CityNews 220811

I’d rather be dead than forced to move, says evicted pensioner After 41 years, Housing ACT orders Ainslie grandmother Yvette van Loo out of her home.

KEEPING UP THE ACT FINDS A BLACK HOLE… AUGUST 11, 2022

Well written, well read

Dangers of bureaucratic taunts JON STANHOPE and KHALID AHMED are concerned at the bureaucratic mocking of people seeking care at an ACT emergency department.

JULIE’S CHOICE

Sober up or die?

JULIE TONGS chose life and never stops giving back to her community

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NEWS / Tenant Relocation Exemption Panel

‘The panel has no qualification whatsoever to judge tenants’ health, be it mental or physical.’

Rather be dead than move, says evicted pensioner

By Belinda

STRAHORN A CANBERRA grandmother has been ordered to leave her home of 41 years after failing in her bid to stay.

Yvette van Loo, 74, appealed to the Tenant Relocation Exemption Panel (TREP) to remain in her Ainslie home, a social-housing property earmarked for sale under ACT Housing’s “Growth and Renewal” program.

But the panel – set up to determine tenants’ eligibility to stay in their homes – rejected her appeal, ordering the pensioner to vacate the home she’s lived in for more than four decades.

“I’m infuriated,” van Loo said. “I’d rather be dead than transferred to a new location.”

Van Loo is one of 340 Canberra tenants being relocated under the program designed to “grow the public housing portfolio and provide homes for more households in need”.

Following criticism over the scheme’s implementation, tenants were given the opportunity to appear before a government-appointed panel and request an exemption.

Van Loo’s 10-minute hearing – conducted earlier this month at the

Yvette van Loo… “How do they know what I need?” Photo: Belinda Strahorn

Yvette van Loo’s bin protest.

Photo: Paul Costigan

Housing ACT office – was convened via Zoom with panel members sitting in an adjacent room.

A fortnight after appearing before the panel, van Loo was told in a letter – viewed by “CityNews” – that her appeal was unsuccessful.

“Based on the information you provided, unfortunately your application was denied by the TREP,” panel chair Julianne McMaster said in the letter.

The panel – made up of representatives from Housing ACT and community services organisations – claimed they considered the following in making their decision: “The impact that relocating may have on you, including on health, mental health, wellbeing, identity, or

independence, and how this impact can be minimised,” said McMaster in the letter.

“If relocating may worsen your health circumstances; if relocating will be safe and culturally appropriate for you; the impact based on your age and if the property is underutilised.”

Van Loo is treating the letter with disdain and has questioned the logic behind the panel’s decision.

“The letter said they considered whether relocating would have an impact on my health,” van Loo said.

“How do they know what I need?

The panel has no qualification whatsoever to render judgement on tenants’ health, be it mental or physical.

“They are very ordinary public

INDEX Arts & Entertainment 23-26 Canberra Matters 10 Crosswords & Sudoku 27 Cinema & Streaming 26 Dining 24 Gardening 22 Horoscopes 27 Letters 14 News 3-15 Politics 12 Sport 13

Since 1993: Volume 28, Number: 32

Cover: Julie Tongs in profile.

Photo: Holly Treadaway.

Story Page 6.

Well written, well read

Ph 02 6189 0777 Fax 02 6189 0778 9b/189 Flemington Rd, Mitchell 2911

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Ian Meikle, 9b/189 Flemington Road, Mitchell.

Managing director: Kate Meikle, kate@citynews.com.au Sales director: Tracey Avery, 0477 939999 Senior advertising account executive: David Cusack, 0435 380656 Advertising account executives: Damien Klemke, 0439 139001 Tim Spare, 0423 381691 Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au Journalists: Belinda Strahorn, belinda@citynews.com.au; Nick Overall, nick@citynews.com.au; Lily Pass, lily@citynews.com.au Arts editor: Helen Musa, helen@citynews.com.au Production manager: Janet Ewen Graphic Designer: Susanne Boag Proof reader: Glenda Anderson Distribution manager: penny@citynews.com.au

servants obeying orders, they are neither doctors, psychiatrists, nor mental health specialists.”

The letter stated that van Loo’s Cowper Street home would “remain in the program” and that she would be required to relocate to another housing property.

“The TREP believes your needs can be supported by making every effort to relocate you within a close vicinity to your current community to support your sense of belonging,” Ms McMaster said in the letter.

While the panel acknowledged that van Loo had lived in her home for a long time [actually, 41 years], and that it was “not the outcome you had hoped for,” the letter stated that the panel’s decision was final.

Lashing out at the inhumane treatment handed to her by the panel, van Loo said she feels victimised because of her age and circumstances.

“I feel as if I’ve been treated like an animal,” said van Loo. “I’m 74 years old, at this stage of life I should be entitled to enjoy it.

“I may only have a few years left and it’s not as if I was going to stay in my property for the next 100 years.”

While bitterly disappointed, she’s not taking the decision lying down and is looking at challenging the outcome through legal action.

The case has sparked the interest

of Canberra law firm Ken Cush & Associates who are looking closely at the impact of the program on tenants.

“We are currently investigating the legal intricacies of the ‘Growth and Renewal Program’ in response to the extensive queries we have received,” said Ken Cush & Associates special counsel Sangeeta Sharmin.

ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) CEO Emma Campbell said she was disappointed by the outcome of van Loo’s appeal given the appeals process had previously overturned decisions by Housing to move tenants in similar circumstances.

“We know there has been a good number of exemptions granted, which demonstrated that the initial program was unfair and incredibly harmful to a significant number of vulnerable people,” said Campbell.

Campbell said it was difficult to comprehend why the panel did not grant van Loo’s request to stay in her home.

An ACT government spokesperson told “CityNews” the panel has decided to grant five exemptions to tenants seeking to remain in their homes; while five exemptions have been denied.

Nine tenants were given exemptions before the commencement of the panel process, while 28 applications for exemptions were waiting to be assessed, the spokesperson said.

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SEVEN DAYS

Barr goes crackerdog in ‘crazier’ radio interview BOY, oh, boy, did the Chief Minister lose it on 2CC the other morning. Breakfast announcer Stephen Cenatiempo had to hang up to end the on-air haranguing.

Sandwiched between his underwhelming Budget announcement and the opposition’s feather-duster, no-confidence motion, a testy Andrew Barr turned into a petulant kettle accusing Cenatiempo of being the one spinning the truth, despite a preceding 12 minutes of extolling the virtues of his own performance as treasurer.

The taunt of a record of 11 budgets and not one surplus brought out Barr’s belief he had delivered two surplus budgets and a balanced one. Well he did, but mostly, really, really he didn’t.

While I could find no evidence of his ever delivering a balanced budget, his claim of posting surpluses was based on the ACT Treasury including the returns on public service superannuation funds.

Under an agreement by all states, territories and the Commonwealth, budget statements are to be presented under a Uniform Presentation Framework (UPF). The UPF excludes these superannuation returns.

No one else (state/territory) does that, except the ACT. On the basis of the nationally agreed framework, the territory has not been in surplus in all that time and there’s no prospect of one any time soon, whichever way you measure it.

In fact, in Barr’s self-styled surplus years, 2017-18 and 2018-19, where he purported to have a surplus of $31.9 million and $43.8 million respectively, the UPF measure shows forecasted deficits of $254.9 million and $146.9 million.

And while we’re at it, the Budget he announced last week showed a deficit of $483 million, but when you take out the funny business with the public service super, the UPF number tumbles down to a gob-smacking $701.1 million shortfall.

The government is obliged to publish the UPF figures and you’ll find them tucked away this year on Page 295 of the Budget under the vague heading of “GFS/GAAP Financial Statements”.

But back to the argy bargy going on in the breakfast show. Barr took argumenta-

tive umbrage at being accused of practising “sophistry of the highest order”, and hissed at the announcer: “You’re the one spinning out of control; you’re crazier, mate.”

Crazier, than who?

Anyway, Barr was rewarded with the dial tone as Cenatiempo sensibly cut the call with the withering comment: “We have a bigger problem than we thought, haven’t we?”

BUDGET responses flow thick and fast as every advocacy group huffs and puffs (“Underwhelming,” Canberra Business Chamber; “Band-Aid help”, Mental Health Community Coalition; “Treading water”, ACTCOSS). And then there’s the loweroctane Phillip Business Community.

President Tom Adam put out a long,

homespun response to the Budget.

Here’s a taste of his frustration: “The ACT Budget was definitely a mid-term Budget, nothing exciting. But the Phillip Business Community has been asking for nothing exciting for many years and, sadly, our concerns continue to fall on deaf ears.

“Things we would have loved to have seen: gutter repairs, there are so many broken gutters that are trip hazards; threeyear-old pot-holes, Fix-my-Street requests since 2019/2020 sitting unfixed; footpaths that aren’t patchwork quilts of repairs, broken or flat-out dangerous”.

UNDER the heading: “And you thought it couldn’t get any worse”, in the latest edition of the “Winnunga Newsletter’’ is one of two pieces lambasting the ACT government’s “heartlessness, if not brutality” over the forced Housing ACT evictions.

The column references an ABC interview with blind, nonagenarian widow Jenny Field, who has lived in her house in O’Connor for more than 40 years.

“Labor Housing Minister Yvette Berry and Greens Minister for Homelessness Rebecca Vassarotti not only expect Jenny to move into another property, almost certainly to a flat in an outer-suburb miles from her friends and support systems, they are prepared to forcibly evict her if she does not go willingly.

“Just imagine what else they would be prepared to do if they were not part of the most progressive government in Australia and Canberra was not the most progressive city in the world. (Joke).”

Ian Meikle is the editor of “CityNews” and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast” news and interview program with Rod Henshaw, 2CC, 9am-noon. There are more of his columns on citynews.com.au

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A second opinion on hearing loss – you need professional advice, not a sales pitch An elderly woman with hearing loss came to my clinic for a second opinion, after she had recently been to a hearing aid sales person.

I found the cause of her hearing loss was simply the fact that she had build-up of wax in her ears, the salesperson had failed to inspect them. You might be surprised how often this happens!

Recently I was told by two different patients that they were quoted $16,000 for a pair of hearing aids.

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5. If you are a pensioner or partpensioner, or a DVA gold or white card holder, you should carefully consider if you want to use the Here are some things to free-to-client government do to avoid getting hearing aids or if you’d ripped off: “In an like to top-up to a unregulated market different hearing aid.

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COVER STORY / Julie Tongs ‘As long as I breathe, I will be out there advocating for people who don’t have a voice’

Julie’s turning point: sober up or kill yourself

By Belinda

STRAHORN DEALING with loss has framed Julie Tongs’ life.

The indigenous health leader tragically lost her infant son to cancer 45-years ago.

To cope with the grief, Tongs turned to alcohol to dull the pain.

“I struggled with alcohol when I lost Adam,” says Tongs, 69.

“I’m a sober alcoholic now, but at the time my drinking addiction was really bad.”

Decades later Tongs would face another tragedy, the death of her adult son arising from complications associated with diabetes.

“In 2009 I buried Scott, he died from uncontrolled diabetes,” says Tongs.

“It was really tough. He had three children, and so I raised two of them.”

Tongs, who serves as CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services (WNAHCS), says her experience has given her personal insight into the challenges facing indigenous health in the ACT. “As someone who has suffered grief, loss, addiction and trauma, if I can use my example to help others, then I’m

Julie Tongs… “I’m not your generic CEO. I’ve had a chequered life, and I’m a little bit left of field.”

Photo: Holly Treadaway doing something with my life.”

