sign of anxiety. Dogs become reactive and aggressive, which is an intimidation tactic, but barking is not always the strategy.

“It’s not just noise. Some dogs will be very destructive and it’s pretty obvious when your house is torn apart or the neighbours are complaining, but there’s subtle signs, too. If your pet is pacing or panting or sitting at

the door waiting then that is just as bad,” she says.

Kilti has been on some medication and has undertaken behaviour modification strategies to help her better cope.

“Medications are very useful, they’re not sedatives. We’re trying to balance the brain chemistry and the effect of the medication is to give the animal a brain that can think and learn and focus,” says Isabelle.

Isabelle suggests a few strategies to help transition pets during the return to office life.

“People should try and gradually transition the pet slowly, go out for an hour or two without them. Make sure that the pet has something really positive or yummy like a food-stuffed Kong toy,” says Isabelle.

“Play with your pet before leaving home, 10 minutes teaching pets a new trick supports their long-term wellbeing. Go for a 30-minute walk, hide some treats or create a sandpit for dogs that like to dig and have someone drop over during the day.”

Isabelle also says home cameras are crucial.

“Set up spy cameras, use them to gauge what the pet’s emotional state is when you’re not at home.”

Isabelle says a pet should sleep for most of the day when you’re not at home, except for the occasional bite to eat or drink.

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SEVEN DAYS

Robbed? Try you’reonyourown@actpolicing.gov.au YOU’RE in trouble, you call and the police come, right?

Well, no, you email them and they may not, according to the ACT chief police officer Neil Gaughan and our plodding Police Minister Mick Gentleman.

There was public uproar this past week at the news from chief Gaughan that “victims of burglary may not get a visit from police, with officers focusing their attention on more serious crimes”.

And there was Mick haplessly trying to tell us it’s important for the community to have a range of ways to report crime and agreeing that extending to online reporting will help Canberrans.

No it isn’t and no it won’t.

The Minister says: “ACT Policing is not changing how they respond to crime and will continue to keep our community safe.”

Yes, they are and no, they won’t.

Incredibly, the police seem to have raised the white flag on property crime with Gaughan saying on radio: “Resources are tight, as they are in every sector, so we find this is going to be more efficient.

“We will be less responsive to some of the property crimes than we have been in the past.”

Shadow police minister Jeremy Hanson says the idea of reporting burglary online sends a green light to criminals who will know a certain level of crime won’t receive a visit from police.

“It seems like now victims of burglary and other property crime will lodge a report

online, and then have to wait and see if police will turn up. There doesn’t even seem to be a system to let them know if police will attend or not,” he says, blaming it all on too few police.

“CityNews” columnist Robert Macklin was fuming at the news. He and wife Wendy were robbed on Good Friday as they slept.

Here’s something of what he wrote in “CityNews” in April: “We’ve been robbed.”

I’m not sure who spoke the words. They were lost in a swelling landslide of horror – a few stinging rocks of realisation becoming painful boulders as they morphed into images of intruders, shadows by the bed. It felt like an endless thumping on that precious psychic membrane that protects our privacy, our safety from the traffic’s roar and the fearsome crowds. “We’d better call the police.”

I reached for the mobile that was no longer there.

The landline on the kitchen bench [is] now

the last lifeline. I grabbed it and dialled 000, asked for “Police” and when I said, “burglary” the voice gave me the Canberra number – 131444. A man answered; I related what detail I could; the police would “attend” the scene asap, he said.

This week Macklin wrote to me saying: “As one who has been the victim of mere ‘property’ crime, I’m outraged by the decision to not even bother for the police to attend break-ins to Canberra properties.

“And we should just inform the cops by email (if we haven’t been stripped of our phones and computers). Is this what I’m paying my property rates for?”

THE federal member for the southern Canberra seat of Bean Dave Smith clearly loves Christmas (and doubtless, the prospect of a happy new year re-election). Not so all his constituents, one of whom wrote in irritation to say so far she’s had three of his

Christmas calendar cards in her mailbox.

They feature a family photo, next year’s calendar in a “very small font” and the usual Canberra contact phone numbers, “which everyone should already have on their fridge door”.

Not unreasonably, she says: “Who needs a paper calendar these days when it’s all in electronic devices?

“For me, this card-cum-calendar-cumphone numbers is thoughtless and an utter waste of taxpayer money as this Christmas message could have been sent by email and would be just as good. It would be paperless at almost no cost to the taxpayer.” Humbug, anyone?

I LOVED the chutzpah of Chamberlains Law Firm. It is up before the Federal Circuit and Family Court on December 14 defending Mitchell Rice under the Fair Work Act. Its client was dismissed by Queensland Rail, on the basis of having used “a legally prescribed cannabis product to treat his medical conditions of anxiety and insomnia”.

It’s one of Australia’s first test cases of a workplace termination due to use of medical cannabis.

The law firm estimates its client’s legal fees to be $100,000 and in its press release thoughtfully included a link to the unemployed Mr Rice’s GoFundMe page.

TREVOR Kennedy, a journalist, businessman, philanthropist and, for a time, Kerry Packer’s right-hand man, died last week. A couple of years ago he engaged the aforementioned Robert Macklin to write his autobiography (out in January).

Macklin, who writes more fully of Kennedy’s passing on Page 12, says as a 21-year-old, Trevor left the bright lights of Albany to head east to a job at “The Canberra Times”, working from Mort Street as the industrial roundsman.

Of Canberra, Trevor wrote home: “It is a funny place for girls. You don’t meet them at dances or anything like that as there are precious few public dances.

“You have to meet girls and then take them out, and not just to the movies either, it is essential that you go to dinner first! Taking a girl out in Canberra is extremely expensive.

You are dead lucky to escape for anything under a fiver.”

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

Final stage now selling at The Aerie • New architecturally designed spacious homes now selling from $830,000* • Single level access • Exclusive resident clubhouse with indoor heated pool, gym, cinema viewing room, library and games area • A gated and secure over 55’s village offering a relaxing lifestyle • Fixed fees for life • Located close to the heart of Canberra and easy access to Manuka and Red Hill Shops • Local bus to Woden and City Centre

For more information and to book your private inspection of The Aerie at Narrabundah call our Sales Manager Rob Rowe on 0438 254 043.

Last chance to reserve

4 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

www.liveattheaerie.com | 265 Goyder Street, Narrabundah *Pricing and availability advertised are correct at the time of printing but are subject to change without notice. Information about the services and facilities providing in the village is correct at the time of printing but may change as the needs of residents change. Photographs are for illustrative purposes. Some images may depict items not provided by Lendlease within the units such as furniture and other decorative items.

November 2021. Published by Lendlease RL Realty (NSW) Pty Ltd ABN 27 138 535 823

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NEWS

SPORT

Heartbreak as Margaret lets her gym go

Peel and Mills top sport awards

By Belinda

SKIING world champion Laura Peel and basketball star Patty Mills have been named the ACT’s athletes of the Year.

In the 2020-2021 season Peel won her second World Championship gold medal in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Patty Mills recently competed in his fourth Olympics, leading the Boomers to their first podium finish in Tokyo, and was the first indigenous Australian Olympics flag bearer.

The other 2021 Canberra Sport Award winners include: •A thlete of the Year – para sport: James Turner (athletics).

• T eam of the Year: Olympic rowing men’s quadruple scull.

•O utstanding Service to Sport – joint winners: Trudy Fajri (AFL), Carl Ruhen (boxing) and Sanjay Sharma (cricket).

• Rising Star: Jade Melbourne (basketball).

•M inister’s Award – Inclusion: Canberra region rugby league for Canberra region wheelchair rugby league.

•M inister’s Award – Innovation: Little athletics ACT for online participation program.

•M inister’s Award – Event Excellence: Table tennis ACT for the 2020 ACT Open.

•A CT Sport Hall of Fame – Full member: Jaime Fernandez (rowing) and Eddie Palubinskas (basketball).

•A CT Sport Hall of Fame – Associate member: Phil Lynch (sport journalist) and Ben Gathercole (triathlon).

STRAHORN A POPULAR Queanbeyan gym is calling it quits after being hit hard by coronavirus lockdowns.

Body Basics, on the corner of Waniassa and High Streets, closed its doors on December 3.

With declining membership and an uncertain future, owner Margaret Everett, 49, says it wasn’t financially viable to keep it going.

“I’ve lost 100 members over the past year,” Ms Everett says. “Covid hurt us badly.”

The gym – which employed 20 casual staff – opened seven years ago and at its peak had 600 members.

But after a turbulent 18 months with the pandemic, and the lockdowns that came with it, Ms Everett decided to cut her losses.

“It was always my dream to own a club, and I did that and it succeeded, but covid threw so many unknowns at us,” Ms Everett says.

“My bottom line was hurting me. My staff wanted to come back to work but I couldn’t afford to pay them, and the rent relief grant was only just enough to cover a month’s rent.”

It’s not the only setback Ms Everett has suffered, following a diagnosis of

Gym owner Margaret Everett… “My staff wanted to come back to work but I couldn’t afford to pay them.” breast cancer.

In October last year, the gym instructor of more than 20 years, felt a lump in her breast while in the shower, but put off going to the doctor.

“I was too busy to go to the doctor and thought it would go away,” Ms Everett says.

“When the lump was still there two weeks later, I decided to get it checked out, and when the doctor told me it was

cancer my world turned upside down.”

Ms Everett has spent much of this year undergoing treatment that included chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiation.

“Initially they thought the lump was about 2.5cm but it ended up being a 5cm mass so I had chemo, and that shrunk it by 80 per cent,” Ms Everett says.

“Then I had a mastectomy, and a reconstruction, and then radiation

to make sure it didn’t spread. It was through the second lockdown that I was receiving my radiation treatment, and two weeks after I finished – still repairing from the radiation burns – I was back at work.”

Now in remission, Ms Everett says stepping away from the business will allow her time to look after herself.

“You only have one body and one life and look after it,” Ms Everett says.

“The mental side of your health is just as important as the physical, which is why I need to step away.

“Next year I turn 50 and I plan to run 50 kilometres non-stop. I’m going to start enjoying and living my life again.”

With the closure of Body Basics gym, it’s also the end of an important chapter in the history of the building, which has housed a number of gyms over the last 40 years.

“It used to be Odd Bods gym, then Alive gym, so it’s got a huge history in Queanbeyan,” Ms Everett says.

Although the decision to close the gym is tinged with sadness, Ms Everett wanted to thank members for their loyalty over the years.

“Queanbeyan is a beautiful community, everyone is really friendly, and helpful,” Ms Everett says.

“A lot of members say the gym is their second home, which is hard to hear at the moment, and very hard to walk away from.

“People are really going to miss it.”

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POLITICS

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In a series of ministerial letters related to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the relationships between the federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and representatives of the alcohol industry were brought out of the shadows and into the spotlight of Senate scrutiny.

Sadly, the catalyst was about pregnancy warning labels on alcohol. The outcome ought to be a wake-up call to all ministers, senators and members of parliament across Australia.

For years the dangers to a foetus from smoking have been well known and warning labels on cigarette packets have made the issue clear.

The damage to a foetus and the long-term impact on children, where pregnant mothers are using alcohol, is now well defined in scientific literature. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is just one example of long-term impacts of children born to mothers who have used excessive alcohol in pregnancy.

The majority of well-educated, middle-class women are aware and protect their pregnancies. However, there are still far too many women who are vulnerable and do not understand the risks. A graphic label reminder plays an important part in conveying this message to the community.

After years of investigation, FSANZ put the graphic-warning label approach to the Food Ministers’ Forum. This forum includes ministers from all Australian jurisdictions and NZ. The proposal passed with the support of NZ, the ACT, Victoria, Queensland, WA, Tasmania and the NT. An attempt by the federal government to defeat the proposal was only supported by NSW and SA. The letters reveal that this was an affront to Mr Littleproud and his alcohol-industry mates. The decision provided motivation for him to write to a series of his alcohol-industry colleagues seeking support for a review of the legislation in order to strip FSANZ of its powers.

In exposing the alcohol-industry letters, Senator Griff argued: “This smells of interference” and “we need transparency to hold politicians and lobbyists to account.”

Amongst the letters was joint correspondence from Alcohol Beverages Australia, the Australian Beverages Council, the Australian Food and Grocery Council and the National Farmers’ Federation expressly calling for FSANZ to be stripped of its powers. It called for the board to be stacked with business representatives; and responsibility for food regulation be taken away from the Department of Health and moved to Mr Littleproud’s Agriculture portfolio.

What is really exasperating is that the letter was generated over warnings designed to protect pregnant women and their children!

