CityNews 230601

LAND - NEW

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Bungendore has become a popular destination for many families seeking a relaxed lifestyle without losing the benefits of being so close to the city. The attraction of larger lot sizes at affordable prices while still being close to the major amenities in both Canberra and Queanbeyan has proven to be a major factor why so many families are deciding to call Bungendore home. Other benefits include:

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A second opinion on hearing loss

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!

Here are some things to do to avoid getting ripped off:

1. A visit to the GP may save you from being ‘sold’ something when your only problem is wax in your ears.

2. Look for someone who is independent and can offer you unbiased advice, not just give you a sales pitch.

3. There are a range of hearing aid prices. Finding the right hearing aid might save you money and it will also give you the best chance of success.

4. Hearing aids can be expensive.

Recently I was told by two different patients that they were quoted $16,000 for a pair of hearing aids. This seems a ridiculous amount of money to pay and is most likely not appropriate for the majority of people (or possibly anyone).

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 free-to-client government hearing aids or if you’d like to top-up to a different hearing aid.

The free-to-client hearing aids are appropriate for many people, however if you have great difficulty hearing background noise (for example in restaurants) then you might trial the top-up hearing aids, but only if you can afford them. There are a range of top up options and prices, if you are disappointed after a trial, you should return them and trial the free-toclient hearing aids.

If you get the feeling the person you’re dealing with is just trying to sell you something, then take a step back and get a second opinion.

“In an unregulated market there is a lot of opportunity to take advantage of people. Yes you have read correctly, there is no licensing of people who sell hearing aids.”

– Dr Vass

– you need professional advice, not a sales pitch

POLITICS / Calvary Hospital takeover

Take a breath on Calvary and face an inquiry

THE Canberra Liberals called for a Royal Commission into ACT Health just a week before the announcement of the compulsory acquisition of Calvary Public Hospital.

They argued the system was bro ken, and all attempts by the Labor/ Greens government to get the system back on its feet had failed.

The Canberra Liberals set the date for the reporting of their Royal Commission well after the October 2024 election to avoid accusations of electioneering.

“The problem is that the ACT health system is broken”, Acting Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson told the ACT Assembly, “and it must be fixed”.

It is time for the government to take a breath on a Calvary takeover. Insert this issue into the terms of reference and initiate a Royal Commission into ACT Health Services.

Waiting times for elective surgery have blown out from amongst the best performance in the country to the worst since Labor came to power.

In the Emergency Department it is the same story – the worst in the country. Less than 50 per cent of patients are seen within the Australian standard times.

No-one suggests this is due to in -

adequacies of the doctors and nurses. Decreases in funding in order to pay for the tram, poor management and failures in personnel management and poor morale have all contributed. There were dire warnings about failures from five cardiologists in March.

A strong reason for a Royal Commission is that such poor performance is not without consequences. Children have died from treatable infections. How does the government respond to a call for the strongest possible examination of their health system, a Royal Commission?

First, is an outright rejection. Second, the

ACT government seems hell bent on bringing the Calvary Hospital into the same system that has been responsible for such a decline in health services.

This takeover bid for Calvary is not new. In 2010 the issue was flagged by the government and considered by an Assembly committee. The committee pointed out that the options they preferred “would retain the services of LCMHC (Little Company of Mary Health Care) and the Calvary Public Hospital as a significant stakeholder in the delivery of health care services to the people of the ACT”.

These recommendations included a 200 bed sub-acute hospital in Belconnen. The government delivered just 120 beds. They also included an additional 400 beds at the Canberra Hospital. Not all have been delivered. In “CityNews” former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and former treasury official Khalid Ahmed have identified a 150-hospital bed shortfall across ACT Health.

In proposing the motion for a Royal

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Commission into health services in the Legislative Assembly, Mr Hanson said: “A royal commission can provide a pathway forward. It really can. It can take the politics out of it. It can give the staff the confidence that there is a long-term solution to fix this ailing system. It is up to the chief minister to determine the exact terms of reference”.

His suggestions to be included in the terms of reference include “staffing shortages, waiting times, management and cultural problems, the poor results across the key performance indicators, management and outcomes in the mental health system, governance issues, infrastructure requirements, and funding shortfalls and priorities”.

Had he known, no doubt he would have included the compulsory acquisition of the Calvary Public Hospital.

The Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, responded in the Assembly with a lecture on how all first ministers were working together to resolve similar problems through the Council of the Australian Federation. He did not address the issue of the ACT falling from a leader in health-care delivery to being at the bottom of the pile.

He told the Assembly: “The issues that have been highlighted are not unique to the ACT. They are occurring in every state and territory. The principal reason for this is 10 years of underinvestment in primary healthcare. Year on year, relentlessly grinding down the most important part of our healthcare system”.

The Greens’ Johnathan Davis, as a member of the government and chair of the Standing Committee on Health and Community Wellbeing, explained: “I believe we understand these problems and the government is implementing the solutions”.

I wonder how many Canberrans share his belief? Is the takeover of Calvary one of the solutions or is he just towing the government line?

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.

A strong reason for a Royal Commission is that such poor performance is not without consequences. Children have died from treatable infections.

Greens MLA Johnathan Davis… towing the government line?

The planning authority is no longer fit for purpose

MANY decades ago when talking to a staff member of the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) in their 220 Northbourne Avenue office about urban and social matters, I was distracted by the view south from the ninth floor window.

Eventually, I interrupted to comment on how lucky the person was to be able to gaze at that view every day.

Before us was a city in a landscape. It was and still is stunning.

At the time, there were NCDC professional bureaucrats who were responsible for decisions about the landscapes of this city. Those professionals had a vision for the city and knew they were building on the rich legacy of those before them, who had placed an emphasis on the landscapes of this capital city.