Born in Leeton in 1953 and raised in nearby Whitton with her five siblings, Tongs’ father Keith was a Wiradjuri man, her mother Norma, was white.

At the time, Tongs said there was still a stigma attached to mixed-race marriages in rural NSW. “Mum’s family had a property near Darlington Point,” Tongs says.

“It didn’t sit that well with mum’s side of the family that dad was black, so it was pretty tough for them,” Tongs said.

Educated initially in the Riverina, Tongs moved to Canberra to pursue

nursing, but her studies were interrupted at the age of 19 when she gave birth to her first child. Three more children followed.

After the death of Tongs’ third child Adam, she hit hard times, and her alcohol addiction reached a point that she ended up in detox.

“I ended up in detox in 1984,” Tongs said.

“There was a turning point in my life, and it was either sober up and get a life or kill yourself.”

Tongs set about putting her life back in order.

She took a succession of jobs in the Indigenous Affairs portfolio, one of which was working for the then Indigenous Affairs minister Robert Tickner.

Some years later Tongs re-entered healthcare, and this year she celebrates 25 years working with Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services.

“I’m not your generic CEO,” said Tongs.

“I’ve had a chequered life, and I’m a little bit left of field.

“But I’ve been there, I understand people’s desperation and why they do things, I get where people are coming from.”

In the past quarter of a century, Tongs said she had witnessed great changes in indigenous health care, however the journey was far from over.

“Over the years there’s been so many reports, and so much research, but no one is following up,” said Tongs.

“We need to start implementing the recommendations that have been around forever.”

Tongs identified the Charles Perkins Freedom Ride of her childhood as her indigenous awakening, promoting her to want to commit to improving the lives of indigenous Australians especially in the area of health.

“Mum and dad’s mum and aunties sat

around the radio listening to what was happening and cheering for the Freedom Ride, I remember that,” she said.

A passionate advocate for indigenous rights her entire life, Tongs draws strength from the fact that her father would have been proud of her speaking on behalf of indigenous communities and advocating for them.

“Dad went throughout most of his life without a birth certificate, like a lot of Aboriginal people did,” Tongs said.

“My parents used to tell me to be careful what I say because they were fearful of speaking up.

“That’s what this is about for me, trying to get justice for the past injustices that were done to my people, and my family, so that our great grandchildren will have better lives than ours.”

The recipient of a number of awards for her contribution to indigenous affairs over the years, Tongs has received the ACT Governor-General’s Centenary Medal, the ACT Indigenous Person of the Year and the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Tongs’ passion for improving Indigenous health is undiminished. She has no intention of leaving her post anytime soon.

“I love my job, I love my people and as long as I breathe, I will be out there advocating for people who don’t have a voice,” she said.

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HEALTH / the emergency department

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CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

BILL THREATENS PS PENSION ENTITLEMENTS There is a new Bill before the federal parliament that, if passed, will directly impact the pensions of some public servants in Canberra.

There is evidence suggesting that many public servants who were posted overseas and were in receipt of rent-free housing were not paid their correct entitlements on retiring.

This is because the Commonwealth Super Regulations state that rent-free housing should be included in pension calculations, but it was not. The effect of the Bill is to repeal the Regulations retrospectively from July 1,1986.

While I understand some departments have begun paying the increased pensions, there is a case before the Federal Court in which a number of public servants have applied to obtain their entitlements.

Presumably, regardless of the outcome of the case, if the Bill is passed it will impact those public servants currently before the court. As you can imagine this is causing consternation among those affected.

Elsewhere, despite the change of federal government, it's been quiet on the tax front. So this week I'll update you with some other important changes.

There is some good news for retirees who are not eligible for Centrelink payments. A Bill has been introduced to widen the eligibility of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. If the Bill passes, from September 20 a single person with income of less than $90,000 and a couple with joint income of less than $144,000 will be eligible for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. There is no assets test for this card.

The government also introduced a Bill into parliament making a welcome change to claiming self-education expenses. Until June 30, the first $250 of self-education expenses couldn't be claimed. From July 1, 2022 there will be no need to remove the first $250.

Self-education expenses are defined as a course of education provided by a school, college or other place of education. You cannot claim self-education expenses for a course that is covered by HECS-HELP, usually undergraduate courses.

A recent case before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal stated an army officer was not allowed a deduction for self-education expenses for a law degree. The rationale being that he did not use the degree in his work. Although it assisted him in getting a promotion, it was only one of the relevant factors.

Anyone claiming self-education expenses this year and future years, should ensure there is a sufficient connection between the course and their work.

There has also been a change to the age at which individuals can make a downsizer contribution. Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, people will be able to make downsizer contributions from age 55.

If you are an employer providing cars for your employees, there is some more good news on the Fringe Benefits Tax front. If you provide a zero or low-emissions vehicle that costs less than $84,916 (GST inclusive) after July 1 this year, the vehicle will be exempt from FBT. It must be a battery electric vehicle, a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle. It does not include a petrol and battery hybrid vehicle. The FBT savings will be significant, so it's definitely worth looking at suitable vehicles.

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Dangers lie behind ‘mundane’ taunt on health symptoms JON STANHOPE and KHALID AHMED are concerned at the bureaucratic mocking of people seeking care at an emergency department because of a subjective assessment that their condition is ‘mundane’, but it all comes down to underfunding.

AMIDST a sharp increase in covidrelated hospitalisations in Canberra, and mounting pressure on emergency departments, the chief operating officer of Canberra Health Services, Cathie O’Neill, has reportedly identified a range of “mundane reasons” people are seeking emergency care.

Some such reasons included, for example, blocked ears and constipation.

O’Neill is reported to have said that people needed to consider how serious their health concern really was before deciding to attend the emergency department.

O’Neill does not appear to have provided advice on the number of such presentations. For example, it is unclear what proportion of overall presentations the “mundane” issues constituted or the extent to which such presentations impacted on the operations of the emergency department.

Notably the Productivity Commission “Report on Government Services” reveals that the proportion of Category 4 and 5 (semi-urgent and non-urgent) presentations at Canberra hospitals decreased from 57 per cent in 2014-15 to 46 per cent in 2020-21, and are lower than the national average of 47 per cent and 51 per cent in NSW. Non-urgent presentations (Category 5) have also similarly remained below the national average and presentations in NSW hospitals.

We acknowledge, of course, the pressure on the hospital system that originated, of course, in the years of underfunding before the pandemic, but have been exacerbated by recent waves of infections in the general population as well as staff.

It is entirely reasonable for health officials to inform the community of these pressures, and to ask for our understanding of the challenges faced by staff.

It is also reasonable to advise the community of the various other channels of service which could be reasonably

accessed, for example, walk-in centres, after-hours locum services or phone hotlines. However, it’s concerning that mocking people seeking care and dissuading them from presenting at an emergency department because of a subjective assessment that their condition is “mundane’’ is not only disrespectful but could have serious consequences in some cases.

While the medical merits of the “mundane” condition are best left to clinicians to determine, from the perspective of an ordinary citizen, constipation may be a symptom or even description of (say) intestinal obstruction or bowel blockage. Likewise, blocked ears may be due to an infection, the seriousness of which can only be determined by a qualified clinician.

The point is, surely those with such symptoms should not be expected to selfassess or self-diagnose or avoid presenting themselves at a public health facility for a proper clinical assessment. The consequences of ignoring mild or mundane symptoms can sometimes be severe.

While, thankfully, extreme adverse events in such circumstances are rare in Australia, they do occur to the enduring pain of the families and clinicians involved. A further problem with this “mundane symptom framework” is that it begs the question: where should it stop? Should someone concerned with pain in the arm or disorientation, albeit mild, consider it mundane and ignore it or seek a medical opinion.

From the viewpoint of emergency response systems, every presentation and every call should be taken seriously until assessed otherwise.

As an example, typically, less than half

Surely, people should not be expected to self-assess or self-diagnose or avoid presenting themselves at a public health facility for a proper clinical assessment.

Emergency department presentations and expenditure: average annual change 2015-16 to 2018-19

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bit.ly/3bcXEZl Source: Report on Government Services; Productivity Commission (2022).

8 CityNews August 11-17, 2022

of fire brigade callouts relate to an actual incident, and roughly one third of those will be characterised as being serious.

It would, nevertheless, be unthinkable to suggest that the responsiveness of the system should be reduced. An increase in response times, whether for fire brigade or ambulance, does not warrant asking people not to call, but rather an appropriate policy response, namely an increase in response capacity.

Yet, that is what the Minister for Health, Rachel Stephen-Smith appears to have argued when she reportedly said in the context of current pressures on the health system: “[We] know that expanding the size of emergency departments often actually encourages more people to come to emergency departments.”

While the minister’s comment could have been lifted from the script of an episode of “Yes, Minister”, it suggests a deeply concerning misunderstanding of her role and of the consequences for Canberrans and frontline clinicians of relentless underfunding of health services and infrastructure.

Media reporting of this issue referred to a study from the University of Wollongong that found elderly patients often presented at emergency departments unnecessarily because they misjudged the severity of their condition. Ex post analyses of diagnosis and patient categorisation are useful in developing alternative pathways and refining triage processes within an emergency department. However, they should not be used or invoked to tell people who feel they need help not to seek it.

The table illustrates the average annual change in emergency department presentations and expenditure over the period 2015-16 to 2018-19. The data for 2019-20 has not been included in order to examine the growth in demand and the expenditure allocated across states and territories before the pandemic.

In the lead up to the pandemic, presentations that did not end up in admission increased at an average rate of 2.5 per cent per annum, while the expenditure was cut at a compounding rate of 2.5 per cent annually. Nationally, such presentations grew at 3.5 per cent per annum, and expenditure growth was 4.8 per cent per annum.

For presentations ending in admission, the average annual growth was 5.2 per cent (6.1 per cent nationally), and expenditure growth was 2.5 per cent (7 per cent nationally). Only NSW had lower expenditure growth, however, its demand was also relatively lower.

These figures reflect the minister’s thinking on and response to emergency department funding, and explain the pressures that frontline clinicians in Canberra hospitals have endured before and during the pandemic. To be blunt, they have been starved of funding.

The minister’s emergency department comment suggests a concerning misunderstanding of the consequences of relentless underfunding of health services and infrastructure.

Jon Stanhope is a former chief minister of the ACT and Dr Khalid Ahmed a former senior ACT Treasury official.

WOUND AWARENESS WEEK / August 14-20

Wounds – what you can’t see, you don’t know Chronic wounds are the hidden pandemic in our community, says podiatrist ALLAN DONNELLY, disabling the economy and lives of the people and carers who look after them.

CHRONIC wounds affect nearly half a million Australians at any one time. That is well beyond the population of the ACT, but they rarely rate a mention outside wound clinics (all too few) and conferences.

They are hardly the subject of social conversations and pictures of them are not pretty. Yet they are with us in the community every day in the shopping centres, cafes and places of work but because of their nature, are hidden from view under bandages and clothing.

They are truly the hidden pandemic in our community, disabling both the economy and lives of the people and carers who look after them. What you can’t see, you don’t know.

Each year, Wounds Australia, the peak body for chronic wound prevention and management, uses Wound Awareness Week (August 14-20) to highlight the enormous burden chronic wounds cause in our community.

The burden is both financial and emotional. Treating chronic wounds is a specialised field that

uses lots of skills and resources that are expensive and time consuming. By their nature, chronic wounds are long lasting and difficult to resolve so they have a deeply depressive side as well.

To add insult to injury they often have a strong odour which prevents people from participating in work or any social outing.