On the issue of pregnancy warning labels, Minister Littleproud wrote: “I am disappointed

Senator Stirling Griff… “This smells of interference.” with the decision of the forum,” and added that the pregnancy warning label outcome “has highlighted to me that more needs to be done to ensure the views of industry are considered through the policy development process”.

Senator Griff told the Senate that the position of the Minister for Agriculture “reflected all of the alcohol industry’s concerns and none of the public health concerns”.

This approach is in marked contrast to his ministerial colleague, Health Minister Greg Hunt. The federal Department of Health, according to Senator Griff, was seeking to “expand the scope, authority and responsibilities of FSANZ” as it had “served Australia’s interests well”.

Senator Griff clearly smelled a rat regarding the departure of both the board chair, Robyn Kruk, and CEO Mark Booth, shortly after the decision was taken on graphic pregnancy warning labels.

He called for a Senate inquiry “to determine if the Minister for Agriculture removed two statutory officers at the behest of the alcohol industry” and “to determine if he crossed the line”.

The Senator added: “And to determine if there should be consequences for such conduct” before putting the question: “How long until the government announces that FSANZ will be stripped of its powers and the alcohol industry will have achieved everything it wanted?”

Thanks to people such as Stirling Griff, the Senate plays a key role in transparency. However, as pointed out in this column last week, and so strongly resisted by the government, is the need for a strong Independent Commission Against Corruption with the teeth to pursue this sort of issue.

Senator Griff clearly smelled a rat regarding the departure of the board chair, Robyn Kruk, and CEO Mark Booth, shortly after the decision was taken on graphic pregnancy warning labels.

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.

BRIEFLY New blood for chamber board FOUR new directors have joined the board of the Canberra Business Chamber.

Elected to the board are Matthew Andrews, ACT general manager CPA Australia; Mark Field, MD Access Recognised Training; Lisa McPherson, CEO Nexus Human Services and Kimberley Ohayon (pictured), owner of The Pop Inn. Retiring directors are: Craig Sloan (KPMG), Vicki Williams (University of Canberra) and Jo Metcalfe (GHD).

Students’ plant sale This year’s CIT plant sale is being hosted online with a large selection of indoor plants, edibles, trees, shrubs, groundcovers and more, propagated by the CIT horticulture students. Order plants at citplantsale.com and select a set time to collect them from CIT Bruce.

VIEW club lunch Tuggeranong Day VIEW Club’s Christmas lunch is at the Town Centre Vikings club in Greenway, from 11am on Tuesday, December 21. The cost is $34 and visitors and interested ladies are welcome. RSVP

by Friday, December 17 to 6193 5398.

COMMUNITY EVENTS TO: editor@citynews.com.au

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CANBERRA MATTERS

Sport clubs take to the field as land developers THERE are three major development issues within Canberra’s inner north that are going to make things interesting in 2022.

These are not the only major ones in play, but these have something in common. They happen to be sporting clubs looking to make some desperate cash through apartment developments.

They are the Canberra Racing Club, Yowani Golf Club and, more recently, they have been joined by the Ainslie Football Club. It is all about having land on their sites that could be rezoned and then sold for blocks of apartments.

According to the spin, these developments will provide the inner north with more choices in housing, to provide for retirement in place, and to infill rather than grow Canberra by expanding into greenfield areas.

The justifications and the consultation processes are based on several other successful ventures by other sporting clubs. But let’s get real – it is about clubs that can no longer afford to operate without selling off their spare hectares.

The development and planning team that assisted the Canberra District Rugby League Football’s Braddon Club’s massive development are preparing the way for the Ainslie Football Club. The Ainslie Club is ticking the prescribed boxes and making the required noises, as set out by

Taking away an open space and delivering less greenery and biodiversity should not be an option that this ACT Labor/Greens government should be condoning given its rhetoric on trees, urban forests and climate change. the Planning Directorate. The usual political connections and bureaucratic networking will most likely override any serious concerns that may be raised by resident groups in 2022.

The planning and development issues are not easy to follow. It would take several pages of “CityNews” to explain clearly the history of this site, to detail the different planning zones, what is really going on behind the scenes, who is going to benefit and what hands are being shaken to get this done. Attendance at North Canberra Community Council meetings, or at least joining to get their newsletters, will assist anyone trying to get their heads around this stuff as it unfolds during 2022 and 2023.

Based on the outcomes of the Braddon Club development, the likely outcomes for the Ainslie site will be

The housing development as illustrated in an Ainslie Football Club pamphlet. that where there is now an open space with buildings, car parking and the oval, that will become crammed to the north with apartments and the area will no longer be open to the public.

It will be most likely, as with the Braddon Club, that the main part of the site will be surrounded by an imposing barbed-wire fence to keep the pesky public from enjoying what once they had easy access to.

Worse still, the new clubhouse may end up looking like the massive military bunker that now dominates the eastern side of lower Torrens Street.

The first step for the Ainslie Football Club will be to get the ACT government to vary the lease for the land. At present the chunk of the

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site under consideration is zoned for recreation and sport facilities (a short description). Obviously, that will have to be altered by the government to be some form of compact residential zone for the club to proceed with the proposed housing developments.

Then there is the poker-machine argument. One justification is that this development will allow the club to rely on property investments rather than the income from poker machines. Of course, fewer poker machines are a good thing. However, the question already being asked,

with no answer yet to materialise, is there other investment opportunities that the club could be exploring?

Taking away an open space and delivering less greenery and biodiversity should not be an option that this ACT Labor/Greens government should be condoning given its rhetoric on trees, urban forests and climate change.

As with the Yowani Club proposals and the Racing Club site (which should be elsewhere and the site handed back for park development alongside medium-density housing), inner-north residents have a lot to consider in 2022.

Let’s hope some of the local politicians lead an informed debate on these development issues rather than sitting on the fence yet again and letting the residents do the work and take the heat.

kjblawcanberra

SPORT / ice hockey

Matt makes a Brave decision to head for home WHEN the Canberra Knights folded in 2014, it could have been the end of ice hockey in the ACT. The club’s owner cited financial pressures and a lack of local players when the decision was made to call it quits after 33 years.

Few could have predicted what would come next: Out of the ashes of the Knights, the CBR Brave was born.

In the seven years since its inception, the Brave has become an Australian Ice Hockey League powerhouse, with a Goodall Cup victory in 2018 the highlight of the club’s short but impressive history.

Canadian defence player Matt Harvey has been a part of the Brave since day one. He captained the team during the 2018 title run and has seen the sport grow during his time in Canberra.

“The level of competition has increased dramatically and that has been something that has been really nice to see,” Harvey told “CityNews”.

“We were a middle-of-the-range team when we first started, getting our bearings, which wasn’t a massive improvement from where the Knights left off.

“We then kept climbing the ranks each year, getting better and adding to the whole organisation, bringing in highlight players while also improv-

Defence ice-hockey player Matt Harvey... “The experience with the fans is something I had never experienced before coming to Canberra.”

Photo: Simon Anderson ing our local talent.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to see that all happen and be a part of it.”

It was this growth and development on and off the ice that enticed Harvey to stay on beyond his first season in 2014.

“I only thought I would be here for one or two years, but once I found the family base in the team and experienced the support of the people of Canberra I decided to stay.

“One thing led to the next and I kept coming back while going home between seasons.

“I’ve really appreciated that opportunity to come here and play at a high level where you have fans

in the stands who make everything awesome and a great community around the team.”

Ice hockey is one of the more niche codes in a burgeoning sporting landscape, and while it may not have the large following of some of its rival codes, the passion of the fans is unmatched.

Nowhere is this more evident than the club’s home, the Phillip Ice Skating Centre, or as it is known to the club’s loyal fans: the Brave Cave.

“The experience with the fans is something I had never experienced before coming to

Canberra,” said Harvey.

“Having that proximity to people on the other side of the chicken wire, they’re breathing down your neck, you can hear everything and it just intensifies the atmosphere.

“It took a while to adapt and get used to it because there is no separation and you are all in this giant bubble in the Brave Cave.”

A recent exhibition game at the venue served not only as the 40th anniversary of the Knights’ inception, but also as a farewell for Harvey, who has decided to return to Canada.

“It has been a while since I have been back home,” said Harvey.

“Now I have a two-and-a-halfyear-old son and I would really like to give him an opportunity to spend time with my family and learn to play hockey there, and I would like to finish up my psychology registration.

“I also have a spot on a ‘beer league’ team with guys I grew up playing hockey with so I’m looking forward to linking up with those guys.”

After spending the better part of a decade playing in Australia and seeing the sport improve both on and off the ice, Harvey is hopeful ice hockey can continue growing in Canberra

and across the country.

“It has been disrupted the last two years because of covid, which is unfortunate, but once that goes away there is no reason we can’t continue to grow the game and expand it,” said Harvey, with the belief there is untapped potential for the sport in Australia.

“Potentially an end-of-league tournament with NZ that makes the game more international.

“The other thing is the infrastructure – a new rink for Canberra would be a great way to draw more people to the game.

“The Brave Cave needs some structural improvement and it is on its way out, we all know that.

“Sometimes with new arenas they make it for public skating, and don’t have the capacity for fans and a hockey atmosphere.

“You need to look at how you can recreate the old with the new and have a taste of both because you definitely don’t want to lose that atmosphere and the appeal that it brings.”

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”

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THE GADFLY

Death of the man who had three lives THE death last week of Trevor Kennedy, journalist, businessman and philanthropist will be deeply felt by the extraordinary range of men and women who were drawn into his network of private and professional fellowship.

I was not only among them, I spent much of the last two years in their company – and Trevor’s – as I researched and wrote the story of his remarkable life. In fact, he often said he’d packed three lives into one, so had no right to complain if the time had come to say farewell.

It was difficult to disagree.

Born in 1942 in far off Albany to a respectable Catholic family, he had spent his early years either alone or with a mate developing a lifelong passion for fishing. A scholarship took him to Perth’s Aquinas College and on his return a chance meeting in a pub with a local journo introduced him to the profes-

The cover of Robert Macklin’s upcoming biography of Trevor Kennedy. and foreign minister in Bob Carr, writers such as obert Drewe, Ian Moffitt, David Marr, Ron Trevor Kennedy… his editorship in the ‘70s and ‘80s Saw, Greg Sheridan and the took “The Bulletin” to the peak of its popularity and best-read columnist of his influence. day, David McNicoll.

He then rose to become sion for which he was uniquely suited. editor-in-chief of all the Packer magaHis trusty gillnet would accompany zines including the “Women’s Weekly” him when he went east on a journey before joining Kerry Packer at the top that began at “The Canberra Times”, of the Consolidated Press pyramid rose up the Fairfax junior executive as managing director. The two men ladder then transferred to the Packerdeveloped a successful association until owned news magazine “The Bulletin”. the attempted takeover of Fairfax with His brilliant editorship in the ‘70s and Trevor as CEO of the “Sydney Morning ‘80s took “The Bulletin” to the peak of Herald”. its popularity and influence.

They parted company and Trevor The talent he attracted to his began a very lucrative business journalistic net included two subsecareer, highlighted by the acquisition quent prime ministers in Malcolm of Ozemail in partnership with Sean Turnbull and Tony Abbott, a premier Howard and Malcolm Turnbull. This one venture netted him a multi-million dollar fortune.

He and his wife Christina developed Horse Island in Lake Tuross as a grand

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Canberrans complain about health services MORE than 900 Canberrans have made a complaint to the ACT Human Rights Commission in the past year, with the majority of complaints being about health services, new data reveals.

Of the 922 Canberrans that made a complaint to the commission in 2020-21, almost 70 per cent complained about health services.

More than 200 complaints were made about discrimination, with disability discrimination, racism and sexual harassment being the most common issues.

The commission’s annual report 2020-21, also showed that more than 3000 victims of crime were assisted in Canberra – a 27 per cent increase on previous figures.

“While our work has grown in complexity and volume, we continue to provide a range of services which underpin the rights and wellbeing of our clients, and the broader Canberra community,” ACT Human Rights Commission president and Human Rights commissioner, Dr Helen Watchirs said.

Some 500 victims of crime in Canberra applied for financial assistance in 2020-21, with $2.43 million being paid to victims.

RACISM I S

Incontinence symptoms

12 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

home away from their Sydney harbourside property. And it was to Horse Island that he retreated when his association with controversial share trader Rene Rivkin enveloped him in a financial contretemps with the ASIC regulator and the Australian Tax Office.

That was when he turned to the hobby of collecting Australiana that had rivalled only fishing as a favoured pastime. Indeed, it became a lifeline as the internet brought him access to auctions of Australiana around the world including artworks, furniture, jewellery, pokerwork and ceramics, of which more than $8 million worth were eventually purchased by the National Museum. As well, Kennedy donated thousands of items valued at some $7 million.