The figures and impacts speak for themselves and are seriously alarming. Each year more than 420,000 Australians suffer from a chronic wound and more than $3 billion (yes that is a “b” for billion) of the nation’s aged care and healthcare budgets is spent on chronic wounds. Each chronic wounds patient spends more than $4000 on out-of-pocket costs and, with most patients over 65, this places unbearable pressure on pensioners and retirees.

If you think a wound looks bad even with good care, wait till you see what happens when someone can’t manage the out-of-pocket costs and no, there are currently no subsidies under Medicare for wound products. Patients are

prevented from working, studying, exercising and doing simple daily tasks everyone else takes for granted. In addition, wound patients are also likely to suffer from social stigma that can lead to serious mental health issues.

My specialty is diabetic foot wounds. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love my work. Again, the figures are alarming; 85 Australians lose a toe, foot or leg every week to diabetic foot wounds and 27 die each week from diabetic foot wounds.

The theme for this year’s Wound Awareness Week is “The Solution is Bleeding Obvious”. This includes raising awareness, developing educational programs for carers and health workers, creating and funding wound-care centres with trained staff and subsidising wound-care products and management through Medicare.

Yes, these solutions will be expensive but not doing anything is already costing us more than $3 billion each year and that does not include the emotional cost.

What does this mean for the ACT and surrounding region?

The ACT Branch of Wounds Australia is made up of local clinicians who have a special interest and involvement in wound management. All are volunteers and provide two educational events

for other health professionals each year as well as their day-to-day involvement in wound care.

They are supported by colleagues with excellent wound care skills and knowledge such as the High Risk Foot Service and local community nurses.

However, once you move away from the epicentre of the ACT and further into regional NSW, such as Queanbeyan, your options for skilled wound care and resources become much more limited.

There is not a single hospitalbased High Risk Foot Service in the entire Eden-Monaro electorate meaning that anyone in that electorate has to travel to the ACT. Your local Wounds Australia ACT Branch committee members and their colleagues work with wound patients every day. We know just how difficult, frustrating and depressive the whole exercise can be for both the patient and us.

We have a little saying in wound care: “treat the whole person, not just the hole in the person”. Wound Awareness Week and the message we bring with it is an important step in changing how we can improve wound management in the Australian community.

Allan Donnelly is deputy chair of Wounds Australia, ACT Branch.

A diabetic foot ulcer… chronic wounds are long lasting and difficult to resolve so they have a deeply depressive side as well.

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CANBERRA MATTERS / social housing

There’s no positive news about social housing AS a consequence of the Greenslabor Ministers Vassarotti and Berry’s cruel eviction program, attention turned to their social housing programs.

People have asked questions of these ministers. The two ministers occasionally provide carefully crafted deflecting responses that do not answer the questions raised, but do say a lot about their values.

The statements do not present a good picture of ministers who should be caring for the disadvantaged in this city. They have redefined what it means to be progressive.

People wonder whether Ministers Berry and Vassarotti do not know what they are talking about, whether they do not know what is happening in their portfolio, whether they are comfortable hiding behind the disingenuous talking points produced by their minders or, more seriously, whether they intentionally distort the facts and are no longer capable of being honest.

Because of the consistency of their misinformation, people have reluctantly become cynical about their motives and values.

Dedicated community members have taken on the unenviable task of looking through government documentation to obtain a more accurate picture about social housing.

The ACT government has a target of 15 per cent of social housing within new multi-unit developments.

That target was ignored when social-housing sites were sold for development along Northbourne Avenue.

“Growing and renewing public housing”?... Between 2011 to 2021, the number of social-housing dwellings per 1000 of population in Canberra fell by 19.4 per cent.

Photo: Paul Costigan They report that the ACT government is doing a wonderful job of making this task difficult. The reality of how social housing programs are performing is difficult to uncover.

Khalid Ahmed, a specialist on government finances and governance, presented some disturbing figures on the realities of ACT Housing to the July meeting of the Inner South Canberra Community Council.

For instance, this government had announced over the budget periods 2016–2018 a spend of $699 million on its Public Housing Renewal Programs. The Greenslabor politicians often boasted about these generous and progressive allocations.

The reality is something else.

Khalid pointed out that what was actu-

ally spent over that period was $80.871 million. That’s a little more than 11.5 per cent of what was announced. We wait to hear how Ministers Vassarotti or Berry explain this enormous underspend on social housing. So much for those media announcements!

As has been pointed out by those involved with the evictions of Housing ACT’s older tenants, this undeclared underspend is the real reason why the two ministers are having Housing ACT move the elderly out of their homes.

Housing ACT desperately needs to sell inner-city properties to make up for some of the huge shortfalls in funds allocated but not delivered. As has been calculated, the result of these sales and whatever rebuilds happen, will be about a net zero increase in

Housing ACT dwellings. How have they measured the distress on the elderly residents?

Report after report has clearly identified the drop in social housing in Canberra. The ACT Council of Social Service stated in a 2022 submission that the ACT had a shortfall of more than 3000 social dwellings and more than 2000 Canberrans experiencing homelessness last year.

The number of social houses available in the ACT is declining. During the period from 2011 to 2021, the number of social-housing dwellings per 1000 per head of population in Canberra fell by 19.4 per cent. Think on that – and these Greenslabor politicians call themselves progressives.

The ACT government made a lot of noise and gathered compliant media responses when it launched its 2018 Housing Strategy. Unfortunately for prospective tenants, there are now fewer social dwellings than there were in 2018. Almost 3000 households languish on the ACT’s social housing waiting list.

The ACT government has a target of 15 per cent of social housing within new multi-unit developments. That target was ignored when social-housing sites were sold for development along Northbourne Avenue and with five inner-south redevelopment sites.

Based on evidence available, there are no social-housing allocations within these multi-unit redevelopments.

The ACT Greens, under the banner “Homes for All”, gained votes in 2020 in the hope that the ACT government would be progressive. Not happening.

The Greenslabor coalition constantly makes progressivesounding announcements that in the real world deliver very little.

Sore?

This might just be the tip of the iceberg.

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A heads up from Sue SUE Owen, from Heads Up, will talk about the Canberra-based charity’s work supporting women with hair loss from chemotherapy, permanent alopecia, surgery and radiation at the next meeting of the Yerrabi VIEW Club. The club will meet at Eastlake Gungahlin, 11.30am on August 18. Interested ladies and visitors welcome. RSVP before August 15 to 0412 617085 or by email to june3@iinet.net.au

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POLITICS / climate change

Not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good THE Greens have not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This was the mistake they made 10 years ago in preventing a price on carbon, although some have attempted to rewrite that history.

The climate change Bill compromise with Labor is an important step forward on this occasion.

This is a first step. The Greens are right, in principle, to seek a stop to all new fossil-fuel projects. However, by accepting Labor’s approach of an emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030, they have not lost their ability to make demands for a more strident approach.

The 75 per cent by 2030 emissions policy the Greens took to the election will still be the goal. Having increased their representation from 10 to 16 members across the federal parliament, they have a stronger claim to be heard. Further action on climate can be expected considering the approach of independent Senator David Pocock and others.

As Adam Bandt told the National Press Club, the Greens will “pull every lever at our disposal” to stop new coal and gas projects arguing that they will “continue to fight individual projects around the country”.

The 75 per cent by 2030 emissions policy the Greens took to the election will still be the goal. Having increased their representation from 10 to 16 members across the federal parliament, they have a stronger claim to be heard.

Greens leader Adam Bandt… “pull every lever at our disposal” to stop new coal and gas projects.

He went further in calling on “all Australians to join this battle… to save our country, our communities and indeed our whole civilisation from the climate and environment crisis”.

Australia is the world’s second largest exporter of gas and coal. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made clear that the Labor Party will not support stopping fossil-fuel projects because he is concerned about the “devastating impact on the Australian economy”. Other concerns on his mind might include the stance taken by a range of unions and the impact on marginal electorates.

Albanese was reported in “The Guardian” as saying: “If Australia

today said we are not going to export any more coal, what you’d see is a lot of jobs lost; you would see a significant loss to our economy, significantly less taxation, revenue for education, health and other services, and that coal wouldn’t lead to a reduction in global emissions. What you would see is a replacement with coal from other countries that’s likely to produce higher emissions… because of the quality of the product.”

He went on to argue that Australia wants to be part of an international effort to fight climate change. At the end of July, Australia joined another 160 countries in supporting an historic resolution at the UN, declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. The resolution called upon “states, international organisations and business enter-

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prises to scale up efforts to ensure a healthy environment for all”.

In July, the UN also supported a “Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty”. This treaty began with the notion to “end expansion of any new fossil-fuel infrastructure and production”. To do this, the treaty suggests “immediately ending activity and investment across all new or expanded fossil-fuel exploration, extraction and building of infrastructure, in line with the best available science”.

The position taken by the Greens is consistent with the intention of this Treaty. However, by having the maturity to work with the government and take this good intention step by step, there is likely to be a better outcome than voting against the legislation.

The last time that this happened, the Greens were responsible for around 10 years of lost opportunity to modify and build on carbon pricing as an important step in reducing emissions.

The second phase of the “Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty” is to “phase out existing production and use of fossil fuels in a fair and equitable manner”.

The treaty recognises some of the international challenges in adding

“to address existing inequity, we call on high-income countries to provide financial, technological and other support to low and middle-income countries in the move away from fossil fuels, ensuring the transition reduces poverty rather than exacerbating it”.

The third part of the UN plan is to attempt to “fast-track real solutions and ensure a just transition”. In doing so, they recognise the enormity of the problem, but also identify that sensible steps need to be taken to ensure the most equitable outcomes.

The Greens have taken a stance consistent with the international treaty and in a manner that will have the potential to continue influencing government.

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

He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

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SPORT / Holly Ferling

Holly learns to bowl her way back to the basics AS we approach the end of winter, and the ACT Meteors prepare for the summer of cricket, many members of the squad are used to chilly mornings, frosty ovals and extra layers.

New recruit Holly Ferling is still adjusting to the Canberra winter as she goes through her first pre-season away from Queensland.

Ferling played her entire career in the Sunshine State before making the move south, signing a rookie deal with the Queensland Fire at just 15 years old, and being upgraded to a full contract only a year later.

Ten years on, with hundreds of games for her state and country on her resume, the 26-year-old decided it was time for a change.

“I had the opportunity to chat to (ACT Elite Teams lead) Mick Delaney and (Meteors head coach) Jono Dean before last season started because covid delayed it,” Ferling told “CityNews”.

“I didn’t really entertain making the move at first, but we played a lot of games in Canberra so we caught up for coffee a couple of times.

“At the end of the season I flew down and we had a proper chat and I asked them why they were interested

ACT Meteors new recruit Holly Ferling with, left, head coach Jono Dean and Elite Teams lead Michael Delaney. in me.

“They hit my core values in their answer, and I felt there was a real alignment there and an opportunity to have an impact on the team – we spoke about leadership opportunities alongside Katie Mack as her vicecaptain to shape this young group.”

At just 26, Ferling has plenty of good years of cricket ahead of her despite not playing for Australia since 2016. Part of training in the new environment is about finding her role in the team, and looking at what she

can contribute with the ball.

“Last year I had a lot of people asking me about whether I was retiring and I had to briefly remind everyone that I was 26, and that not many 26-year-olds are being asked about retirement,” said Ferling.

“I think you can get caught up in what other people are doing and becoming something you are not, rather than being the best version of you.

“I worked out during last season how important it is to go back to basics – and ended up bowling a bit of

in-swing without knowing why it was happening.

“Working with Mick (Delaney) I am looking to add that string to my bow and get that ability to move the ball both ways and be a little bit more aggressive when opening the bowling.”