His was an era shared by an Australian generation – born in World War II, raised in the carefree ’50s, liberated in the ’60s, enriched in the dizzying decades that followed until the spendthrift excesses finally caught up in the first two decades of the 21st century.

But no one experienced its highs and lows more powerfully and more intimately that Trevor John Kennedy himself. His story fits easily into the book’s title “Casting His Net”. It’s my fond hope that I have caught the essence of the man and the era. Publication is scheduled for January.

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POLITICS / the hard facts of housing

Government killed off housing success, but why?

JON STANHOPE and Dr KHALID AHMED continue their forensic look at how ACT government policies around land release and community housing are devastating people struggling for accommodation.

IN Australia, community housing is delivered by not-for-profit organisations under a range of different management and ownership models.

It is generally accepted within the housing sector that community housing delivers better outcomes for tenants in co-ordinating and delivering support services, building individual capacity and meeting social equity, cohesion, and community development objectives.

While community housing providers (CHP), as a rule, generate this range of benefits, it is acknowledged that the provision of accommodation at below market rent requires public support, which is typically provided in the form of tax benefits owing to a CHP’s not-for-profit status, access to Commonwealth Rental Assistance, and direct funding.

Recognising their potential to deliver social benefits, some states (notably NSW, Victoria and SA) have at different times transferred public housing stock to CHPs to facilitate their growth.

The community housing sector in the ACT is relatively small. For example, currently there are seven CHP’s in the ACT, while Tasmania – a jurisdiction comparable in size –

has 56 CHPs. It is in this context that in 2007 the ACT government resolved, along with a range of other initiatives, to grow the community housing sector as part of its Affordable Housing Action Plan (AHAP). The support provided to the largest CHP at that time, Community Housing Canberra (CHC), which owned 19 dwellings, comprised: • $3 million as a capital injection; • Transferral to it of the title to 132 public housing properties; • Provision of a $50 million revolving finance facility with access to funds at the 90-day bank bill swap rate; and • Guaranteed access to suitable land for 120 dwelling sites a year at market rate through a memorandum of understanding with the Land Development Agency.

The targets for CHC included: • Increasing the supply of affordable rental dwellings by 250 dwellings within five years (February, 2013) and 500 dwellings within 10 years (February, 2018); • Increasing the supply of affordable dwellings for sale by 470 dwellings within five years; and 1000 dwellings within 10 years; and • Renewing 75 per cent of the assets

Note: Comparable data for the NT before 2018 is not available.

transferred to CHC within five years, and 100 per cent of the assets within seven years The CHC model has attracted considerable national interest from housing experts because of its success, in particular, in the significant growth it achieved in its stock. In a report in 2009, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) noted that “CHC is now one of the most successful not-for-profit developers in Australia”.

In a later report, AHURI again referenced the success of CHC in noting “the key ingredients that enabled this were ready access to cheap debt finance and access to land”.

In relation to the revolving finance facility, the report considered “provision of cheap government financing to the CHC was unique in Australia [in 2007] and was one of the key reasons that CHC could produce so much affordable housing stock without significant direct capital contributions from government”.

Chart 1 shows CHC’s initial progress against one of its targets (on rental stock).

Bizarrely, from 2014 on, government support for CHC was progressively withdrawn.

Firstly, its guaranteed access to land was reduced from 120 to 50 sites. As the government further reduced the supply of land for housing the MOU was abandoned, with CHC needing to bid in the open, undersupplied market.

The revolving finance facility was not renewed, and the loan was called in in 2018. The Greens minister Shane Rattenbury is reported to have claimed, infamously, that this will “grant greater flexibility to CHC than was contained in the original agreement”.

In a similar vein, in the 2021-22 Budget, the government has announced “restructuring of government support for Community Housing Canberra Ltd (CHC) to ensure the

continued provision of social housing properties for the Canberra community”.

Incredibly the “restructuring” referred to by the government involves the compulsory resumption, presumably of all the 132 properties, currently valued at $63 million, transferred to CHC by the government in 2007.

How the ACT government believes that the removal of $63 million worth of dwelling assets from CHC’s ownership will support community housing defies all understanding.

The transfer not just reverses previous policy, it is against the policy position increasingly adopted in other jurisdictions and to which we refer above.

Incredibly, the now Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services, and Greens member, Rebecca Vassarotti, was the ACT government appointed board member of CHC throughout the period that Labor and the Greens dismantled every single component of the CHC operating model.

The ACT government’s apparent disinterest in and contempt for the community housing sector can be gleaned from a comparison, across all jurisdictions, of the amount of social housing (public housing and community housing) which each jurisdiction

We are at a loss to understand the ACT government’s decision to emasculate CHC and effectively neuter its capacity to add to its stock of affordable housing.

has, as a proportion of total households. It is also a useful measure of the level of government support for households who are unable to access the private rental market.

The AIHW data reveals that between 2014 and 2020, the largest decline in social housing share in Australia was in the ACT (Chart 2).

In order to maintain the social housing share in the ACT at the 2014 level, an additional 1600 socialhousing dwellings are required.

Deterioration in rental affordability and low vacancy rates have further increased demand pressures for social housing. ACTCOSS estimates the ACT has a shortfall of more than 3000 social housing dwellings, a waiting list of nearly a year for priority public housing and at least 1600 people experiencing homelessness each day.

Delivering an increase in stock in public housing of the order identified

by ACTCOSS will require an investment of well over $1 billion. Based on the achievements of CHC, when it was supported by the government, this increase in housing numbers could be delivered at a fraction of that cost through an appropriate community housing growth model.

We are at a loss to understand the ACT government’s decision to emasculate CHC and effectively neuter its capacity to add to its stock of affordable housing. That the ACT Greens have not only quietly and tacitly facilitated the demise of this once nation-leading CHP but have also publicly defended their decision to do so, is bewildering to us.

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LETTERS

Vets’ business model targeted at middle class I WAS quite shocked to read the excellent story by Danielle Nohra dealing with the frequency of suicides and attempted suicides among veterinarians; and seemingly to some extent their allied veterinary assistant staff (CN November 18).

Part of this is understandable in terms of the predicaments and suffering they witness, and the suffering they “end” on a regular basis.

I am very fond of animals and, as much as I love them, I don’t have the psychological mental toughness to be a vet.

Indeed, I have often wondered about people entering the profession on these grounds; that they both apparently empathise with our furry friends and yet have to deal daily with some pretty terrible scenarios.

The positioning and delivery of veterinary services is also a problem, I suspect, that may be feeding into veterinary dissatisfaction.

My own awakening to this was when Charlie, my loyal sidekick moggy, suffered asthmatic breathing difficulties at a time when I was in financial difficulties.

A rapid dose of the realities of the veterinary business model soon followed when I enquired around the city about options for an urgent issue where there might be a challenge with full fees. Time and again my phone calls were dismissed as I was told there was really nothing available for such cases. Poor Charlie!

It became clear that veterinary services – and indeed the dominant business model – is overwhelmingly commercial and targeted squarely at the deeply middle class. Indeed one vet – a man I admire for both his skills and honesty – suggested that I might reflect in future on whether I can afford to own a pet.

Companion animals are hugely central to the quality of life of many on the fringes of society, and indeed the working poor. And I suggest there is a mismatch between the broad, democratic base of pet ownership versus the veterinary business model in Australia.

One can imagine the distress of a disadvantaged pet owner realising they simply can’t help their suffering little friend because there really are no options for the poor other than to surrender their companion to the RSPCA for either destruction or rehoming to the middle class.

Charlie ultimately succumbed to a sudden illness, which ran up a bill of thousands of dollars in a matter of days. While by that time I was able to stump up more than my last car cost, it further drove home the stress and worry that some consumers may be wrestling with when seeking veterinary services – and which may lead to tension and harsh exchanges.

My brush with the eye-widening costs of veterinary services is hard to reconcile with the puzzling contention of Dr Warwick Vale, the national president of the Australian Veterinary Association, that vets are “often the lowest income earners in the community”.

Really? It sounds like Dr Vale has had little

contact with the cleaners, shop assistants and pensioners who know they have no place being in the waiting room of an Australian vet.

We could also point to dentists as having a “problem with the poor” in today’s hyper-professionalised market of expert services. But, rather than just point to a problem, I will suggest that there are, in fact, steps veterinarians could take to address the concerns and distress of vulnerable and disadvantaged owners of companion animals; and in so doing, “democratise” veterinary services just a little.

A national initiative that will help the battlers of society and somewhat correct the exclusivity of vet services, as well as better knit vets into the fabric of their community, would be just a few days every month where government pensioners and holders of low-income health cards can have a basic veterinary consultation for, say, $50 plus any medication. I would hope that the outcome would be a heightened level of job satisfaction, and I would bet on fulsome gratitude from people who currently see vets as a service by, and for, the middle class.

Ross Kelly, Monash

Why the ‘Y’ wasn’t Walter’s plan BILL Ginn repeatedly invokes “Walter Burley Griffin’s ‘Y’ plan” in his call for a new development corridor from the ACT towards Yass (“Standing up to the government ‘bully’

The next task for managing emissions

next door”, CN December 2).

The “Y” plan had nothing to do with Griffin. It was formulated by the National Capital Development Commission as part of the “new towns” policies for population growth and transport planning in 1969.

Scott Humphries, Curtin

Wondering where Gordon had gone I’D been wondering where failed Ginninderra MLA Gordon Ramsay had got to (“Seven Days”, CN November 25).

Last reports were that Andrew Barr had given him a well-paid, taxpayer-funded job in the Chief Minister’s office. I had thought perhaps Mr Ramsay had then returned to his previous calling in the Uniting Church, ministering to the poor and disadvantaged in our community.

However, it seems the allure of yet another, no doubt costly, taxpayer-funded job was just too tempting even for this former pastor as he has now scored the CEO role of the Cultural Facilities Corporation.

You have to wonder about the quality of the other 20 applicants for the position given the successful applicant has no apparent qualifications or experience in the arts sector.

Was Mr Ramsay’s appointment a shining example of merit selection or yet another example of Labor’s jobs for the boys? Only time will tell.

Anthony Noakes, Florey

THE commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment reports that in 2018 the average Canberran caused greenhouse emissions equivalent to 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

That compares with less than 25 tonnes in each of the six states.

The ACT’s landfill emissions amount to 180kg CO2-e per capita. City Services Minister Chris Steel has announced a trial of a scheme that “can help reduce the amount of emissions that are coming off our landfill by up to 30 per cent”.

Canberra’s next task will be to work out how to reduce the other 99 per cent of our emissions.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Photo shoots don’t cut it I AGREE with Carol Carlyon (Letters, CN November 25).

A senator who doesn’t vote for the interests of his/her state or territory has no right to be in the Senate chamber.

Either Mr Seselja needs to study carefully what a senator’s role is, or be replaced by someone who does!

Relying on photo shoots with the PM doesn’t cut it for me.

Barry Salisbury, Ngunnawal

Write to us: editor@citynews.com.au

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MORE LETTERS Beware the push for digital water meters I HAVE recently completed a survey on behalf of Icon Water as part of its future planning. Icon Water is proposing to “upgrade” the current mechanical water meters to digital meters, in essence some kind of smart meter transmitting water use several times a day to Icon Water.

Mechanical meters are disparaged in the survey, for example in relation to picking up water leaks. However, this is very easy to do with mechanical meters by turning off all running water, and observing if there is any movement on the meter dial.

With digital meters, there is much hype about real-time information to consumers, most of whom have better things to do than contemplating their water use on more than a quarterly basis.

There are the environmental costs of batteries in meters, and the energy costs of processing all the data electronically. There is also the question of malfunction in the proposed new meters, the reliability of their energy source and many other potential failure points in the proposed new complex system.

It seems to be about moving on people who read meters and advantaging Icon Water, rather than consumers per se.

Overcharging, time of use charging and the health implications of radiofrequency emissions have all been raised in relation to electricity smart meters.

Some US states have legislative activity currently on the harms of smart meters, driven

particularly by concerned communities.

My recommendation is to read the Icon Water survey critically, and to be careful of what you wish for. The hype is concealing many unanswered questions.

Murray May, Cook

A thank you for bike kindness ON the afternoon of Thursday, November 25, my bicycle fell off my car bike-rack on Flemington Road, near Nullarbor Avenue, Harrison.

Through your pages, I would like to acknowledge and thank the very kind person who picked up my bike off the road and chained it to a post, outside Harrison Green apartments, until I could get back to retrieve it.

I am extremely grateful to have my bike back, still in excellent condition, and also delighted that such community spirit still exists in Canberra.

Neil Byron, Lyneham

Hats off to centre management!