Ferling is also looking forward to building the leadership group of “young veterans” alongside Mack (28) and Carly Leeson (23), and helping some of the players in a similar situation to where she was early in her career.

“Among the three of us, we have some pretty amazing experiences both as cricketers and as people. We have been through different challenges and seen the professionalism of the game over the last few years,” she said.

“We are doing a lot of sessions with the group to make sure they are well-equipped humans, not just well-equipped cricketers and a lot of the lessons we are trying to share are lessons I wish I knew when I was 16.

“The number of times I have looked back and thought: ‘If only I knew this when I was younger’.”

One of those pieces of advice; keeping busy away from sport. Ferling

completed a communication degree at university earlier this year, and has been working as a commentator with Channel 7 over the last few years.

“I am proud to have finished that degree, it has been a number of years toiling away but I think one of the biggest formulas for success for me was finding that identity away from playing,” said Ferling.

“I remember seeing legends like Kirsten Pike and Mel Bulow roll on in with heels in one hand from the law firm and cricket spikes in the other.

“We are training like we are full time – we aren’t necessarily paid like we are full time yet, but it is getting there.

“The more that we can normalise having a dual-career, not just preparing for life after cricket, and actually doing something while you are playing will develop far stronger and resilient people playing the game and give the players more life experiences.”

There are more of Simon Anderson’s sport columns at citynews.com.au

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LETTERS

More to the environment than cute furry animals MICHAEL Moore was right to condemn the federal coalition’s environmental record (“It’ll take more than God to fix the environment”, CN July 28), but government action has never been adequate to the task.

Australia’s environment has been steadily degrading since 1788.

To address this, we must move on from seeing the environment as merely an aesthetic issue of protecting beautiful landscapes and cute furry animals.

The most important message from the “2021 State of the Environment” report was that the wellbeing of Australians depends on a healthy environment. Recent devastating floods, bushfires and covid sharply illustrate this.

Labor’s suggested policies are welcome, but significant societal change will be needed to address the drivers of the decline.

In particular, we must move away from a goal of never-ending economic growth to live in harmony with our environment.

Jonathan Miller, Curtin

On earth, God’s work must truly be our own I READ with interest Michael Moore’s column (“It’ll take more than God to fix the environment”, CN July 28) quoting former PM Scott Morrison’s recent remarks on placing faith in God to solve environmental issues.

Mr Morrison’s belief that “whether it is on these existential matters like the world’s stability or climate… don’t be anxious about it… God’s kingdom will come. It is in His hands. We trust in Him,” are touching but I recall the final line of John F Kennedy’s Inaugural Address on the respective role of God and humanity in tackling the issues of the world: “… asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own”.

Brian Weir, Weston

Home to a suspended licence!

FOLLOWING on from Douglas Mackenzie’s response (Letters, CN July 28) to Michael Moore’s article (“How Access Canberra gilds its own lily”, CN July 21).

Like Douglas, I also emailed my completed medical certificate to Access Canberra as required and the next day departed on a two month road trip.

On arriving home, I opened the mail to find my licence had been suspended for not supplying said certificate on time. After many attempts and negotiating several departments finally got through.

After supplying the date and time the email was despatched to them, the lady was able to confirm they had, in fact, received the email but it had not been processed!

At no time did they email or phone me, only sent a letter. Thank goodness, being a law abiding citizen and after travelling about 6000 kilometres on a suspended licence, I had no encounters with law enforcement.

Alan Boyd, Gungahlin

The three-car prang in Narrabundah.

Upgrade our dangerous intersections I SPOTTED a car crash on the corner of Carnegie Crescent and La Perouse Street.

That intersection is dangerous and the government should invest more in upgrading dangerous intersections to minimise harm on our roads rather than spending on unnecessary things such as stage 2 of light rail.

Anton Rusanov, via email

Forcing inclusion creates exclusion IN the August edition of “Our CBR”, there was an item titled “Women lead Strathnairn school construction”. It is claimed that it is “part of the ACT government effort to improve gender equity”.

The article stated that “the successful contractor will be required to have 100 per cent female site management team, as well as female participation in every trade involved”.

How is this equity? Does this not go against what Labor are crying about all the time about inclusion? This could be classed as discriminatory.

We hear in the press about inclusion or lack thereof in the workplace. Politicians keep going on about there should be more women in parliament and other industries.

Maybe the women do not want the positions or maybe they are not suitable.

Do people not realise, or are they choosing to ignore, the fact that in forcing inclusion they are also creating exclusion? If people are chosen by gender, race or culture, they may be excluding more qualified people.

Further, looking at the Left’s other agenda – we are told that people can be any gender they want and that we should not be concerned about their gender – so given that claim then why is there any concern about certain industries being predominantly white/male/whatever? Clearly one part of the Left is in total opposition to the other part of the Left.

The world has gone completely bonkers.

Vi Evans, Macgregor

Fed up with the destruction of Canberra A “GREEN blitz” has been carried out at my public-housing property complex for over a month, in which plants, trees and shrubs have been removed.

Some people protested to the workers, but I saw the removal as a good thing because most of the plants were noxious.

But the reason for the removal of plants is: “They could be harbouring people who are hiding in the bushes”! I have lived at this complex for 27 years and have never seen anyone “hiding” in the bushes. What is the evidence for this?

My concerns are now that we don’t have shade for our uninsulated units and some people don’t have air-conditioning. Some people could experience dehydration and heat exhaustion in searingly hot summers, especially the ones on the first floor.

The aesthetics of the complex have been compromised. It looks dreadful. I have been told the plants will not be replaced. Even if there were any trees to be planted, they would not be mature enough to provide shade at 15 metres.

Now, sadly, there are no places for birds and less oxygen is being generated by absent trees and shrubs.

Surely, the decision not to replace plants is foolhardy and a bad reflection on the Greens component of the government.

I am fed up with this government and its destruction of Canberra.

Jenny Holmes, Weston

The surge of euthanasia deaths

Climate change, please explain

DURING research, I found that Dutch professor Theo Boer, a former euthanasia supporter, warned publicly a number of years ago of a surge in euthanasia deaths in the UK, if they followed the Netherlands.

He reported that euthanasia deaths/assisted suicides in the Netherlands in 2014 would double over six years to a record 6000. A virtual doubling has now occurred in the UK in the past eight years.

An academic in the field of ethics, he argued for years for euthanasia, but now believes that the very existence of euthanasia law turns assisted suicide from a last resort into a normal procedure.

On July 11, 2012, “The Lancet” published a study concerning euthanasia in the Netherlands. It found that in 2010, 23 per cent of all euthanasia deaths were not reported.

On March 1, the euthanasia lobby in the Netherlands reportedly launched six mobile euthanasia teams announcing they anticipated the teams would carry out 1000 euthanasia deaths a year.

Belgium has passed a law permitting euthanasia of terminally ill children of any age. The Netherlands has a 12 year age limit. Reportedly, the use of terminal sedation for people who are not otherwise dying (slow euthanasia) has also grown.

I READ again (Letters, CN July 7) how our self-proclaimed “Earth” scientist, Dr Douglas Mackenzie is always right about climate change and others, like me, are wrong, but without offering proof.

I may listen to this person when he can explain how Australia’s heroic plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (currently around 1 per cent of global emissions), at great expense and economic damage, will make the slightest difference to global warming, let alone climate change. Given that global temperatures are increasing slowly, as I have agreed is happening, and that Australia cannot stop it, our aim should be to proof ourselves against the effects of global warming with anti-drought and antiflooding programs, and not waste money on useless emissions reduction.

And, whether Dr Mackenzie likes it or not, nuclear energy is the true future of emissions-free electricity.

Colliss Parrett, Barton

Ric must have a crystal ball RIC Hingee (Letters, CN July 28 ) must have a crystal ball or possess psychic powers to enable him to determine what my character is without him knowing a thing about me.

He also appears to be very thin-skinned to say that telling someone that they are “ living in the dreamtime“ is an insult. It is both nonsensical and risible for him to conclude that just because the PM, his treasurer and finance minister believe a Royal Commission into Robodebt is worthwhile, it must inevitably be a correct decision. The proposed Royal Commission has all the hallmarks of a witch hunt that, in all probability, will prove to be both costly and inconclusive.

Mario Stivala, Belconnen

Max Flint, via email

Views have been ‘thoroughly discredited’ VI Evans (Letters, CN July 7) thinks “it’s time the climate-change proponents read the article by emeritus professor of Earth sciences Ian Plimer, Australia’s best-known geologist, in “The Spectator”, June 18”.

I am also an Earth scientist (or geologist, if you prefer) and I know Ian Plimer personally, although not well. He is certainly well known in geological circles, but his views on climate change have been thoroughly discredited in numerous ways and scenarios.

Primer is also well known in the mining industry, having held numerous, mostly non-executive director positions. At least one of those is in the fossil-fuel industry, as a director of Queensland Coal Investments since 2012. Those positions speak for themselves.

I encourage Vi Evans to read my letter in CN of July 7 to see the “evidence” of man-made climate change.

Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

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THE GADFLY

When shaving cream looks back at you Author of 29 books, “The Gadfly” columnist ROBERT MACKLIN shares a glimpse of the crazy, self-absorbing life of the long-distance writer.

IN our Tuross bolthole we have a magic mirror.

I guess many readers have one, that special looking glass where the light is perfectly positioned so your reflection is far more flattering than in any other.

Hypnotic isn’t it? Ours is in “my” bathroom – the old original one with the shower and the washing machine.

But when I glanced at it last night after showering, the bloke in the reflection had his face lathered in shave cream!

I was hurrying to watch “7.30” and here I was lathering for a shave, just as I had that morning and every other day of my adult life. A “senior’s moment”, you say? Oh, if only… The truth is, it’s been happening for all the years I’ve been writing those 29 books (so far). It’s an occupational disease.

It comes on gradually. For the first 20,000 words you’re happily raising a literary trot until you’re cantering down a well-defined track. You have friends over for lunch, catch a play at the Rep… but then, without willing it, you fall into a routine.

It’s fairly sloppy to begin. After a boiled egg and the ABC news feed, the mornings are for writing. Around midday there’s a stroll and in summer

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maybe a swim.

Afternoons are editing time, maybe organising research for the next day’s writing, but then a break to watch that last quarter again when your team beat Collingwood.

Feeling pretty good, you tell the Beloved you’ll make dinner, and afterwards you negotiate over her “Antiques Roadshow” or an SBS World Movie, or maybe both.

After all, working and sleeping hours are really yours to decide; it’s one of the rare benefits of the game.

But then the book starts to take control. You rise earlier; shower, shave; and breakfast is now toast and coffee – and you start timing your preparation. You begin writing at 8.30 exactly with the ideas that arrived when you woke. The fingers are flying over the keys and, at 11 sharp, it’s tools down – exercise time – so off on the walk up a certain hill.

A break for lunch but at 1.30 precisely you’re back at the computer and after a quick edit you’re plunging into the

story as your hero grapples with his next mighty challenge till you hear: “Your turn tonight, dear!” (Oh no.)

You invent a wise old saw: “A meal should take no longer to prepare than to eat” and for the next 20 minutes you’re juggling a frypan, microwave and stove-top in a blur of flying limbs.

Then comes the evening viewing, but your mind now has a mind of its own and it’s back with your hero struggling through the jungles of head-hunter infested Dutch New Guinea in 1943 until bed and a harmless melatonin to “ravel up that sleave

of care”. Briefly…

By now it’s 80,000 words and you’re at full gallop. Beloved’s lady friends tiptoe past the writing room and share their mutual hilarity three closed doors away.