COOLEMAN Court Shopping Centre takes pride in its facilities. With reference to a previous CN topic, the toilets located on the ground and first floors are cleaned regularly and well-maintained. They are pleasant to visit.

The recycling bins for thin plastic recycling and battery recycling at Woolworths; the battery recycling at Aldi; the e-waste recycling, bottles, cardboard and cans recycling; and the community non-perishable

food donation box – all located near the lifts and baby/child room – are extremely handy and very supportive of keeping our environment clean and free from pollution.

An associate of mine has told me that there is nothing like this in her local shops at Belconnen West. Having been to other shopping centres, I am able to say that I am proud to visit, shop and recycle at Cooleman Court, my local shopping centre; the best shopping centre in Canberra! Hats off to centre management!

Jenny Holmes, Weston

Against Corruption (ICAC) is all about self-preservation and winning the looming election.

PM Morrison is desperate to keep his government’s rorts, such as the sports grants and commuter car parks schemes, both of which were heavily biased to electorates held by the Coalition, held by narrow margins, or on the Coalition’s “capture from Labor” wish list, as well as the Western Sydney Airport land “rip-off”, under wraps.

Mr Morrison does not want a federal ICAC under any circumstances.

Wreaths by service organisations (RSL, Legacy, etcetera) should be unlimited.

Yours in reverence of the day.

Christopher Ryan, Watson

Why listen to ‘prophets of doom’?

IN his appeal to listen to the “prophets of doom” (Letters, CN November 25), does Gavin O’Brien speak for or simply support Climate Watch? This institution, as one of myriad climate-change promoters, is not about to say anything to detract from the panic being sown, nor to detract from the computer simulations on which virtually all of the climate-change predictions by the IPCC are based and blindly followed by believers.

Indeed, the simulations are complex and need the most powerful computers on which to be run, but that does not necessarily mean that they produce valid results.

After all, computer simulations, no matter how sophisticated, have important limitations, as those like myself, who have performed such simulations, are well aware.

To boot, climate scientists are attempting to model the most complicated of all systems known to man, ie, our naturally chaotic (in the physical sense of the word) atmosphere all around the globe, through all seasons and 80 years or so into the future.

A lot has to go right for the truth to be known, if at all possible.

Climate-change promoters are never going to publish results that do not support their case of global warming and climate change. Such a pity!

Max Flint, via email

Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Cycling tracks ‘highly valued’ RE letter writer Max Flint’s criticism of our city’s “expensive useless bike tracks” (CN November 18), the cycling infrastructure provided to us in Canberra is highly valued by my wife and myself.

It allows us to maintain healthy exercise activities and to integrate them with commuting to work on a regular basis, which is beneficial.

We pay our taxes and we want safe cycling infrastructure to be a significant part of our recreational and occupational transport mix.

Ron Kelly, Watson

Morrison doesn’t want an ICAC COLUMNIST Michael Moore asks “Why is the PM dodging the corruption promise?”

(Politics, CN December 2). In my opinion, the Morrison government’s response to calls for a federal Independent Commission

Wars are fought by junior officers MY grandfather was awarded the Military Medal as a corporal on the Western Front during World War I, then commissioned as a lieutenant. As such, he notably retrieved the buried body of a slain British officer and sent his personal effects to the family, along with essential confirmation of death. He did not have to do so, but humanity impelled.

Hence, I am in hearty agreement with Paul Varsanyi (Letters, CN November 25).

Wars are fought by junior officers (lieutenants and captains), NCOs and other ranks.

Some senior officers spend very little time in the field of combat.

Both the recitation of “The Ode” and the formal address of Remembrance Day should be by the junior combatants. The service should not be primarily a display of ADF drill and music.

The ADF is only an incidental, small component of the purpose of the day. As is wreath laying by politicians and diplomats.

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WHIMSY

Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant…

A FRIEND claims to have a close affinity with a rubber plant he has owned for nine years. He says that when he asks it if it needs water, it responds telepathically.

Before writing my friend off as a nutter, I decided to do a bit of research to see whether his claim could be credible. I turned up some surprising facts.

A study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society showed that plants do respond to the sound of your voice. There is evidence that plant cells perceive and respond to pressure waves, like the kind that are generated by sound in the environment, and touch – like someone walking up to a tree and hugging it. Whether they can communicate back to humans is unproven.

Research shows that speaking nicely to plants will support their growth, whereas yelling at them won’t. This has to do with vibrations and volume.

Plants react favourably to low levels of vibrations, around 115-250hz.

They thrive when they listen to music between those parameters as the vibrations emulate stimuli in nature.

But plants don’t like being exposed to music more than one to three hours a day. Jazz and classical music seem to be the best choice for ultimate plant

Like any living thing, plants want to remain alive, and research shows that when certain plants are cut, they emit a ‘noise’ that could be interpreted as a cry. will drop its lower leaves to preserve energy when light is not sufficient.

Other common plant responses are the bending and growing of plants towards light.

stimulation.

Trees and plants like company and grow better when bonding with other plants. Peter Wohlleben, a German researcher who devoted his life to studying trees, says: “They can form bonds like an old couple, where one looks after the other.”

Plants do not have brains, nor a central nervous system (which is how intelligence is defined), so it’s considered impossible for them to have emotions or the ability to reason

or feel. However, we know they are alive and respond to stimuli.

Plants can certainly sense water, light and gravity. Some can even sometimes mount an attack. For example, the Venus Fly Trap uses nectar and a well-designed landing pad to attract insects. If the insect does not move in time, snap – and the plant absorbs nutrients from the insect’s body.

Light is food for a plant, and the “aim” of a plant is to survive, so it

Wisteria is a fast grower and uses tentacle-like spirals to clasp on to other mediums (such as plants and buildings) to reach more sunlight.

Even so, most plants grow faster in the evening and at night than they do during the day. Research on circadian rhythms in plants shows that their “biological clock” stimulates nighttime growth.

Like any living thing, plants want to remain alive, and research shows that when certain plants are cut, they emit a “noise” that could be

interpreted as a cry. Plants suffer when they are injured, but it’s a much slower reaction, so most people think plants don’t feel anything.

Without plants and trees, life could not exist on earth. There would be no rain, our soils would be unprotected and the air would be unsuitable for breathing.

Perhaps my rubber-plant friend is more empathetic than I realised.

Gardeners no doubt already know that humans can relate to plants in a very personal way.

Some plants can clearly be perverse. Weeds are the rebels of the plant world. It’s debatable what is a weed and what isn’t, but as Doug Larson observed: “A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.” And as humourist Will Rogers noted: “All you need to grow fine vigorous grass is a crack in your sidewalk.”

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist

Open every day during school holidays from 10am to 4pm – Cafe open from 10am to 3pm

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taralgawildlifepark.com 16 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

NOW OPEN

COVER STORY / 131 City Walk

advertising feature

‘The building housed the YWCA from the 1930s – providing accommodation for women during the early years of Canberra.’

History to hidden gems, Peter likes to talk the Walk FULL of hidden gems, rich in history and home to King O’Malley’s Irish-style pub, 131 City Walk is the heart of Civic.

Arguably, no-one knows more about this part of the city than Peter Barclay, managing director of King O’Malley’s.

In 1967, Peter’s late father, Ted, opened the city’s first gelato bar in Garema Place.

Peter says it became a favourite weekend spot to visit on a hot summer’s day. Ted opened a second gelato shop in Monaro Mall, Australia’s first enclosed shopping centre. In the ‘80s Ted and Peter together established Pierre Glasson Ice Cream in one of the City Walk shops which is now King O’Malley’s Blarney Room.

“The building housed the YWCA from the 1930s – providing accommodation for women and helping them to find work during the early years of Canberra,” says Peter.

These days the six-storey building houses a number of businesses and office spaces, most of which are led by women, including Peter’s two favourite cafes – Jina’s Cafe and Sip Coffee Bar, both located on the ground floor of the building.

In April, 1970, Princess Anne officially named the building “The Una Porter Centre”. The original bronze plaque and a framed black and white photo of the young princess in a mini skirt and pillbox hat, hang on the wall of the pub.

In fact, the walls of King O’Malley’s feature artefacts that all tell great stories, including a grand bust of King O’Malley himself, who was one of Australia’s most colourful politicians and famously was

Peter Barclay… “King O’Malley advocated for a ban of alcohol in Canberra,” he says with a wry smile. responsible for launching the world-wide design competition for the new capital city.

“King O’Malley also advocated for a ban of alcohol in Canberra,” says Peter with a wry smile.

Over the past 21 years, the pub has seen a lot of happy times within its walls, but it’s also been there to support the wider community during times of need, with Peter leading a number of charity fundraisers including a major appeal for the survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Japanese tsunami, the World’s Greatest Shave and Movember.

He says that for the past 20 years, King O’Malley’s has sponsored the Street Chess club, which meets at the pub every Saturday morning.

In 2007, Peter was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia (an OAM) for service to the community and to business.

Now, as Canberra opens up after lockdown, Peter says he and the team are looking forward to welcoming people

again to celebrate the good times at King O’Malley’s and hosting the pub’s annual Beard Competition.

“The pub is the heart of City Walk. We are open seven days till late and for over 20 years it’s become a real anchor and meeting spot with people enjoying our outdoor beer garden and the comfort of the inside of the pub,” says Peter.

“There’s something very welcoming about an Irish-style pub,” says Peter, who was inspired by a visit to an Irish-style pub called O’Malley’s in Shanghai, on a trip to China with his soon-to-be wife, Dot, in the late 1990s.

“I thought: ‘If Canberra had something like that, it would be incredible’,” Peter recalls.

“It’s a place that holds so many memories. Couples have met at the pub and now bring their kids here. It’s been an important part of people’s lives – from holding wakes, engagements and 21st birthdays, all the milestones that people consider to be special to them.”

Peter says that Civic is a diverse and welcoming area that’s been the meeting place of Canberra since it was established.

He says that the natural beauty of the London plane trees that provide shade and comfort throughout the City Walk are unique and special to Canberra.

Throughout its many years of evolution, Peter says he feels excited for the recent changes he’s been seeing and feels positive about the future of Civic.

“It needs a co-ordinated approach and I encourage the government to continue to keep up the work they have done and support businesses in the city who have had difficult times during the pandemic,” he says.

Princess Anne, left, opens the “Una Porter Centre”, in the presence of YWCA president Joan Smith.

Ted Barclay, far right, in his Pierre Glasson ice cream parlour, located in one of the City Walk shops, which is now King O’Malley’s Blarney Room.

CityNews December 9-15, 2021 17

COVER STORY / 131 City Walk

A walk through 131 City Walk KING O’MALLEY’S day manager Mark Peisley has worked in the building for more than 13 years and says the atmosphere at King O’Malley’s is second to none. He’s proud to say he met his wife Kim at the pub.

His hobby of home brewing with his father-in-law, Hugh Mckenzie, has been taken to the next level, thanks to the pub taking their “Stone Age Brewing” beers on tap at the bar.

“It’s a thrill to have my beer served at the pub,” says Mark, who has set up his “nano brewery” in the basement of King O’Malley’s.

“I get to hear honest feedback and it makes me so happy to hear that people enjoy it!” he says.

131 City Walk… houses a number of businesses and offi

King O’Malley’s day manager Mark Peisley, left, shares a beer with the boss, Peter Barclay.

FRIENDS since their apprenticeship days, Joe Musolino and Tony Nesci opened Martino’s Hair and Grooming for Men in the City Walk Arcade together 32 years ago and are proud to have been serving their loyal customers over this time.

Tony Nesci, left, and Joe Musolino, of Martino’s Hair and Grooming for Men.

Mon to Thurs: Friday: Saturday:

“We are hidden away, but very central,” says Tony of their modern-day barbershop, located next door to King O’Malley’s pub.

“We are a boutique, niche salon. Our focus is quality over quantity,” says Joe. Over the years, Joe and Tony say that they have been committed to updating their skills and listening to their clients’ needs.

In addition to classic to modern hairstyles, they offer face and scalp treatments as well as the ever-popular beard styling. In recent years, Joe and Tony were inspired to develop a range of natural skin care products that are exclusively sold at their shop.

Locally made, their range includes a popular pre-shave and beard oil, moisturiser, shaving cream and soaps.

Tony and Joe say they love being part of City Walk’s past and present and have enjoyed supporting many charitable events such as the Greatest Shave and Movember over the years.

Also on the ground floor are Jina’s Cafe, Nancy Sever’s pop-up art space and the Sip Coffee Bar.