The days lose their identity, their passing goes unnoticed, sleeping becomes an optional extra, the routine is rigid as ironbark… until one day you look up at the magic mirror to a clown face covered in shaving lather.

“Damn it,” you say. “This is crazy.

I’ll walk away. I’ll be a real person again.” But then, as the lather disappears behind the blade, that handsome devil whispers: “Wait. Writing is not what you do, it’s what you are.”

“Nonsense,” you cry. “There’s too many books in the world already.”

“Maybe so…but isn’t yours just the best work you’ve ever done?”

“Well…”

“You need a little break. Um, I know… Why not just write about it… just a sip, a little ‘Gadfly’ perhaps?” robert@robertmacklin.com

BRIEFLY Snap up a crocheted rug KNITTED and crocheted rugs (double and queen-bed sizes) will be for sale at the next appearance by the cancer-research fundraisers, the Bold Bandannas, at the Belconnen Fruit and Vegetable Market, 8am-5pm, on Saturday, August 20. Apart from winter warmers such as beanies and scarves, the Relay for Life team will be selling its “trademark” homemade jams, pickles, chutney, lemon butter, sugar reduced preserves and award-winning marmalades. More from 6231 0761.

Stories of the pantry LEE Tammy, who runs the Dignity and Desire Women’s and Baby Street Pantry in Ngunnawal will share her story with the ladies of the Gungahlin Day VIEW Club at their next lunch meeting at the Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club Nicholls, 11.30am, on August 24. Visitors welcome. RSVP to 0407 556460 by 9pm August 21.

Word about learning CAROLINE Fitzwarryne will talk about the variety of courses on offer at U3A at the next lunch meeting of the Weston Creek VIEW Club at the Southern Cross Club, Woden, from 11.30am, September 6. Interested ladies and visitors welcome. RSVP to 6286 4626 by 5pm, September 1.

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SOUTH COAST CALLING

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There’s lots to see and do at the south coast WHETHER it’s a swimworthy summer or a cosy winter, the south coast remains one of Canberra’s favourite holiday destinations.

Beautiful beaches, scenic landscapes, and friendly communities have made the area something of a second home for people of the ACT region.

Throughout the south coast, there are heaps of businesses and tourist destinations keen to welcome visitors through their doors.

This week “CityNews” spoke to a few that are perfect stops on a coastal getaway.

‘Gorgeous’ restaurant for any occasion

Whale swim is a ‘life-changing’ experience JERVIS BAY is one of the few locations along the east coast of Australia where people can swim alongside magnificent humpback whales as they embark on their southern migration in September and October.

According to co-owners of Woebegone Freedive, Dylan and Lara Boag, it is a lifechanging experience.

The married couple, who are both experienced diving instructors, run whaleswimming expeditions, where swimmers get the chance to explore the coastline of Jervis Bay Marine Park and have an in-water interaction with what Dylan describes as “the very gentle, curious but also very big” humpback whales.

Lara says that the tour is five and a half hours, with equipment provided and caters to beginners.

“The tour is completely on the whales’ terms.

It’s up to them if they want to check out the group as they swim past,” she says.

“We also run seal snorkeling tours to see our local seal colony in the wild.”

Dylan and Lara are master diving instructors and have worked in Australia and overseas. On their travels, they say that they learnt about freediving and thought it was the most amazing thing.

They offer two and three-day freediving courses to teach more people specific breathing techniques that enable beginners to dive as far as 12 metres into the water. Dylan says that freediving allows the diver to be quiet in the water, giving them a better interaction with sea life.

“The difference with our business is that we only take small groups. We are right by your side, to help, teach and give our customers as much value as we can,” says Lara.

Woebegone Freedive, Jervis Bay. Call Lara on 0423 981 163, visit woebegone.com.au or search for them on Instagram and Facebook.

Contemporary Australian cuisine featuring a fusion of flavours and the freshest local produce.

Serving Wheeler’s own Merimbula Lake oysters.

An extensive hand-picked beverage menu.

Fresh seafood to-go, delicious takeaway, all-day coffee & cake.

WHEELERS Seafood Restaurant is not only a restaurant, but also a bar and takeaway shop, best known for its oysters, says owner Jacqui Smith.

“The Wheeler family themselves have been farming oysters for more than 40 years, and the oyster shed is onsite,” she says.

“We source as much local fresh seafood as we can possibly get a hold of, and our chefs create really exquisite meals that are simple, but fresh, and really good quality.

“The restaurant itself seats about 120, so it’s quite big and suitable for weddings or functions. By day it’s gorgeous with the sun pouring in, and by night it’s cosy and intimate.”

Jacqui says the building has old railway-bridge timber, which adds substance and character, and it’s got some handmade dry stone walls that help the building to be “quite a standout”.

“We host wine dinners, fundraising breakfasts and live music. Our website

Takeaway Shop & Café 10am til 6pm | 7 days

is the best place to see what special events are coming up,” she says.

“I just love the people, looking after them and being part of special celebrations, no matter what the occasion is. I love creating beautiful experiences for people, and I’ve really connected with a lot of locals and tourists alike over the years.”

Wheelers Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar, 162 Arthur Kaine Drive, Pambula, NSW. Call 6495 6330, or visit wheelersoysters.com.au

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162 Arthur Kaine Drive, Pambula | 6495 6330 | Book online www.wheelersoysters.com.au 16 CityNews August 11-17, 2022

Learn to Freedive and take your Snorkelling skills to the next level while exploring the incredible Jervis Bay Marine Park with professional instruction and experienced local guides.

The ocean is for everyone.

Our expeditions offer anyone of any skill level, age or competence, a chance to explore our blue planet and catch a glimpse of life under the sea.

SOUTH COAST CALLING Granties Maze now has more than 100 attractions OWNER John Grant reopened Granties Maze in 2015 after 30 years of closure.

He says the maze, in Foxground, is only about two hours by car from Canberra.

It features rides and attractions for people of all ages.

“Over the years, I intend to keep adding new attractions,” he says.

The main attraction is a maze consisting of 2000 trees that have been planted to create a network of paths and hedges.

“It’s designed as a puzzle through which one navigates with the objective of solving the puzzle and

winning a prize – an ice cream,” says John.

There’s also mini golf, pony rides, electric kids’ cars, archery and playground equipment.

All rides are activated by coupons purchased at the office. All unused coupons can be reused on the next visit.

Granties Maze is open every day except Wednesdays, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Open 9am-4pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm on weekends.

Granties Maze, 25 Donovan Road, Foxground.

Call 0407 284888 or visit grantiesmaze.com.au

A visitor enjoying the treetop experience.

Memorable experiences with height ANDREW Zentrich, general manager of Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventure, says they offer two memorable experiences.

“We’ve got a treetop walk, which is a 1.5-kilometre walk on a big, metal, elevated, steel structure, and then you go up a tower that has 106 steps, and that gives you really panoramic views out to the coast,” he says.

“On the days when it’s a little bit misty and foggy, you’re not getting the views but you get a really true authentic rainforest experience.”

The other memorable experience is the zipline tour.

“We’ve got three ziplines and two suspension bridges. You go out with two guides and get a little eco tour of the local area,” says Andrew.

“We try and cater it as family friendly. It’s accessible

for a lot of different age groups and ability levels.

“The treetop walk has been here since 2008, and the zipline since 2014.

Andrew says the thing he loves most about working at Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventure, and what his team loves most, is being able to give people unique experiences.

“Having people walk away, whether it’s a kid who has conquered their fear of heights on the zipline, or someone who’s gone out and enjoyed the beautiful views, it’s about having people walk away having enjoyed that memorable experience.”

Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventure, 182 Knights Hill Road, Knights Hill, NSW. Call 4885 1078, or visit illawarrafly.com.au

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weather, and it’s good for kids because there’s lots of little things they can play with.”

Guided tours usually run for an hour and a half, but Doug says they can be tailored.

“Kids only last 20 minutes sometimes, and if it’s a quiet day and the people who come in are enthusiasts, then we’ll spend more time with them.

He says the museum also recently opened the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame.

“There’s a significant display of people and organisations who have been significant to Australia’s aviation history.”

BOTH tourists and locals love the relaxed atmosphere and fabulous food of Merry Street Restaurant and Bar, says owner Allison Nastasio.

The only permanent licensed restaurant in the Kioloa/Bawley Point Area, Allison says the business is proud to be family-owned and operated.

“John, my husband, is the chef with his son Domenic his apprentice, and I run the front of house with my daughter Audrey, and we also have other staff here who are like family to us,” she says.

“We both started working here for a change from the 9-5 and discovered that we have a passion for creating and serving beautiful food and drinks in a warm and friendly atmosphere.”

Allison says the restaurant offers a seasonal menu that changes every three months.

“Popular meals include prawn and chorizo linguine with creamy tomato, chilli and parmesan, our lovely seafood board and our creamy garlic prawns,” she says.

“Our espresso martini and ‘Death by Chocolate’ cocktails are amazing and we are constantly developing new, delicious drinks” With a wide-ranging menu that also caters to gluten-free guests and vegetarians, Allison says they place an emphasis on fresh, local food and beverages and that the restaurant supports as many small producers as possible in the area.

HARS Aviation Museum, Shellharbour Airport, 54 Airport Road, Albion Park Rail, NSW. Call 4257 4333, or visit hars.org.au

Merry Street Restaurant and Bar, 2/3a Merry Street, Kioloa. Call 4457 2020 or visit merrystreet.com.au

‘Significant’ collection at aviation museum DOUG Philpott, senior tour guide at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum, says it has many notable pieces.

“We’ve got probably one of the largest collections of aircraft that reflect Australia’s aviation history. We’ve got about 50 aircraft here,” he says.

“We’ve got the only flying Constellation in the world. It’s a 1940s-1950s airliner.

“We only do escorted tours because it’s a working museum, and it helps people to understand the history of what they’re seeing.

“It’s also a touch-and-feel museum. It’s not one where you stand behind a rope and look, and there’s a number of aircraft you can actually get into as well. We’re very proud of it.

“It is undercover, so it’s good for wet

Merry Street RESTAURANT & BAR Nestled in Kioloa, close to beautiful Merry Beach, an ideal restaurant for all occasions with a casual atmosphere & friendly staff. Fresh, seasonal menu and daily specials. Fully licensed with a great range of wine, beer & cocktails. Takeaway, vegetarian & gluten free options available. Bookings essential.

Lunch Thursday to Sunday 11:30 - 2:00 Dinner Thursday to Saturday 5:30 onwards Extra days/ extended hours during school holidays 2/3a Merry Street KIOLOA NSW 2539 Ph 02 4457 2020 www.merrystreet.com.au

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Ph:(02) 4257 4333 | 9:30 - 3:30 (7 days) | HARSinfo@hars.org.au Shellharbour Airport, 54 Airport Road Albion Park Rail NSW CityNews August 11-17, 2022 19

BEAUTIFUL YOU

Beauty specialists help people look and feel good BEAUTY isn’t only about looking good, it’s also about feeling good. There’s nothing quite like some self-care to get you feeling beautiful, inside and out.

This week “CityNews” speaks with Canberra’s beauty specialists who help to make clients look and feel amazing.

European-style clothing store in the heart of the Highlands

When it comes to beauty, Olivia glows all the way

A ‘perfect’ ring for a perfect partner

OWNER of Quintessential Exeter Rachael Norman has curated a “colourful and vibrant selection of clothing and shoes” that she says has made her store a delightful destination to visit.