8.30am - 5.30pm 8.30am - 6pm 8.30am - 3pm

Ph: 6257 5858 Shop 10 Ground Level City Walk Arcade, Civic www.martinos.com.au

18 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

King O’Malley’s… “There’s something very welcoming

Mon - Fri 6.20am–4.30pm Phone: 6249 1931 Ground Floor City Walk Arcade, Mort St, Civic

advertising feature IN the basement of City Walk is Fernwood Fitness , a premium 24-hour gym for women.

Manager Sky Dockute says that Fernwood Canberra City offers women a unique, boutique experience by focusing on small groups and personal training.

ffice spaces, most of which are led by women.

“We offer reformer pilates, personal training and small group personal training,” she says.

“Our classes are only up to 10 people, which lets us give our clients our personal attention and make sure they have the best workout.”

With 15 Fernwood staff, Sky says that each of the trainers has their own strengths in different areas of fitness, but her passion is strength training and reformer workouts.

“Reformer pilates is a huge new trend. It gives you a great whole-body workout in a 45-minute class and anyone can do it. It’s the best thing you can do in your lunch break!” says Sky. With a growing membership who tend to work in the city and enjoy their workouts before, after work or during their lunch break, Sky encourages women to visit her friendly team: “Come in and see what we can do for you.”

Ferwood Fitness Canberra City manager Sky Dockute.

TAKING the escalator or the staircase to level one of City Walk, Nancy Sever’s art gallery is a visually prominent space, located near Modern Dental, the Nail and Lash Room and the social enterprise, the Sustainable Gardener.

about an Irish-style pub,” says Peter Barclay.

Gallery owner Nancy Sever.

Nancy says she’s excited to have moved her gallery to City Walk in recent years as she has the only commercial gallery in Civic.

With a long-spanning arts career, including 20 years as the founding director of the Drill Hall Gallery at the ANU, Nancy says she was motivated

THE YWCA’s legacy of their large indoor gymnasium on the second floor with its original sprung timber flooring is now home to Latin Dance Canberra, run by championship dancer, Allan Dantas.

On the upper floors are Content Group, Rowdy Inc, Community Shapers and Future Super.

Latin Dance Canberra.

to open her own gallery because of her passion for art and collaborating with artists.

“I have had the great fortune of working with artists my whole career. In my gallery, I wanted to focus on established artists. When you become a full-time artist, you need to live from your art and I think these artists need a gallery to support them,” she says.

“I try to bring work to Canberra that otherwise wouldn’t be exhibited,” she says.

Nancy says she presents a new exhibition each month, and has been able to move the artworks around to different locations in the building, including turning one of the ground floor units into a pop-up artspace.

“I love the way art makes you see the world,” says Nancy.

“I hope more people get back into the habit of visiting commercial art galleries and making an afternoon of enjoying art while they are in the city,” she says.

Also on the first floor are the Nail and Lash Room, Modern Dental, Sustainable Gardener and the office for UN Women.

Wed to Sun: 11am - 5pm Level 1, 131 City Walk, Civic (Next Door to King O’Malley’s)

T: 6262 8448

nancy.sever@iinet.net.au nancysevergallery.com.au

Mon - Fri: 6am - 4pm Sat: 8am - 2pm Ph: 6247 7127 1/131 City Walk, Civic

CityNews December 9-15, 2021 19

Part of the Canberra Community, where everyone feels like a local.

KING O’MALLEY’S 131 CITY WALK, CANBERRA CITY | WWW.KINGOMALLEYS.COM.AU | 6257 0111 2021 Australian Hotels Association Award for Canberra’s Best Draught Beer 1 26-July9-15, 2, 2014 20 CityNews CityNewsJune December 2021

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YESTERDAYS

Sister shot in brother’s TV-hero delusion episode IT was apparently an awful, tragic accident, one blamed in part on the much-debated negative impact of violence on television.

A 16-year-old boy facing the Sydney Central Criminal Court on May 21, 1965, pleaded not guilty to a charge of having murdered his older sister a month-and-a-half before in their Queanbeyan home.

The popular 22-year-old model and ANU arts student had spent the early April evening knitting in front of the TV when a bullet fired through the front window of the house hit her in the right temple.

Her mother, a former school teacher, returned home after a committee meeting at around 10.20pm to be met on the doorstep by her agitated son, wearing his pyjamas and a dressing gown, telling her: “Come quick. Ellie has been shot”.

She’d find her daughter lying on her bed “with blood on her jumper and face” and complaining of a headache.

Taken by ambulance to the Canberra Hospital, the young woman described to me 56 years later by one of those who knew her as “very clever and a natural beauty with long, blonde hair and literally rosy cheeks”, died the following

All I can say is that it would be a sad day when a boy of 16, because of what he sees on television, would ever descend to the crime of shooting one of his loved ones,” said the judge. morning.

The funeral service at St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church close by the Queanbeyan Town Park was unable to cater to what was reported as “hundreds” of mourners. The procession to carry Ellie to her final place of rest in Canberra stretched “about a mile and a half long”.

Ellie’s brother would openly recount to police that he’d been in his bedroom but at around 10pm he went into his father’s office and took one of two guns from a cupboard.

On loading the weapon with a single bullet, he wandered around outside for a while. Shortly after, he pointed the .22 at the window and pulled the trigger.

He next returned the rifle to the office, “ejected the bolt” and left it on a couch. Watching as his sister went to the kitchen to find a towel to wrap around her bleeding head, he then rang the ambulance.

He couldn’t explain the reasons behind any of his actions and told his mother: “I don’t know why, I don’t know why. I don’t understand.

I am sorry”.

Despite his parents’ pleas, he was denied bail due to “these special circumstances”, instead remanded in custody.

That the community was in shock is self-evident. And for those who were around as it was unfolding, they remain bewildered by the circumstances.

“She was very much admired, involved in local fundraising pageants and the like,” says a former peer. “She could have been the equivalent of George Lazenby [the only Australian to play James Bond and also a Queanbeyan local] and had an international career”.

The handsome family were the epitome of the migrant stories of the time. Emigrating from Holland in 1951, the patriarch was formerly a radio engineer turned successful businessman, operating an electrical contracting firm with up to 16 employees.

Tall and dark-haired, while his family were still in a migrant camp, he commenced building what earned attention as an “Exhibition Home” due to the “electrical

design and installation” by its owner. A single-level cottage that would be expanded to become a sizeable dwelling, it was on a corner, quarter-acre block in a good location not far from the main town centre.

Mum, an older version of her willowy, blonde daughter, was quickly very active in her new hometown. Soon to become president of the Queanbeyan Good Neighbour Council. This organisation welcomed and supported the many overseas arrivals settling in the region, a good percentage of them attracted by the work on offer for the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme. She’d been attending a council meeting in Canberra on that fateful night.

The reports are relatively scant but the final outcome appeared on the front page of “The Canberra Times” on July 6, 1965.

The boy received a good behaviour bond of 500 pounds, around $14,000 in 2021 terms, and was required to undergo psychiatric treatment. While the chief justice stated he was “at a loss for an explanation or a reason for the crime”, it

was noted that the 16-year-old had suffered developmental difficulties from the time of his birth.

So was it presented by the court psychiatrist that he “may have thought himself to be the hero of a TV show”. The boy was alleged to have said: “This is just like what has happened on television, with all the police running around”.

The psychiatrist was of the view “that he may have shot his sister because he watched too many TV shows”.

Of this sorrowful and distressing tale, the judge in his summation would declare: “All I can say is that it would be a sad day when a boy of 16, because of what he sees on television, would ever descend to the crime of shooting one of his loved ones”.

In memory of Ellie and her family.

More at capitalcrimefiles.com.au

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DONATE NOW www.hundredsforthousands.salvationarmy.org.au 22 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

advertising feature

Quick, time’s running out to find those perfect gifts WITH a little more than two weeks until Christmas, there’s no avoiding it, it’s time to get some serious shopping done.

Whether it’s fast and thrilling, slow and relaxing or a special memento to last for years to come, “CityNews” speaks with businesses with unique gift ideas for the whole family this Christmas.

Christmas sales at the Q

Cookie’s pedalling hard until Christmas Eve

The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre (The Q) is offering memberships, three subscription packages and sales on every show.

Artistic director and programming manager Jordan Best says packages are Gold, Silver, and 30 and under.

“Gold will save you 25 per cent, Silver 20 per cent and you only pay $30 a ticket for our 30 and under subscription. Or become a Q Member for 2022 for only $50, with heaps of benefits, including 10 per cent off at our bars and a cute Q keyring.”

“Ask yourself, how far would you go to get what you want?” (“Ruthless”, February 24-March 12).

“What would the world look like if everyone was equal?” (“This Changes Everything”, July 22-30).

“What happens when a young girl hits a ball against the tin wall of her family’s home?” (“Sunshine Super Girl”, November 2-5).

“What happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with an incident between their children?” (“God of Carnage”, November 23-December 3).

“The Q has the answers, in 2022.”

OWNER of Cookies Cycles David Cook says he’ll be selling his extensive range of e-bikes and e-scooters all the way up until Christmas Eve. “We’re very glad to be fully back up and running,” says David, who’s backed with more than 35 years of industry experience.

“We’ve got the leading brands in e-scooters, electric bikes, normal scooters and much more on the floor and we recommend getting in quick, because we’re already selling out fast.”

David opened the store in 2015 to “cater for the family cyclist” and says he and the team pride themselves about their in-depth knowledge of the products

The Q, 253 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan.

Call 6285 6290, search The Q on Facebook or visit theq.net.au

“Sunshine Super Girl”… What happens when a young girl hits a ball against the tin wall of her family’s home? Photo: Brett Boardman

and their parts.

That expertise is transferred into the store’s fully equipped workshop, which David says offers services and repairs.

“We back up and service all products that we sell with our large range of parts and accessories,” he says.

With Canberrans getting back out and about as lockdown ends, bookings for bike repairs are filling up fast and David recommends calling ahead to get a spot.

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

Cookies Cycles owner David Cook.

GOLD

ADVENT

CALENDAR

SUBSCRIPTION

UNDER 30

SILVER theq.net.au

26 J A N

24 F E B

24 M A R

M A R

M A Y

Smokescreen

Ruthless!

King of Pigs

Mother & Son

21 Forster St

7

22

11

2

JUL

The Year of Magical Thinking

J U L

This Changes Everything

AUG

Demented

29

EDITION

NOV Sunshine Super Girl

26

23

NOV

God of Carnage CityNews December 9-15, 2021 23

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

advertising feature

The Crystal Chalice The only Pagan shop in Canberra open since 2004.

Margaret Hadfield of The Artists Shed.

Colourful and creative Christmas gifts

Lilitu Babalon The Crystal Chalice Shop 3 Gold Creek Square, 7 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls

0434 112 320

24 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

THE Artists Shed has a great selection of gifts for those looking to get in touch with their creative side this Christmas, says owner Margaret Hadfield.

An award-winning artist herself with decades of experience, Margaret says she hand picks quality products to compile “Art Packs” which are perfect for people getting started in a range of techniques like drawing, painting, watercolours, acrylics and more.

“If you use poor equipment your work won’t come out as well,” says Margaret.

“As a professional artist I pick products that I know are only good quality and which can help beginners achieve the vibrancy they’re looking for.”

For those looking to take their artistic skills to the next level, Margaret says the Artists Shed is also selling

gift certificates for art lessons.

The lessons range from those who are absolute beginners, through to experienced artists looking to sharpen their skills.

And of course, Margaret says there’s also a range of art works by herself and a selection of Canberra creatives to purchase.

“We have a huge variety of beautiful pieces that are not necessarily expensive either,” she says.

“This includes hand crafted glass bead jewellery from another of our talented local artists, Carole Griffiths.”

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

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CityNews December 9-15, 2021 25

Jet Flight Simulator Canberra CHRISTMAS GIFTS Two ways to fly at Canberra’s only flight education and entertainment centre

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Fly all over the world without leaving Canberra JET Flight Simulator Canberra has the perfect Christmas gift for anyone who’s ever wanted to fly, says owner Trevor Vickers.

“Visitors get to operate a full-size replica of a Boeing 737-800 cockpit and can choose from 24,000 airports around the world to fly in or out of,” he says.

“There’ll be an instructor who’s there to point out what all the buttons and levers do and when to use them, but it’ll be you that’s doing the flying.

“Sometimes people want to fly over where they’ve been on holiday, others want to do things like fly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge – it’s all possible.”

But that’s not the only experience they’re offering, says Trevor.

Visitors also have the opportunity for a more fast-paced, virtual reality experience called “ICAROS” which he describes as a “completely different way to fly”.

“The way it works is that you lie on a frame and just by shifting your body weight it steers you in the virtual world,” says Trevor.

“The sensation is more like flying with a wingsuit or like you’re Superman.”