“Located in a beautifully restored 1850s railway workers cottage and situated opposite the renowned Exeter General Store and Cafe, you will be immediately struck by the lively colours of our selections,” she says.

“I hope to give people an enjoyable shopping experience in the quaint atmosphere of a beautiful country village.”

The store offers a collection of European and American women’s fashion, inspired

by Rachael’s visits to Europe where she says many small boutiques carry unique styles and offer personalised shopping experiences.

From dresses to pants, shirts, jumpers, shoes and scarfs, Rachael says these stylish items are all about her passion for helping people feel good in their clothes. ‘’We offer personalised styling appointments in a friendly and inclusive environment,” she says.

“It’s a relaxed place, where my customers can take their time, have a chat and a giggle, and walk out feeling happy.”

The location, the cottage, the clothes and the caring and attentive service all make the visit to Quintessential Exeter a must for anyone visiting the Highlands, says Rachael.

“The store also offers homewares, cushions, lamps, local art and lots of pretty things to brighten up your living space.”

OLIVIA Robinson, owner of The Glowing Complexions, says their skilled team offers a full range of professional beauty services.

Olivia began working in beauty when she was 15 and, eight years later, she says she’s never stopped learning.

“There’s always more to learn, there’s all these new ingredients to figure out and it just never stops,” she says.

She’s encouraging new people who enter the industry to do a lot of training, and practice as much as they can.

“I struggled getting used to being so close to people, because they’re in such a vulnerable state and you’re near their eyes. It’s a bit nerve-wracking to start with but you do get used to it.”

Olivia loves working in beauty, and loves that there’s new things to learn every day.

“Giving people confidence, and boosting their natural features, it makes them feel good about themselves and that’s why I love it,” she says.

“Facials are fun, and it’s satisfying to see the change in people’s face and skin.”

MATTHEW Hengge, a jeweller, designer and maker at Harlequin Jewellers, says his love of natural gemstones began when he was a young boy.

“My passion came from my grandfather, he migrated here from Germany and he’s the one who got me interested in gemstones, that’s how it all started,” says Matthew.

Now, his passion has become a career, and Harlequin Jewellers won the Canberra Region Local Business Award 2021 for Best Jewellery Store.

“It’s great, it was nice to be recognised. Me and my wife have put a lot of hard work into the business over the past seven years, so it was really really nice,” says Matthew.

He says he loves working with coloured gemstones, “I like doing diamonds too but colours are just so unique.”

“My business is very different to a typical jewellery store, because mine is all handmade, it’s all done the old-fashioned way. No two pieces are the same.

“You’ve found the perfect person. Let me help you with the perfect ring,” he says.

Quintessential Exeter, 2 Exeter Road, Exeter.

Call 0412 624222.

The Glowing Complexions, 3/16 Weetangera Place, Weetangera. Call 0401 164421 or visit theglowingcomplexions.com

Quintessential Exeter owner Rachael Norman.

Harlequin Jewellers, G18/27 Lonsdale Street, Braddon. Call 0402 913503, email matthew@ harlequinjewellers.com.au or visit harlequinjewellers.com.au

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Deziner Beauty owner Louise McMahon.

Beautician feels ‘right at home’ in Queanbeyan OWNER of Deziner Beauty Louise McMahon says she’s felt right at home in the Queanbeyan community since first moving from Batemans Bay almost a decade ago.

“Everyone here is so bubbly and down to earth and really welcoming and really helped my business grow,” says Louise.

“With a passion for beauty, we team up to give the best beauty experience possible. We want to give the best we can back to the community.”

Louise, who has more than 18 years of experience in the industry, says she’s currently got a series of special deals available.

“Buy a series of six facials, and they will each be reduced down to $120 and you get $200 worth of free take-home products as well,” she says.

“Our facials are our signature treatment and we love transforming people’s faces, through facelifts and body contouring, make-up or waxing.

“We can take 10 years off your skin with all the amazing treatments and products we have, including a non-surgical facelift.”

Deziner Beauty, Shop 16/18 Cassidy’s Arcade, 72 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan.

Call 6299 5792 or visit dezinerbeauty.com.au

MARINA Belibassakis opened her own hair salon, Artistry M Hair, three weeks ago.

“I’ve been hairdressing for 20 years, freelancing for the past three years and it was just time to open up my own salon and do my own thing.

“This is my journey, this is a step into doing my own thing, control my own decisions and have more freedom and flexibility, which is the dream,” she says.

“It’s nice helping people feel and look good. I like meeting people from all walks of life and making and keeping those relationships.

“We do cuts and colours, and we’re good at it,” she says.

Marina has a freelancer working with her at Artistry M Hair.

“We’ve been working together for a while, Hair by Genevieve is her business name.”

“We provide a safe environment, we’re professional, we do the best that we can and we love what we do, and we make it fun,” says Marina.

“We know what we’re doing, we’re making Artistry M Hair inviting and we’re approachable.”

Owner Marina Belibassakis.

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African violets… addictive to grow.

Photo: Jackie Warburton Euphorbia myrsinites… putting on a show. Photo: Jackie Warburton

A climbing rose for springtime CLIMBING roses are easy to grow and, if pruned properly, can put on a big show of flowers in spring and summer.

There are thornless climbing roses to choose from and one of my favourites is Crepuscule. It can be a sprawling shrub and repeats its flowering and has good fragrance in spring and summer.

The flowers, which attract bees, are apricot to yellow. They can be grown over a fence or small shed and pruned with a hedge trimmer in winter.

It’s the perfect time to plant roses now. Dig a good size hole, about double the size of the pot, mix a bit of blood and bone at the bottom of the hole.

Place the roots of the rose over a mound at the bottom of the hole and ensure the roots are facing downwards. This helps keep the rose from suckering and gives the main stem stability.

Rose cuttings can also be taken now. Take about 10-15 pencil-thick stems. Try to use stems that haven’t flowered. Dip them in hormone gel, honey or even Vegemite. Bunch the cuttings up, leave on a window sill and keep moist. It will take about 8-10 weeks to see growth and for the stems to take root.

Once the roots are hanging from the bottom of the pot, they can be potted up individually.

Taking cuttings is a slow, but rewarding process – and a cheap way of building a garden, plus also having enough cuttings to share with friends.

GROWING African violets can be addictive.

They come in many different colours and sizes and can be grown on a sunny window with filtered sunlight and are an easy-to-grow, indoor plant to propagate.

African violets only like to be watered with tepid water on their soil and not their leaves.

Wick watering is a terrific way of watering and special pots are available at the nursery.

SOME of the winter bulbs will be flowering and early spring bulbs such as hooped petticoat daffodils, crocus and galanthus will be starting to appear in the garden – a sign that spring is around the corner.

Bulbs are great as a cut flower for the house and many are fragrant. Daffodils and Erlicheer would have to be one of the most fragrant of all the bulbs and only one flower is needed to fill the room with scent.

EUPHORBIA myrsinites is putting on a show at the moment. The spirally leaves are symmetrically formed and a feature in themselves. The contrasting tiny yellow flowers and bracks are really striking and not bothered by the frost.

They like full sun position and good drainage.

Deadheading the flowers will prevent spread-

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ing of any unwanted plants. Use gloves when handling these plants as the white sap can be irritating if you get it on your skin.

SEPTEMBER 1 is National Wattle Day and now is the time to plant a wattle.

Wattle trees are a terrific, fast-growing native.

They are a legume tree and help provide nitrogen to the ground.

From the 1000 or so Australian wattles, a third flower in winter. Keep the water up to them in the summer and a light prune after flowering will be all they need.

Our national floral emblem is the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) and native to south-east Australia and grows to about eight metres tall, so it’s only really suitable for a large garden.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

INSIDE

Old Croation grape’s new life of zin

RICHARD CALVER

Playwright goes to water for dramatic inspiration

By Helen

MUSA IT’S been a whirlwind two years for Canberra playwright Dylan Van Den Berg.

He’s won the 2020 Griffin and Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Awards, the 2021 Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting and the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for drama.

He’s also become a father and the whole family, including his little daughter, recently came down with covid.

The ANU graduate in Indonesian and drama, who identifies as a Palawa Aboriginal Australian from the north-east of Tasmania, has spent the last couple of years rushing around the country on residencies, but now’s the time for us to see his work on stage, with not just one but two plays on show in Canberra.

“Ngadjung”, meaning waterhole in Ngunnawal, is billed by Belconnen Arts Centre, who commissioned the play, as “a new eco-apocalypse drama”.

The word, ratified by the play’s cultural consultant, Caroline Hughes, was presented to him as “a kind of a provocation” by Belco Arts, who asked him to write something about water and its First Nations connection.

In a curious echo of the outrageous musical “Urinetown”, recently seen at the Courtyard

Lisa Maza, left, and Kylah Day… stars of “Ngadjung”. RIght, playwright Dylan Van Den Berg… whirlwind two years.

Studio, Van Den Berg’s new play, which runs for about 70 minutes, is set in the future where all the water has dried up and the characters have lost their connection to country.

The two characters played by Liza Maza and Kylah Day are respectively an older woman, Flick, digging in the earth to find her past and a younger generation woman, Cass, from the city.

“We have a story about how we can’t live without water,” Van Den Berg says, latching on to a universal theme, strengthened by the phenomenon of climate change.

Cass has run off from Wetco, a multicultural corporation that has invented a synthetic liquid that you can drink, but it

leaves you thirsty.

She has stolen the code to the formula, wiped it from Wetco’s hard drive, and now they’re after her.

Once in a deserted dry river bed on Ngunnawal country, conjured up by designer Imogen Keen to look like a dried possum skin with skeletal trees around it, Cass runs into Flick, who remembers real water and has a connection to this place, where she was born.

There are no easy answers, but the playwright is giving it his best shot to imagine a positive scenario as the pair form an unlikely alliance.

“I see the play as a call to action; asking people to listen to how First Nations

people have been maintaining this land for thousands of years,” he says.

While “Ngadjung” is in rehearsal, another Van Den Berg play, “Whitefella Yella Tree”, will take the stage at Griffin Theatre in Sydney on August 12, after which it will travel to Canberra.

The 80-minute play surfaced in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cybec Electric readings in February 2021 and, like “Ngadjung”, it has a title full of significance.

The “Yella Tree” refers to a strange tree, ever-present on stage, which bears a yellow, sour fruit. Actually, it’s a lemon tree – “a standin for colonisation,” the playwright says.

Two 16-year-old Aboriginal boys, Ty and

Neddy, meet under the tree and exchange news on the arrival of the whitefella. They strike up an uneasy friendship, which blossoms into love. One of the boys doesn’t trust the whitefella but the other is taken in by the “sweet lure of colonisation”.

It’s set in a long-gone era, possibly the 19th or early 20th century but it doesn’t matter, where such a relationship isn’t marred by shame.

Christian morality, Van Den Berg believes, didn’t come in until later when religious indoctrination set in. The action is set against the background of first contact.

“But the two boys, played by Callan Purcell and Guy Simon, look and sound as if they come from today,” he says.

Like “Ngadjung”, “Whitefella Yella Tree” is for two actors only, all the other characters are off stage.

Van Den Berg was drawn to the subject matter by remarks of Anthony Mundine in 2013 that aboriginality and homosexuality do not mix.

“I knew then that it wasn’t true, so I spent a lot of time following up stories and found that queerness had a place in these traditional communities,” he says.

“So it is ridiculous to claim that all First Nations people are heteronormative.”

“Ngadjung”, Belco Arts, August 19-27, and “Whitefella Yella Tree”, Courtyard Studio, September 28-October 1.

Demented

by Ruth Pieloor

17-20 August

In the subconscious maze of dementia, how do you find your way home?

CityNews August 11-17, 2022 23

DINING / Thai Cornar, Manuka

WINE / zinfandel

The haven for craving Thai

Old grape gets new life living in zin

IT’S tempting to tantalise your taste buds at the new cafes and restaurants that have emerged since the pandemic, but there’s something soul satisfying about visiting oldie-goldie faves.

That took four of us to Thai Cornar in Manuka, which has been attracting customers craving Thai cuisine since 2009, the year of my first review of the restaurant.

Our recent visit didn’t disappoint, dipping into dishes we’ve indulged in previously and trying some new.

A speciality is the Thai Cornar almond prawns, which look as spectacular as they taste ($15.90 for four). The prawns are super succulent on the inside and coated with a crunchy batter on the outside with whole toasted almonds. The dish comes with a sweet, slightly spicy sauce.

Our second entrée was more delicate. The Kanom Jeeb are Thai-style steam dim sims packed with fine minced pork and prawn, always a winning combination ($10.50 for four).

Although we didn’t order them this time, we can vouch for the crunchy money bags, which we’ve enjoyed many times. Stuffed with chicken, carrots and peas, they’re $8 for four.

Thai Cornar truly shines with the house specialties and, as always, we found it challenging to choose.

A main house speciality is the larb which can be ordered with minced chicken or beef (added cost). Our choice was chicken, which took on the flavours of the wonderful Thai

FINISHING the week with a visit to the French Flair cellar door in Manuka and then having a good red with some Italian food at Antica Ricetta next door was a pleasant end to a rather hectic work schedule.

Nam Tok with duck… packed a punch with the hot chilli and tamarind sauce.

Photo: Wendy Johnson herbs and fresh, zesty lime juice and hot dried chilli.

Our second house special was the Nam Tok, which we ordered with duck. The meat was cooked to perfection and packed a punch with the hot chilli and tamarind sauce ($24.50).

Sticky and with a complex flavour profile, the sauce was smoky with hints of caramel.

Also on Thai Cornar’s extensive menu are delicious soups, a range of noodle dishes, special fried rice and curries (green, red and yellow). Customers who dare can order the super-hot Jungle Curry, a clear stock-base version with plenty of red curry paste, loads of fresh chilli, garlic, basil and vegetables (curry

prices vary depending on whether the dish is prepared with tofu, seafood or meat).

From the stir-fry line-up, we chose the lamb version ($24.50). The dish celebrates garlic and pepper sauce and is served with steamed veggies. It, too, was packed with flavour.

We were lucky enough to dine outside on Thai Cornar’s large deck. The elevated outdoor area (timber deck flooring and enclosed with a barrier to protect from any wind) is a great spot. It was efficient service with a smile and all dishes arrived piping hot.

This mix of locale is a celebration of the two European cultures and their food and wine, and provides a glimpse into other worlds that is comforting to embrace during an increasingly inhospitable Canberra winter.

At French Flair we tasted four wines on offer with the standout being the Beaujolais, the 2019 Domaine Des Bonnetieres.

This is a one hundred per cent Gamay red, a fruit-driven, easy drinking wine that was gone in a flash. Beguiling, just as is the tradition in November of each year to await the latest vintage of Beaujolais and to enter into the frenzy of purchase and drinking that hails this popular wine. One website tells me that 22 million bottles a year are exported from this extraordinarily prolific region.

In a few small steps, we enter the renovated Antica Ricetta and order pasta dishes and a bottle of Pasqua Desire Lush & Zin Primitivo Puglia 2020.

For a young wine it had good colour and a finish that got better with air. It is a quaffer, retailing generally at around $23$25, marked up to $45 in the restaurant.

It was a good counterpoint to the burnt butter and sage sauce that covered the gnocchi I ordered with the complementarity of the different flavours evident.

The name is a hoot. Primitivo is known as zinfandel in California in particular, where it is recognised as an excellent red-wine grape. The “zin” in the name of our chosen dinner wine is a nod to this collision, and its similarity to the word “sin” is emphasised in the label art with the nomenclature expressed as if a tattoo on the back of a redheaded woman in a black dress.

Like many a bottle of wine, it sparks an interesting narrative. The story of how this grape variety spread across the world is fascinating, as the variety apparently derives from Croatia where it is known as the Tribidrag grape.

A priest in the 18th century liked the Croatian grape variety sufficiently that he planted vines in his homeland in Italy, Liponti. Because the grapes matured first, they were called “primitivo” which means the “first one” and the name stuck.

The route from Croatia to the US was in the early 19th century where a Boston horticulturalist, George Gibbs, had

The label of Pasqua Desire Lush & Zin Primitivo Puglia 2020… the word “sin” is emphasised in the label art as if a tattoo on the back of a redheaded woman in a black dress. received the grape via Vienna.

Here the Hapsburg emperor reigned and that royal family had adopted the grape and the pleasant wine that it produced. Gibbs used the variety as a table grape which he named zenfendal, a resemblance to its Hungarian Hapsburg derived name tzinifándli. Gibbs and his vines followed the gold rush to California in 1850. There the variety became zinfandel, and was planted as a wine grape in 1857. It has been California’s most populous grape ever since.

The fact that the varieties are the same was discovered by a US professor in 1967 when he visited Puglia (the region from whence our dinner wine came) and his instinct that the similarities were more than coincidence was proven in 1968.

The final piece of the puzzle was put in place by other academics who, using research from the ‘60s and the ‘90s, pinpointed the originating grape on the Dalmatian coast.

“The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.”

– Will and Ariel Durant

SUNDAY ROAST Talking to the names making news.

Sundays, 9am-noon.

24 CityNews August 11-17, 2022

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ARTS

Downer takes reins at Tuggeranong

ARTS IN THE CITY Bushfires keep Penny on her toes

By Helen Musa

CAROLINE Downer is the new CEO of Tuggeranong Arts Centre, but she’s no stranger to Canberra.

Raised in Canberra, her mother, the late Jill Downer, was the arts dynamo who founded Early Music Enterprises and her oboist sister Jane works in England where she heads up the group Austral Harmony.

Downer has been at the desk in Tuggeranong since June 14, arriving back home after more than 30 years’ experience in the arts, most recently as executive director of Arts North West, which covers an area of more than 100 square kilometres and before that as director of the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale.

Both jobs, and the fact that she has co-ordinated large regional music festivals and has served on arts committees and as a peer reviewer for the Australia Council, she believes have prepared her well for the new job.

It’s been a long time away. After schooling at Girls Grammar, where her mum taught music, Downer left town at 17 to study music performance and art.

She holds honours degrees in music and fine arts and a master of arts honours in museum studies from the University of Melbourne. The arts landscape in the ACT is “vaguely familiar,” she says.

She’s managed to find a few old school friends and is already taking a keen interest in what’s happening over at the Glassworks, where former chief of Regional Arts NSW, Elizabeth Rogers, is now CEO. Armidale was very supportive of the creative community and Arts North West, she says, is the biggest of the arts infrastructure organisations in NSW, serving 12 different local government areas.

One big difference for her will be that Canberra has a much lower indigenous population than the north-west, home to the huge Gamilaraay/Kamilaroi group, but she also knows that the ACT’s First Nations people are very active in the arts.

Another difference is that Tuggeranong Arts Centre has a physical building, whereas Arts North West has a network of venues, with a couple of galleries.

She is well aware that Tuggeranong is no longer in “Nappy Valley” as it was when Tuggeranong Community Arts started, so she’s busy getting to know the community, which she describes as “very lovely”.

She and her husband have recently bought a house at Macarthur, in North Tuggeranong. Their two adult daughters have flown the coop, one of them to study violin and the other to study design.

She admires Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s gallery spaces and now, with funding recently announced by the ACT government, she’ll be overseeing

By Helen Musa FURTHER to our news that dancer Liz Lea’s “Red” will be at the Edinburgh Festival, former Canberra dancer and QL2 member, Penny Chivas, is presenting “Burnt Out”, her original work about the Australian bushfires and climate change, at the festival, too. Chivas says she’s in discussions about bringing it to Canberra in January.

SYDNEY Folk Festival, cancelled in 2021, is back as a three-day event featuring more than 35 acts in two Surry Hills festival hubs, August 19-21. Canberra’s Fred Smith and his band will join Kim Yang in the line-up.

New Tuggeranong Arts Centre CEO Caroline Downer… “There won’t be massive changes; it’s more about strengthening things.”

SHEKU Kanneh-Mason, famous for performing at the wedding of Harry and Meghan and the first cellist to reach the top 10 of the UK album charts, will be at the Canberra Theatre, 2pm, August 14, with his musical family members to play works by Schubert, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Gershwin.

refurbishments to the centre’s theatre – she applauds founding father Domenic Mico’s decision to make it tiny and accessible.

“We definitely don’t want to be in competition with the larger venues,” she says, “I see it as becoming more a black box kind of theatre.”

Tuggeranong Arts Centre was hit hard by covid, but with acting CEO Karena Keys holding the fort before Downer was appointed, their major projects such as Fresh Funk, Messengers and Woden

AARWUN Gallery, Nicholls, has an exhibition (August 12-September 4) of “Soft Light” paintings by impressionist artist Kasey Sealy, who has been in town giving studio classes. “It’s such a portable medium,” he says of his own chosen medium, watercolour.

Arts are still going strong.

With a musical background, Downer is pleased that the Phoenix Collective is now performing regularly at the centre, and she understands that Kim Cunio from the ANU School of Music is keen on partnerships, too.

“I guess the trick is to be able to know how to share resources,” she says, adding that she is benefitting from a strong team.

“There won’t be massive changes; it’s more about strengthening things, getting those big blocks back in place.”

FIFTEEN Irish dancers – “Eireborne” – will be at Canberra Theatre, August 20, performing Irish dance with a contemporary twist in a fusion of tap rhythms and beats.

ORIANA Chorale’s “Two Worlds” program will include the premiere of a new work by Chris Sainsbury and Daryll Griffin, which was commissioned for this concert.

At Belconnen Arts Centre, August 20, and ANU Drill Hall Gallery, August 25.

Opera Gala Programmed by Artistic Director - Peter Coleman-Wright AO

7:30pm 27 August 2022 | Llewellyn Hall, ANU Tickets: www.nationalopera.org.au/opera-gala Artistic Director: Peter Coleman-Wright AO Conductor: Louis Sharpe Orchestral Partner: National Capital Orchestra and the National Opera Chorus

Featured artist: Eleanor Greenwood

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CityNews August 11-17, 2022 25

STREAMING

Adventure in the lap of the gods IT would be unlikely for anyone with a subscription to a streaming platform not to have encountered the influence of Neil Gaiman in some shape or form.

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The English author’s tales of mythical beings let loose in the real world have not only seen his books sit on best-seller shelves for years, but also created a gold mine for a new generation of television.

Take “American Gods”, Amazon Prime’s series about ancient, magical deities locked in battle with the “gods” of the new world: technology, social media and the internet.

Based on Gaiman’s best-selling 2001 novel, the intriguing blend of fantasy, mythology, drama and woes of the modern age served up in the scenery of a contorted US has created a steadfast cult following for the series.

Amazon Prime also boasts the adaptation of “Good Omens”, Gaiman’s comedic collaboration with Terry Pratchett about a finicky angel and hedonistic demon who team up to track down the antichrist and thwart a looming armageddon.

The author’s talents extend far beyond that, though.

The animated film adaptation of his creepy children’s book “Coraline” will be seared into the memory of many a young moviegoer whose parents mistakenly thought something, let’s say, more “Disneyish”, would be in store. (The button eyes still make me shudder).