Whether it’s flying a 737, soaring through a virtual world, or both, Trevor says there’s multiple booking options on their website including gift certificates.

See Australia in a new way INDEPTH Scuba is a five-star dive centre that says it has experienced instructors who love what they do.

The company has been running learn-todive to instructor courses in Canberra since 1998, and runs weekly scuba classes.

The company says its interstate dive travel is very popular and includes a great white shark dive trip in January in SA and a whale shark dive in WA in March.

The company says its dive travel destinations also include Coffs Harbour, South West Rocks, Melbourne, Tasmania and the Great Barrier Reef to name a few.

It also offers a “very unique component of the business, Ride Dive expeditions”, where motorcycling enthusiasts are taken to Australia’s best dive sites, via some of Australia’s most scenic roads.

“You won’t find anything like this anywhere in the world!” the company says.

Indepth Scuba, Shop 2, 2 Oatley Court, Belconnen. Call 6251 1070, email info@indepthscuba. com.au or visit indepthscuba.com.au

Jet Flight Simulator Canberra, 4 Montford Crescent, Lyneham.

Visit jetflightsimulatorcanberra.com.au or call 0438 834026.

ENJOY A PERFECT RIDE FROM COOKIES • E-SCOOTERS • E-BIKES • BIKES FOR DAD, MUM & THE KIDS! YES WE STOCK: Regular Scooters, Skateboards, Parts & Accessories

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Exclusive drinks and special offers for Christmas PAUL Cains, owner of Prohibition Bottle Shop Kingston, says Prohibition Bottle Shop Curtin has opened, and just in time for Christmas.

“We have a huge Canberra offering of wines and local spirits, as well as a huge supply of Japanese and Tasmanian whiskeys,” he says.

There are member offers on Eden Road local wines and Paul says the electric pink vodka cruiser is exclusive to his company for this year.

He says there’s an equal and extensive range of options

$23ea.

available at both of the independently owned stores.

“There’s also a large range of local wines and we carry all the local beers like BentSpoke and Capital Brewing.

“Customers can always feel free to have a chat with our team of great staff, who do a wonderful job.”

INDEPTHSCUBA.COM.AU SHOP 2/2 OATLEY COURT, BELCONNEN ACT 2617 PH (02) 6251 1070 FAX (02) 6251 1070 INFO@INDEPTHSCUBA.COM.AU

Prohibition Bottle Shop, 39 Eastlake Parade, Kingston and Shop 1, 44 Curtin Place, Curtin. Call Kingston 6295 0864. Call Curtin 6281 1347 or email prohibitionbottleshop@gmail.com

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Prohibition Curtin 44 Curtin Place Curtin ACT 2605 CityNews December 9-15, 2021 27

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Aimee Frodsham in the Glassworks shop.

ROBYN Ebsworth, sales manager of COEGA Sunwear, says it’s a high-quality product that has not previously been available in Australia.

“Our swimwear is made of Carvico fabric from Europe and certified UV 50+ by the Australian government, it is long lasting, light weight, quick drying and chlorine and salt water resistant,” she says.

The ranges include babies, children, teenagers, women and men, “while also serving a fast-growing fashion niche offering greater coverage for those customers who prefer a more modest form of swimwear.”

Robyn says the beach/pool shoes are excellent for protecting your feet from the sand or concrete.

“We don’t ordinarily think about wearing shoes for swimming but these light weight shoes with the toughtek anti-slip soles give a barefoot feel while protecting your feet from hot sand, concrete, sharp rocks or shells.”

“Forget having to carry the kids across the hot sand while juggling all the towels, boogie boards and picnic stuff, just pop the beach shoes on and they can walk across the hot sand in complete comfort.”

AT Canberra Glassworks, visitors can find a dynamic and amazing arts facility filled with skilled makers, says artistic director Aimee Frodsham.

“There’s a shop filled with gorgeous handmade glass pieces, with lots of beautiful gifts from jewellery to tableware and sculptures,” says Aimee.

“Our handmade marbles are a favourite, so this year we teamed up with local designer Chelsea Lemon to produce a stunning marquetry Solitaire game and, of course, our handmade Christmas ornaments are available which make a beautiful gift or special Christmas keepsake.”

Aimee says that visitors can also walk deeper into the heritage building to explore the facilities and see the artists at work “You can take a walk around the viewing platform and see the Hot Shop in action with glassblowers, then walk into the vast engine room and see the cutting and grinding equipment and kilns as well as the 100-year-old-plus gantry, which is still in action,” she says.

And, Aimee says the artists share their passion and techniques through classes and workshops available for adults and children.

“Offering the public the chance to see, make and own handmade glass is something I’m incredibly proud of,” she says.

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Motorcycle champion store in Mitchell The feather and down experts for over 30 years SERVICE FOR YOUR QUILTS, PILLOWS & CUSHIONS

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Unit 9, 10-12 Kemble Court, Mitchell • www.thermaquilts.com.au Phone: 6241 6859 • Email: shop@thermaquilts.com.au

HAVING represented Australia in several motorbiking world championships, owner of Moto Central Don Murray enjoys sharing his knowledge with new and experienced riders.

His store sells a range of road bikes, off-road bikes and scooters with brands such as CFMoto, Benelli, Crossfire, Sherco and Beta, as well as Kymco and Lambretta scooters.

“Currently, our most popular adult bike is the CFMoto 150 NK, which is proving to be a big hit with the commuter and delivery crowd,” says Don. “For the kids, you can’t go past the Sherco Electric kids’ balance bikes in two popular sizes: EB12 and EB16.”

Don says the store also has a fully equipped service centre with the latest, state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment that can service most makes and models of motorcycles and scooters.

“Log-book servicing, tyres and brakes are our specialty,” he says.

Don has been riding motorcycles since he was a kid, and says it was a dream to be able to represent Australia as both a rider and a team manager at multiple Australian championships.

“I love the freedom of being out in the elements, meeting interesting people and exploring new places always seems better on a bike,” he says.

“We are more than happy to get people started on their first bike as well as help them with where to get their licence and help with all the right gear like helmets, jackets, gloves and more.”

Moto Central, 12 Sandford Street, Mitchell.

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12 Sandford St, Mitchell | 02 6248 0229 | www.motocentral.com.au | sales@motocentral.com.au 28 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

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Of all the shows coming in the New Year, Jamison Travel wants to highlight two of their Sydney packages, “Phantom of the Opera” and the “Vivid” light festival.

There are three departure dates for “Phantom of the Opera”, March 30, April 8 and August 31, and the package includes return coach transport, overnight accommodation in a 4.5-star hotel, breakfast, premium seating for the show and a Journey Beyond Sydney Harbour lunch cruise.

Vivid Sydney runs on June 9 and gives travellers a

chance to “avoid the crowds and experience one of the world’s largest festivals of light from the comfort of our luxury cruiser.”

“Vivid” includes return coach transport, overnight accommodation in a 4.5-star hotel, breakfast, Journey Beyond Sydney Harbour dinner cruise, a guided tour of the Archibald exhibition and lunch at the Art Gallery of NSW restaurant.

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Canberra Glassworks hand blown glass marbles. Available instore. Photo by Brenton McGeachie

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CityNews December 9-15, 2021 29

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

advertising feature ‘Unique and quirky’ gifts to suit every budget THE Crystal Chalice in Gold Creek has “unique and quirky” Christmas gifts to suit every budget, says owner Lilitu Babalon.

“Pretty much anything I’ve got would be a great Christmas gift,” she says.

The shop has more than 300 tarot and oracle decks to choose from, “they’re really great gifts”.

It also has statues, plush and soft toys for kids, fairies and dragons, incense and jewellery and books.

“We’ve got hundreds of pieces of jewellery, mostly in sterling silver and gemstone. We also sell

books and they always make great gifts,” says Lilitu.

“We have everything from just a few dollars to thousands of dollars, there’s a lot to choose from.”

In the week leading up to Christmas, she says she will be doing a giveaway.

“Previously, I’ve given all my customers a little gift, that will be the Monday to Friday leading up to Christmas,” says Lilitu.

The Crystal Chalice, Shop 3, 7 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Call 6241 0799 or visit thecrystalchalice.com.au

Neil Hermes… “It’s a great opportunity for people with friends or family visiting Canberra who want to see the best of the city.”

Walking tour shows the highlights of Canberra FOR those wanting to see the best of what the capital has to offer in a day, Neil Hermes says his “Highlights of Canberra” tour hits all of the ACT’s premier destinations.

“Say you had one day to explore Canberra and no more time, what would you see? In this tour we answer that,” says Neil.

“There’s visits to new and old Parliament House, the War Memorial, the Royal Military College and plenty of other iconic locations.”

“It’s a great opportunity for people with friends or family visiting Canberra who want to see the best of the city.”

He also says the tour is a great way for visitors to learn from some local experts what destinations to see in the capital on other days of their visit.

Neil, an expert local ornithologist, has also recently published a book on the bird life of Canberra, a place he describes as a “city of birds”. “‘A Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of Canberra and the High Country’ has more than 300 illustrated species of local birds and is your guide to any bird that you’re likely to see in your garden around Canberra,” he says.

Visit canberraguidedtours.com.au or neilhermes.com.au

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From AUD $2,539 Date: 02-09 September 2022 Duration: 8 Days Confirm with deposit before 13 December 2021 and save $250 deposit if booking prior to 13 December 2021; or $1000 if booking after 13 December 2021.

Neil Hermes Canberra based ornithologist, columnist, expedition leader, science communicator, political advisor and author who has written about 20 books.

30 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

neilhermes.com.au

Information at neilhermes.com.au or Norfolk Island Travel Centre norfolkislandtravelcentre.com/event/norfolk-island-wildlife-heritage-tour

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

for INSIDE Sweets my sweet…

RICHARD CALVER

A century of Smart commonplace painting

By Helen

MUSA JEFFREY Smart is an artist that even art-haters love.

Legendary for his almost surreal urban-scapes and paintings of commonplace objects such as road markings and billboards, re-made to become objects of sheer beauty, his work is of such fame that the National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition marking 100 years since his birth in 1921 is simply titled “Jeffrey Smart”.

I caught up with the co-creator of the show, the gallery’s Rebecca Edwards, while she was installing the huge exhibition of 130 works.

“Initially, the idea was to have 100 works for 100 years, but it ended up as 130 from public, university and private collections around the country and more than 50 lenders,” Edwards says.

Describing it as “a real group effort,” she said it took a lot of persuading to get some collectors to let their works go even for a short period for what will be a Canberra-specific exhibition.

But, happily, there are also works from the NGA’s own collection – in fact most of its collection is included – like the key work, “Wallaroo”; a rare 1950-51 self-portrait, “Procida”, made after staying on the island of Procida off the coast of Naples; and later works, such as the colourful “Corrugated Gioconda” (1976); and his enigmatic final work made in 2011, “Labyrinth”.

It won’t be a conventional retrospective, Edwards says, in the sense that she and co-creator Deborah Hart have allowed themselves a bit of freedom to pursue themes around Smart’s elusive art practice, especially appropriate given the artist’s ability to elude categorisation, exploring the spectrum of his work from the figurative and abstract to the purely geometrical, of which he once said: “My main concern always is the geometry, the structure of the painting.”

Maybe so, but as Hart points out, no matter what Smart said, and he said a lot about art, “his paintings are populated with portraits of friends, lovers and public figures, layered with references to literature, art and other artists, and underpinned by personal jokes and references.”

Edwards admits there is a chronology to the show, with early work including almost surreal urban images from around his native Adelaide up to later work from the 1960s onwards, where he trod a broader road.

Jeffrey Smart.

Photo: Michel Lawrence

Jeffrey Smart paintings from the National Gallery’s upcoming exhibition, clockwise from top left: 1. J effrey Smart’s “Wallaroo” (1951).

2. J effrey Smart’s “Labyrinth” (2011).

3. “ On the roof, Taylor Square” (1961).

4. “Corrugated Gioconda” (1976).

5. S elf portrait, “Procida” (1950-51).

“That for us was the fun thing about his work.

Deborah and I both wrote major essays and pitted ourselves against each other in debate, to explore the multiple layers of Jeffrey’s art,” Edwards says.

One thing she most admires is the extraordinary discipline behind Smart’s paintings, which she described as “incredibly considered. He spent a lot of time over many, many studies and carefully crystallised his compositions.”

Once such is his 1951 painting “Wallaroo”, an ode to the seaside town on the Yorke Peninsula. Luckily, they’ve been able to exhibit some of his preparatory drawings for that.

“It’s nice to bring them together with the painting, it gives people a sense of how he picked and chose.”

There’s much for people to recognise in the exhibition.

“The empty streets are part of our everyday life, but what he did was to distill and compose them and bring beauty to scenes of everyday life that we might overlook, taking mundane objects and transforming them – like the curve of a freeway,” she says.

While she’s wandering around the exhibition talking to me, Edwards spots a pertinent wall text in which Smart is quoted as saying he tries “to paint the real world I live in as beautifully as I can”.

Those efforts were not confined to Australia, she notes, and in Europe, where he was to live and die, he started looking at new objects such as apartment blocks and autobahns.

That brings us to Smart’s ambiguity over his nationality, for although he lived in Italy from 1964 until his death in 2013, he was one of our most famous artists and strongly identified as an Australian, maintaining a very close cause connection to his homeland via an enthusiastic band of followers, so that he is even now more famous in Australia than elsewhere.

The exhibition is largely of works by Smart himself, but there are exceptions paying homage to his influences, notably a painting by one of his oldest friends, Adelaide painter Jacqueline Hick, and another by his mentor, Dorrit Black, who had established the Modern Art Centre in Sydney in the ‘30s and who taught him compositional design.

“Jeffrey Smart”, National Gallery of Australia, December 11-May 15.

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WATCH IT! / streaming and stuff

Return of the reverse superhero THE revival of “Dexter’’ has seemingly done the impossible – make the show’s lacklustre original ending from 2013 seem a little better.

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If that’s not the ultimate compliment for this new series appropriately titled “Dexter: New Blood” then I don’t know what is.

In the original ending (spoilers alert), the murderer of murderers was believed to have died by suicide only for the final moments to reveal he was still at large disguised as a lumberjack.

Anticlimactic to say the least – an ending that felt like a return to square one rather than a satisfying tie-off.

But now, a decade later, “Dexter” has taken up residence in the “Fargo”-esque town of Iron Lake, New York; a quaint, snowy abode where he’s tried to put his blood-soaked past behind him.

He’s even in a relationship, with a local policewoman no less – not risky at all for a reformed serial killer. But, it’s not long before the ice beneath him begins to crack.

As a string of murders starts to plague the small town, Dexter starts to question whether his “dark passenger” is soon to re-awaken.

It doesn’t feel like 15 years ago this show first took 2000’s television by storm.

Where TV had hitherto been saturated with wholesome heroes, “Dexter” gave the world a reverse superhero: a serial killer who hunts down the bad guys as his victims.

But, by the time the show wrapped up its eighth season run, the legacy it left had been tarnished.

“You only need to watch as far as the fourth season” became a commonly heard take from fans who clung on even as the quality of the series declined, in hope of more of that bloody brilliance that first hooked them.

But with this revival, releasing new episodes

ment, especially moving into the holiday season where streaming numbers skyrocket.

CRIME TV fans may also be having their interest piqued by the release of the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Spanish hit “Money Heist”.

Set in Madrid, “Money Heist” follows eight people recruited by an enigmatic man named “the professor” to pull off the biggest heist in history.

It’s become one of Netflix’s most watched series of all time, yet again proving the quality of entertainment coming out of places far away from the Hollywood hills.

Michael C Hall... back as Dexter and even in a relationship, with a local policewoman no less. weekly, it can tentatively be said their patience may very well have been rewarded.

Aside from the bare basics, “New Blood” seems to have shed pretty much all of the baggage of the original series, which allows it to breathe as a stand-alone story and reviews so far have praised it as a return to form – like the early days.

It’s a boon for Paramount Plus, the newest face on the streaming block that wants to give platforms such as Netflix, Stan and Binge a run for their money.

While offering a decent collection of content, the platform has been in need of some famous faces to bring in subscribers, and Michael C Hall’s devious grin is the perfect candidate.

It’s got some thick competition at the mo-

SPEAKING of which, these two shows will also be contending with a new series on Britbox titled “Crime”.

While people may not recognised the name compared to entertainment juggernauts such as “Dexter” or “Money Heist”, “Crime” is from Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh who was behind the ‘90s cult-classic “Trainspotting” (on Stan).

The capital of Scotland makes for a unique backdrop to this series, which sees a disturbed detective take on an investigation of a missing schoolgirl.

While on the outset it sounds like familiar territory, it’s Welsh’s darkly puckish style that makes this police procedural anything but pedestrian.

So serial killers, bank robberies, and disturbed detectives – lots of cheery affairs to stream heading into the holiday season.

Isn’t “Love Actually” or something wholesome like that supposed to play on TV again right about now?

CINEMA / reviews

Young Fabio’s search for a better life

By Dougal

MACDONALD “The Hand of God” (MA)

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32 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

FROM his youth in Italy’s second city, writer/ director Paolo Sorrentino has built an autobiographical, quirky and structurally itsy-bitsy examination of the melancholy and confusion besetting young adult Fabio (Filippo Scotti) who senses there must, somewhere, be a life better than the one he’s having, but doesn’t know what it might involve or where to get it.

Fabio is the second son in a middle-class family that functions in a grouping of relatives and friends who live characteristic lives with time to spare.

It’s 1984. Italy is agog about Fabio’s hero, soccer player Diego Maradona. The film spends a lot of its 130 minutes with Fabio’s enthusiasm about his hero’s career. Some filmgoers might find Filippo Scotti as that tiresome. Patience Fabio. brings its own rewards.

An intelligent young man just beyond adolescence has some life-shaping experiences to undergo in the journey to adulthood. The film opens with a languid sequence in which Fabio’s aunt Patrizia (a stunningly lovely Luisa Ranieri) prepares to endure her husband’s unjustified fury about her infidelity – then vanishes for most

of the rest of the film. Pity. She’s every virile young man’s dream.

In a sequence that, for delicacy and authenticity, might provide a template for movie makers needing to dramatise the event in other movies, Fabio’s ageing aunt initiates him in his biological destiny.

While swimming just off the island of Stromboli, filmmaker Capuano (Ciro Capano) tells Fabio (and the audience) what movie making is about (some viewers might not agree, until they think a bit harder about it).

The film appears to have been shot with available light. Once you get used to it, the effect can be quite comfortable.

Folk assuming that the film’s title implies a religious element may find it less in size and different in character from what they expected.

That’s no reason to put off seeing it.

At Palace Electric and Dendy

“The Lost Leonardo” (PG) IN 2018, a TV documentary “Leonardo: The Mystery of the Lost Portrait” was broadcast.

Where it was made and by whom, I haven’t been able to find out. This isn’t it!

But this Danish feature-length documentary is genuine, telling a credible story full of twists, turns, unanswered questions and possible conclusions, seeking the truth of a mystery that rocked its aggregation of wealth, culture and science, without finding the solution.

It’s a who-dunnit without a victim, a story with only two main characters, both long since

deceased, and $450 million. Does that sound exciting? Well, it’s not exactly that.

It’s about a painting. The subject is a man never painted from life, whose birth in the hayshed behind a Jerusalem inn and public death by a very cruel and nasty punishment are still respectively celebrated and mourned two millennia later. You know who I mean.

Whether the face in the painting is an authentic replica is not the issue. But the name of the bloke who might have painted it is very much a matter needing authentication. The question is, is the painting genuinely the one called “Salvator Mundi” (Saviour of the World) by 15th century artist Leonardo da Vinci?

And where is it now?

And who owns it now?

And where did the present owner get $US400 million to pay the previous owner (who paid only $US127 million for it) plus $US50 million commission to Christies’ auction house?

Questions. Questions. And more questions.

Big names in the business side of the art world with lots to say. But no real answers. Yet? This is not a movie for people craving escape, excitement and the fantasies of mainline cinema.

But it can send people craving exercise of what H Poirot called “the little grey cells”, out into the light with much the same empty grab-bag of conclusions as those of many art-trade cognoscenti. Opinions. Nothing else. I wonder who’ll make the next film, fiction or doco, on the same subject. And when?

At Palace Electric and Dendy

DINING / The Front Café and Gallery, Lyneham

ARTS IN THE CITY

News from The Front… it’s good!

IT’S been part of the Lyneham landscape for many moons and a while back had a change of ownership, which led to a refurbishment, which has led to new life.

The grunge is gone and although The Front Café and Gallery is smarter looking now, it’s still cosy and welcoming, with great coffee and super food at reasonable prices. The exhibition space, with rotating art shows, remains active, which is fabulous to see.

Often, it’s a local who lets you know about neighbourhood cafes that are hidden gems. In this case it was my accountant, who is a foodie and all too happy to tell me about his two fave Front dishes, both of which I’ve now tried.

The beetroot-cured salmon is a magnificent display of colour, which is always a stimulating start to a brunch ($19). It was packed with flavour and texture.

The roasted beetroot was sweet, the fennel featured its famous mild-licorice flavour, and the slices of orange were perky. I appreciated the thinly sliced red onion (nothing worse in my books than thick chunks of onion in a salad). The ingredients were arranged on top of a healthy bed of mesclun and the salad came with warm, fried potato, perfectly seasoned and some of the nicest I’ve had.

Another cracking dish – simple but high on taste – was the halloumi burger ($18). It’s an intriguing mix of ingredients. In addition to thick slices of grilled halloumi, the burger features crispy oyster mushroom (a couple of pieces could have been crisped up more for my liking), slaw, mayo and some delish house-made kraut. Dukkah added earthy tones.

It all came on a toasted bun (mine slightly burnt around one side) and you can opt for chips or salad.

By Helen Musa THERE’LL be fun and games when the Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase Tour lands at Canberra Theatre on December 12 for a night showcasing the “ best of the fest” – Cameron James, Nikki Britton, Sean Woodland, Bonnie Tangey, Daniel Muggleton, Bec Melrose, Suren Jayemanne and Canberra’s own Chris Ryan. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au IN an entirely different mode, the theatre centre will also present the long-awaited “Nothing Else Matters”, a symphonic tribute to heavy metal legends Metallica performed by the George Ellis 24-piece symphony orchestra with Damage Inc. At Canberra Theatre, Friday, December 17. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Beetroot-cured salmon... a magnificent display of colour, packed with flavour and texture. Photos: Wendy Johnson The Front claims to have the best roll for $15.

It’s packed with bacon, fried egg, sausage, tomato chutney, cheddar cheese and slaw on a toasted bun. The brekky bun ($16) is also loaded with ingredients.

Menu aside, loads of goodies and sweets are on offer including croissants, brownies, salted caramel popcorn cake, Danishes, morning buns and decadent cookies. I was too full or would have indulged in the wonderful-looking pistachio and zucchini cake with lime cream cheese icing.

The Front worships coffee and sells a lot of

The Front worships coffee and sells a lot of coffee gear.

coffee gear, such as hand grinders, French presses, drippers and environmentally friendly cups.

The outdoor area has lovely greenery in big pots. In addition to art exhibitions The Front hosts gigs, events and other entertainment, including, periodically, stand-up comedy (check online calendar).

An option, for those who are busy, is to order directly on a mobile and The Front will deliver.

WINE

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey MY parents played the 1963 Searchers’ song endlessly: Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey, Your first sweet kiss thrilled me so.

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey, I’ll never ever let you go.

In modern times these lyrics somewhat resonate with over-protective paternalistic control (PC forever!) but I recall that opening verse because my childhood adoration of sweet treats is a cloudy, distant memory.

And as I get older, those memories contrast to the flavours I prefer: dry, smoky, black fruit driven. But I don’t dislike sweet wine. Far from it. A good Noble One (it’s a botrytis-affected semillon) with a creamy dessert is a match that never disappoints.

A dear friend was invited to dinner and dislikes the complex, citrus-fired local rieslings that I normally serve with my almost perfected smoked-chicken risotto. She wanted a sweet wine with the meal.

Years ago, at a picnic, I had tasted Brown Brothers Dolcetto & Syrah, a fresh, fruity red wine that you serve chilled. It has a mild frizzante and a sweet blackberry finish. At under $20 a bottle, it was a hit on the financial and friend-impressing front.

But it was also puzzling as to how the Dolcetto grape, renowned for tannic, walnut-tasting wines from the Piedmont region in Italy,

Just for a laugh, best of the fest

Katherine Brown… “Most mainstream journalists turn up their noses at what they think is lolly water.” had ended up in this sweet fizzy offering.

So, I called Brown Brothers and was lucky enough to speak to Katherine Brown, a fourthgeneration family winemaker turned mother and marketer. She told me that she stopped being a winemaker because the seven days a week, especially over vintage, just became a burden. But with that background and the family tradition she was my go-to person.

“Katherine, how is it that Dolcetto grapes are

grown in the middle of Victoria?” I asked.

“Oh”, she said, “we’ve been growing Dolcetto for a number of decades. Planted in our vineyards in King Valley, Heathcote and Murray Valley, it shows to be a variety that adapts well to very diverse growing conditions across our state.