Gaiman’s play, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”, has also recently hit the stage in London, he’s translated popular Japanese

“The Sandman”... a parable of someone coming to terms with the inevitability of change. anime into English and even served as a writer for a string of popular episodes of “Doctor Who”.

But it’s Netflix that’s got its hands on the latest Gaiman-derived hit, and it takes things right back to the work that would serve as the start of the author’s path to literary renown.

“The Sandman”, now streaming on the platform as a 10-part-series, is based on Gaiman’s ‘90s comic book of the same name and tells the story of Morpheus, the king of dreams, and his quest to save his kingdom of Dreaming.

Considering the high-flown nature of such a work, it’s perhaps no surprise that for years the graphic novel has been whacked with the label of “unfilmable”.

Attempts to get it to the screen have failed since 1991, but Netflix, undoubtedly spurred on by the success of their other genre-heavy hits such as “The Witcher”, have now given it a red-hot crack.

At the outset, many may find the premise

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26 CityNews August 11-17, 2022

that sees Satan himself move to LA to open a nightclub after growing tired of dwelling in hell.

The show, originally axed by the Fox network after three seasons, had amassed such a following that #SaveLucifer became a number one trending topic on Twitter, causing Netflix to step in to save it from cancellation.

All of this has led Gaiman’s niche of work to hit blockbuster proportions, giving it a new, distinctly recognisable feel in modern pop-culture.

The wordsmith himself put it best in a recent interview with “The Guardian”, where he said “I can’t do superheroes, but I can do gods”.

By today’s standards, one wonders how different they really are.

CINEMA / reviews

Gentle, observant and affectionate

By Dougal

MACDONALD “Juniper” (M)

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of Gaiman’s fiction too lofty to capture interest, but the author’s ability to keep things profoundly human are what keeps fans coming back.

Like the stories of Greek and Norse mythology which Gaiman so heavily draws on, these tales of gods and heroes are ultimately reflections of our own dreams and nightmares.

“The Sandman” may on the surface be a story of a deity who seeks to restore order to his kingdom that he finds transformed during his century-long imprisonment but, more poignantly, it’s a parable of someone coming to terms with the inevitability of change.

Keen Gaiman fans will also be excited by “The Sandman” through its tie-in with another television icon, “Lucifer”.

Gaiman’s comic was also the genesis of this darkly comic series

IN writer/director Matthew J Saville’s gentle, observant, affectionate small movie, English actress Charlotte Rampling plays Ruth, retired from photographing the world’s wars.

Ruth now lies a cripple in the NZ farm house belonging to her recently widowed son Robert (Marton Csokas), who is going away on business leaving his late-adolescent son Sam to care for Ruth.

It’s Sam’s first meeting with his grandmother, who at this point in her life has only one comfort – equal volumes of gin and water flavoured with a slice of lemon in a large jug.

In this 95-minute film, we’re going to find confirmation of what we suspected from the first meeting between age and youth – her demand that he carry her from her chair to the bathroom.

“Juniper” doesn’t radiate power around moments of the human condition. Which is not to say that it doesn’t deliver satisfaction and comfort from watching two wildly disparate human beings resolving an improbable gap using understanding of the actor’s craft accompanied

by a skill at being somebody else.

Playing Sam, George Ferrier does very well, opposite one of the great names in British acting.

I first became aware of Charlotte Rampling In those wonderful years when I was spending a fortnight at the Sydney Film Festival. Her filmography begins with uncredited roles in “A Hard Day’s Night” when she was 18 and “The Knack – And How To Get It”. I was hooked. Still am 133 roles later.

At Dendy, Palace Electric

“Bullet Train” (MA) IN the words of respected British cinema magazine “Sight And Sound” (born in the same year as I was): “‘Bullet Train’: mind the gap between its ears”.

The common factor driving movie people from the day they enrol for Cinema 101 is to make money. Movies go into cinemas on a take it or leave it basis, sending messages, seeking support for causes, visiting history, visiting new or strange places, introducing new sound or image technology, or whatever else you care to come up with.

And along comes “Bullet Train”, a crash, bang, wallop, unprintable dialogue, same-old-same-

old-and-more-of-the same-again actioner, with a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz, based on a novel by prolific Japanese fiction writer Kôtarô Isaka (16 of his novels filmed) and the third feature movie directed by stuntman David Leitch.

“Bullet Train” runs for 126 minutes. Along with three, young adult women, who left as soon as the end credits began to roll, I watched it in a cinema capable of holding several hundred patrons. I wasn’t unhappy about it metaphorically waking me as its loco and its cars derailed in a Japanese city. Only bad guys got hurt!

Railway enthusiasts, don’t be misled by the title. How other people will receive it I cannot foretell.

Its publicity leads with Brad Pitt as criminal Ladybug, the character most emphasised by the screenplay, fresh out of therapy and determined not to use a gun for a job he’s been asked to do as a last-minute favour to his handler. In a funky way, the character nicknamed Lemon, played by Afro-American actor Brian Tyree Henry, is the film’s best fun-to-watch actor, mainly because of his silver-blond wig. The woman with the most screen time is Joey King, playing apprentice crook Prince.

Oscar winner Sandra Bullock has a bit part.

At all cinemas

HOROSCOPE Your week in the stars

By Joanne Madeline Moore

PUZZLES

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General knowledge crossword No. 842

August 15-21, 2022 ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Feisty Aries folk need to have an ambitious project to channel all their fiery energy into. As original celebrity chef – and birthday great – Julia Child declared: “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”.

This week – with Mars/Pluto and Venus/Jupiter on your side – you’ll be given the opportunity to influence or help those around you, so don’t waste it. It’s time for proactive Rams to lead with power and passion!

LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT AGENT?

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Proactive Mars is moving through your sign (until Saturday) and Venus (your patron planet) forms a fabulous aspect with Jupiter. So motivation, charm and exploration will really take you places, as you call in a few old favours and make some dynamic new decisions. Avoid getting stuck in a boring rut. This week, fortune definitely favours the bold and the brave. So it’s time for adventurous Bulls to explore fresh pastures and follow big dreams.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

This week, your ruler, Mercury (planet of intelligence and communication), forms a positive aspect with wildly adventurous Uranus. So it’s a good time to exercise your brain cells via study, debate, teaching, reading, writing, public speaking and generally expanding your mind in all sorts of exciting new directions. Your motto for the moment is from witty Leo writer Dorothy Parker: “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

On Thursday, Venus (in your money zone) trines Jupiter (in your career zone).

Which bodes well for a new job, or improved relations with a colleague, client and/ or customer. Looking for employment? Don’t underestimate the promising contacts you have within your professional peer group. A lucky financial opportunity could also land in your lap via an old friend or former lover, so start networking now. The secret to a successful week is clear communication.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

With the Sun and Venus visiting your sign, it’s time for the larger-than-life Leo to let your hair down, express yourself and indulge your senses. Be inspired by movie star Mae West (born on August 17, 1893): “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” But this week there’s also a Sun-Saturn opposition. So avoid the temptation to exaggerate, over-promise and underdeliver – especially involving personal relationships and business partnerships. Balance is the key.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

You won’t solve problems if you’re procrastinating. Many Virgos will be full of vim and vigour this week as you analyse, strategize, and mobilize! With clever Mercury (your patron planet) connecting with innovative Uranus, it’s also a good time to redefine the persona you are presenting to the world. Be inspired by birthday great, fashion designer and businesswoman Coco Chanel: “How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”

Down

3 Name an alternative term for a leaflet. (8) 7 What do we call a public speaker? (6) 8 To have reduced to a mean, is to have done what? (8) 9 Name a dangerous addictive drug, also called diamorphine. (6) 10 To be everlasting, is to be what? (8) 11 Name the goods thrown overboard to lighten a vessel in distress. (6) 14 Name an Australian entertainer, composer and musician, Rolf ... (6) 17 Who “made his pile, when Pardon won the cup”? (8) 18 What is a woman’s loose dressing-gown? (6) 19 To be scandalous, is to be what? (8) 20 Which term describes that which is fair and just? (6) 21 What might we call one who paints one’s nose? (4,4)

1 Which colloquial expression suggests something provided without charge? (7) 2 Moe, Curly and Larry were the three what? (7) 3 Which part of the skull encloses the brain? (7) 4 Name a Brazilian dance. (7) 5 What do we call a flat-bottomed unpowered barge? (7) 6 What are conundrums also known as? (7) 11 Name an English female air pilot who flew to Australia in 1930, Amy ... (7) 12 What are forms of headdress of Muslim origin?

(7) 13 Name a stout aromatic NZ herb. (7) 14 Who was one of Australia’s pioneer aviators, Bert ...? (7) 15 What is an oblique-angled equilateral parallelogram? (7) 16 What is a lack of sense or ideas? (7)

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

Vivacious Venus trines generous Jupiter, which boosts your natural Libran charisma. But it also amps up your preoccupation with perfection. So try to focus on the evolving journey, rather than the final destination. This week strategic Saturn also pushes you to focus on friendships and make a wish list of your goals for the future. Be inspired by birthday great Madonna: “I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams.”

Solution next edition

Across

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Sudoku hard No. 321

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

There may be some conflict between domestic responsibilities and professional expectations. You’re keen to plunge into a personal project but make sure you do your homework first and don’t promise more than you can actually deliver. You could also experience problems with a work colleague or family member who is jealous of what you are achieving. Don’t let it deter you! Just flash them a warm Scorpio smile and encourage them to follow their dreams.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Relationships will be challenging and confusing, as people find it difficult to express themselves. Avoid taking it personally! Be inspired by Leo actress Halle Berry (who turned 56 on Sunday): “Don’t take yourself too seriously. Know when to laugh at yourself and find a way to laugh at obstacles that inevitably present themselves.” Venus and Jupiter activate your entertainment and aspiration zones.

So it’s time to dress up, have fun, and dream big dreams.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Your ruler Saturn (planet of limitations and patience) starts the week opposing the Sun. So it’s time for active and ambitious Capricorns to pace themselves, as some plans backfire and confidence levels are lower than usual. You could also question your current trajectory and look to others for feedback and approval. Don’t overdo it! As birthday great Madonna observes: “If your joy is derived from what others think of you, then you’re going to be disappointed.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2022

Solutions – August 4 edition Sudoku medium No. 321

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

It’s time to retreat, review and restore as Saturn activates your contemplation and seclusion zones. Enjoy solo activities like meditation, yoga, spiritual pursuits, journal writing and regular walks in nature. You could also be surrounded by innuendo and intrigue. What others say won’t necessarily be what they mean, so make sure you read between the lines to uncover what’s really going on. Otherwise, it will be a confusing and disorientating week.

Solution next edition

Crossword No. 841

The stars amp up your need for freedom and avant-garde adventures. But don’t feel you have to tackle a current project or problem on your own. There are plenty of people around who are happy to help. And don’t let current restrictions stop you from taking on challenges in creative and innovative ways. Be inspired by birthday great Madonna: “If I can’t be daring in my work or the way I live my life, then I don’t really see the point of being on this planet.”

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Phone 0405 135 009 cshaw@blackshaw.com.au #christineshawproperties CityNews August 11-17, 2022 27

COVID-19 Vaccinations and Testing for Winnunga Clients

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The service logo is the Corroboree Frog which is significant to Aboriginal people in the ACT. Our aim is to provide a culturally safe, holistic health care service for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of the ACT and surrounding regions. The holistic health care provided by Winnunga AHCS includes not only medical care, but a range of programs to promote good health and healthy lifestyles.

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