“We’ve been making this particular blend since the late 1990s and it is one of the best selling ‘off dry’ red wines in Australia.”

“I’m sure at the price point it’s very popular but on the basis on which most wine critics rate wine, I’m sure that it doesn’t garner many ‘points’.”

“Exactly, most mainstream journalists turn up their noses at what they think is lolly water, but there is a steady market for this wine.”

“Um, well, thanks for reinforcing that I’m not a mainstream journalist, Katherine!”

“No, what I mean is that the points system doesn’t cover wines like this very well so we wouldn’t enter it into wine shows and the like to be judged.”

“Okay, so turning to the structure of the wine, to retain sweetness you obviously stop the ferment fairly early in the winemaking process?”

“Yes, and the frizzante comes from the natural accumulation of CO2. We slowly drop the temperature of the wine to below zero, which kills off the yeast without causing damage so you don’t have the yeast being, you know, a monster.

That process gives it the sweetness.”

“And what an appropriate wine for you to be marketing!” I say cloyingly, with somewhat bemused laughter as the response.

Katherine reminded me of the sort of woman who isolates what Cinderella really was about and who would tell the Searchers to keep on looking.

“Cinderella never asked for a prince. She asked for a night off and a dress.” – Kiera Cass

HAIG Park’s arty Christmas Markets and picnics in the park continue apace this month, with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Christmas carols performed by the Canberra Chordsmen, Christmas medleys by the string quintet Scribbly Strings and Christmas-themed craft stalls.

The next markets are at Haig Park, Braddon, 9am-2pm, December 12.

VETERAN local artist Valda Johnson is holding an open studio exhibition and sale of her watercolours, 10am-4pm, from Friday, December 10 to Sunday, December 12, at 10 Mainoru Place, Hawker, with 10 per cent of sales going to the Cancer Society. Inquiries to 6254 5941.

THE latest bunch of Wesley Music Scholars will perform “Sound Unseen”, a concert including a two-violin arrangement of Johan Halvorsen’s “Passacaglia”, movements from Bach cantatas and some Christmas inspiration, including a piano/cello arrangement of the Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. At Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, 3pm, Sunday, December 12. Book via trybooking.com CANBERRA Big Band Collective presents an end-of-year afternoon of swinging big band music featuring two of Canberra’s big bands, Spectrum and ConneXion, and a swing dance display by the Swing Katz. At Harmonie German Club, Narrabundah, 2pm-4pm, Sunday, December 12. Book via trybooking.com or at the door.

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CityNews December 9-15, 2021 33

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Justicia carnea… dies down in the winter, but comes back up in the spring.

Photo: Jackie Warburton

Mosaic virus on roses… will fade as the weather warms.

Photo: Jackie Warburton

Awaken the senses for summer FLOWERING in my garden at the moment is a small plant called Justicia carnea.

It grows well in the shade and is available in white as well. It dies down in the winter, but comes back up in the spring and is typically called a herbaceous perennial.

Growing aromatic flowers in the garden, focusing on fragrant night-scented blooms, is something to consider when planting around outdoor rooms or decks that we use in summer.

Some night-scented, small-growing plants that grow well in Canberra are gardenias, tube roses or a larger shrub such as port wine magnolia, which can also create a good hedge if privacy is needed.

AS the weather warms, make sure there is water for the birds and the bees in the garden. A wide water bowl is easier for birds to bathe in as well.

Make sure there is a stick or rocks in the bottom that are not fully immersed so bees can walk to the water and won’t drown. Keep the water bowl out of direct sunlight and refresh regularly.

THE familiar sounds of summer in the garden are the lawn mowers at dusk and on Sundays.

Turf in the garden can be a cool place to sit on a hot summer’s day, but keeping your turf in good condition is the key and here are some tips.

• Keep mower height to a minimum of 50mm, the higher the better.

• Water in non-direct sunlight.

• Weed and feed – manually better than chemical application.

• Whipper snip the edges for a neat-looking lawn.

WHEN there’s an abundance of lawn clippings and nowhere to put them, it’s important to not place them on to the garden beds. This only spreads weed seeds into the garden beds, draws nitrogen from the ground and dries the soil out.

LATE plantings of all summer vegetables and tomatoes can be done now, but it’s probably too late for seeds of pumpkins, capsicums, and tomatoes.

Only short-cropping vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, silver beet and spinach can be sown, but get them growing quickly and, as the weather warms up, keep the water up to all vegetables remembering to water the ground not the leaves of the plants and not in the heat of the day.

FRUIT trees need to be netted now with fruit beginning to ripen in the next month or so. Keep the water up to all fruiting plants and a fertiliser high in potash is particularly useful for flower and fruit formation.

GUM trees lose their leaves in summer to preserve moisture in the heat coming up. Their leaf litter can be abundant and not good as a mulch in the garden beds.

Rake as much off the beds and crush and lay as path bark in the gardens where you walk and don’t want weeds to grow.

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Some gum trees have their flowering season annually or biannually or even every four years or so. These flowering trees are important for birds and bees, but gum trees belong in the native corridors within the suburbs but not as street trees.

MY roses are looking terrible with yellow fungal leaves. However, if picked early, the flowers won’t be affected. Planting insect attractant plants under roses goes a long way to attracting predatory insects to the garden to eat aphids and other insects as well. This increases the ecosystem in the garden.

Roses also suffer from rose mosaic virus and are most visual this time of year. Mosaic virus is generally transported via secateurs or grafted rootstock. It shows up as angular, jagged-edged, yellow and green markings on the leaves but will fade as the weather warms. It is a virus that does not pose a problem for flowering and if seen, pick and dispose of the leaves in the green bin.

Keep deadheading roses as cut flowers for the house and it will also encourage more blooms and give a surprising flush of flowers right through summer. jackwar@home. netspeed.com.au

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34 CityNews December 9-15, 2021

PUZZLES PAGE

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Your week in the stars

By Joanne Madeline Moore

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General knowledge crossword No. 811

December 13-19, 2021 ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

The stars boost your restless Aries side. On Monday, Mars joins the Sun and Mercury in fellow fire sign Sagittarius, which revs up your Ram motor. However, if you are too hasty, you could find yourself in hot water. So slow down and pace yourself.

The weekend Full Moon is the perfect time for a brilliant light-bulb moment. You certainly have the ideas and passion to get an ambitious project off the ground.

Now all you need is the patience and persistence to finish it.

LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT AGENT?

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

There are so many real estate agents to choose from – my business philosophy is very different to any other. My time in social policy in overseas aid and refugee/humanitarian sectors solidified my core way of life.

Are you stuck in a Taurus rut? With Uranus stirring up your horoscope, some overdue changes to your daily routine will put an extra pep in your step. And the Full Moon urges you to take a close look at your personal values. Do you need to let go of certain people, possessions or attitudes that have passed their use-by date?

But be careful that your main form of entertainment isn’t shopping. Your bank balance (and budget) won’t appreciate a shop-‘til-you-drop kind of week.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

This week’s planetary patterns emphasise the constant balancing act between personal needs and relationship responsibilities. And the buzz words are companionship and conversation. Be inspired by this week’s birthday great, English author Jane Austen: “My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation.” The weekend Full Moon (in Gemini) is a wonderful time to spoil yourself with a special treat!

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

You’re keen to daydream the hours away in your cosy Crab cave, as the Full Moon illuminates your solitude zone. But – as you retreat into your private world - make sure you can differentiate between fact and fantasy, otherwise you’ll end up in a confusing mess. A joint venture (or romantic partnership) needs to pass the Practicality Test. So try to balance being idealistic with being realistic. And don’t make serious commitments unless you’re 100% certain you can keep them.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

When it comes to hopes, wishes, social networking and your peer group, the more versatile and flexible you are, the better the final outcome will be. A realistic and disciplined daily routine will also help you to pursue your dreams and achieve your goals. Do your best to show extra kindness and compassion towards a friend or family member who’s going through a tough time. The things they are dealing with are more serious and complex than you previously thought.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Work and home life look lively, as the Full Moon fires up your career and domestic zones. The week will be messy and disorganised (and you might get distracted and make some frustrating mistakes) but try to keep things in perspective. Expect the unexpected, accept changes with good grace and adapt accordingly! So your motto for the moment is from fellow Virgo, entertainer Beyoncé: “If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.”

Down

1 What are inward curves in seashores? (6) 7 Name a national memorial to those killed in war. (8) 8 Which British coin, until decimal currency, was worth 21 shillings? (6) 9 What is the angular distance north or south from the equator? (8) 10 Name a unit of dry measure in the imperial system. (6) 11 That which lasts longer than something, does what? (8) 14 What is a brief statement giving a general view of some subject? (8) 18 Name a tool used by a bricklayer. (6) 19 Which string fastens a boot? (8) 21 Which term describes time that is to be? (6) 22 Name the capital of Hawaii. (8) 23 What are lariats also known as? (6)

1 What are imaginary things that cause fear or worry? (8) 2 Name the chief island of Japan. (6) 3 Name some edible bivalve molluscs. (8) 4 What, in mathematics, is the lowest positive integer? (4) 5 What is a representation of a person, carved in stone, or wood, etc? (6) 6 Name an eight-legged, wingless, predatory arachnid. (6) 12 Showing good judgement is to be what? (8) 13 What do we call those who resell tickets at events, at exorbitant prices? (8) 15 Which term describes rough, coarse, uncouth people? (6) 16 Name a medium-sized wild cat (6) 17 What are the main trunks of arterial systems? (6) 20 Name a particular malarial fever. (4)

FREE SUDOKU EVERY DAY AT citynews.com.au

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

On Monday, Mars (the planet of confrontation) moves into your internet, education and communication zone. So you could encounter problems at school or with online trolls or other argumentative people on social media. Don’t waste time worrying or retaliating! As birthday great Taylor Swift reminds us: “Haters gonna hate.” Just shake it off and get on with the business of living a positive Libran life.

The weekend Full Moon highlights aspirations and exploration.

Solution next edition

Across

Sudoku medium No. 306

This week’s Full Moon focuses attention on the resources you share with others.

Whether it’s income, property, business or relationships, all joint endeavours must be closely examined. And you also need to be circumspect with personal finances.

You’re feeling impulsive and won’t require much encouragement to shop up a storm, as impulsive Mars boosts your pre-festive spirits and your spontaneous spending gene. So be careful you don’t blow a big hole in your Christmas budget.

With the Sun, Mercury and Mars visiting your sign, it’s time to be proactive as you shake off the shackles of other people’s expectations and instead, be the authentic you. Plus Venus and Pluto shine a spotlight on self-respect and core self-esteem, so don’t try to be someone you’re not. Enjoy being the sassy Sagittarian you were born to be. Your motto for the moment is from singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (who turns 32 on Monday): “Just be yourself. There is no one better.”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

My raison d’être is affordable housing – helping those facing homelessness. The United Nations has decreed that having a roof over your head is a basic human right.

Whatever your faith, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2022 will be great!

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Solution next edition

Sudoku hard No. 305

Solutions – December 2 edition Crossword No. 810

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2021

I am guided by Diane Kargas Bray and Peter Gordon at Hands Across Canberra as they know where the money is most needed with their 250+ community organisations.

In the meantime, look up my RateMyAgent reviews to see what others say.

The Full Moon’s activating your wellbeing zone, so jump off the comfy couch and get moving! Nutritious meals are also on the celestial menu, as you take more interest in your health and more pride in your appearance. If you have the confidence to listen to your wise inner voice, then it will point you in the right direction. Mercury, Venus and Pluto are also moving through your sign, as this power-packed trio boost communication, creativity and concentration.

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

With huge thanks to Cindy Mitchell at The MillHouse, she helped define my business idea as a “social impact model”. Those who are successful should give back as we all know the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” is expanding.

Next time you’re looking to sell, contact me on 0405 135 009 for a very different selling experience, and make a difference.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

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

I had an idea of incorporating the ethos of social enterprises and community organisations and adapting these principles to a pre-existing sector.

My Investors Can Help project with the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services shows Canberra has a big heart. This year, I was the top female fundraiser for Vinnies CEO Sleepout raising over $20,000.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Jupiter and Saturn are still transiting through your sign Aquarius. Which will give you the confidence and determination to be the authentic you (and let other people be themselves too). As anthropologist (and this week’s birthday great) Margaret Mead reminds us: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” It’s also a wonderful weekend to tackle a creative solo or group project, as the Full Moon energises your self-expression zone.

After the honour of being appointed on the Deputy Chief Minister’s Consultative Group for Affordable Housing and Homelessness, and the Housing Summit in October 2017, I knew I could contribute more.

Phone 0405 135 009 cshaw@blackshaw.com.au #christineshawproperties CityNews December 9-15, 2021 35

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