Forward to 2023 and focus on the contents of the recent documentation for the proposed planning reforms. Despite being called planning reforms, the whole process over the last year has been a disingenuous exercise. It has not been about planning. It is about deregulation.

This city is not, and was never meant to be, like any other Australian city. This is a landscape within which a city has been built. The emphasis,

until recently, has always been on enhancing the landscapes.

Within those landscapes former designers and planners delivered green spaces, trees, homes with ample garden spaces and shrubbery (and therefore birds and other critters), as well as the required social and community facilities as necessary parts of the suburban infrastructure.

The documentation produced by the current planning directorate on behalf of the Greenslabor politicians lacks vision about how the landscapes of the city will be enhanced for future generations.

By neglecting the fundamental and historic issues about the city’s landscapes, the proposals ignored the city’s heritage while downplaying the

importance of doing our bit for this planet – the only one we have. Look at the image, left, from a notoriously badly designed suburb elsewhere in Australia.

There you have the vision that Andrew Barr’s planners have been striving to deliver according to Barr’s ideological urban nightmare scenarios. If his proposals are accepted, that could be a suburb within the inner north or inner south sometime soon.

The changes proposed by Greenslabor are devoid of a passionate vision for the city. They were cobbled together by a directorate dominated by planners who are expected by the chief minister to deregulate what is left of the former planning system to allow developers to profit by their own rules.

According to this scenario, landscapes, parks, trees, birds, open spaces, bushes and gardens are a nuisance and not valued. Their role in a development is as optional adorn-

ments to make an ordinary development look a little more attractive until sold.

The level of competence within the planning directorate has been laid bare through its questionable planning-reform documents that failed their own performance indicators. There is a better way. It is possible that this city can avoid becoming bland, boring and bereft of good design and biodiversity-friendly landscapes and from becoming one massive heat island.

This city a the landscape urgently requires a new form of leadership, being one with professional experience and expertise in landscapes, design and urban environment issues.

The current planning authority treats landscape and associated issues as optional extras that only require the views of hired friendly consultants. Wrong! Such issues are the core of the decisions about the

design of this city into the next stages of the climate emergencies.

What the planning-reform circus has clearly demonstrated is that the current planning authority is no longer fit for purpose. It lacks 21st century relevance and its governance has been seriously brought into question by community groups. Obviously, this downgraded form of planning authority suits the chief minister’s weird vision for the city.

Planning as has been practised in the 20th century has become a subset to the required 21st century style of visionary landscape-oriented, highlyskilled and motivated leadership. A new form of urban landscape design authority needs to be put in place. This serious change is required for this city in a landscape to continue to be cherished by the people who live here. This is a policy area to be adopted by a landscape-focused and humane 21st century progressive political party wishing to be seriously considered as the alternative government.

This city in a landscape urgently requires a new form of leadership, being one with professional experience and expertise in landscapes, design and urban environment issues.

This is where we’re heading… the developer-driven, 21st century landscape. Image: Google Earth

Vintage oil tractor put out to history’s pasture

ONE of the earliest surviving tractors manufactured in Australia is on display at the National Museum.

The significant transformation of Australia’s agricultural industry is represented by the extraordinary McDonald “Imperial” oil “EB” tractor.

National Museum director Mathew Trinca said the tractor, built in 1912, substantially added to the Museum’s National Historical Collection and supported its mission to tell remarkable stories from Australian history.

It was acquired in 2021 by the National Museum for $250,000, with the support of the Australian government through the National Cultural Heritage Account, a grant program that assists Australian cultural organisations to acquire significant cultural heritage objects and with the support of an anonymous benefactor.

The McDonald ‘EB’ oil tractor was manufactured in Australia by AH McDonald & Co of Richmond, Melbourne.

“In 1908, innovative Melbourne engineers Alfred and Ernest McDonald produced the first Australian-made, oil-powered tractor, known as the ‘EA’. The improved design of the ‘EB’ followed in 1912,” Dr Trinca said.

“It provides a revealing insight into

by the invention of the oil-driven, internal combustion engine in the 1870s.

“The McDonald ‘EB’ oil tractor represents a theme of Australian innovation in a revolutionary era for engineering. This acquisition represents our agricultural history, and we are thrilled to share it with Australia,” Dr Trinca said.

The tractor was originally purchased in 1912 by Frank William

Island in Victoria’s Western Port Bay.

The arrival of the tractor on French Island was a memorable event that required a police escort.

Local Ruth Gooch recounts that:

“When Frank’s small nephew (Garth Bennetts) saw it coming over the hill to his island home, he took fright, ran inside, and hid under the bed.”

Mr Chilcott died in 1919, and the

tractor passed to his brother-in-law, Richard Bennetts.

It was likely used for land clearing as part of the local chicory cultivation industry, which was a prolific industry on French Island until the mid-1960s.

Museum curator Dr Ian Coates, who co-ordinated the acquisition of the tractor, said it had historic significance because of its association with Australia’s first tractor manufacturer.

“Perhaps the most remarkable as -

sophistication of their engineering, which included coil ignition, a threespeed gearbox and automotive rackand-pinion steering,” he said.

“This reflects Alf McDonald’s capacity to improve the contemporary design of imported American tractors,” Dr Coates said.

It is on display until July 23.

‘When Frank’s small nephew saw it coming over the hill… he took fright, ran inside and hid under the bed.’

‘Unreliable’ could be new

Big batteries are in competition with gas-fired electricity this winter and beyond as Australians face blackouts, soaring power bills and climate change, writes MARION RAE .

ANOTHER couple of lucky winters should see Australia through the exit of coal-fired power without blackouts.

But we may be fooling ourselves that the electricity grid can cope, Joshua Stabler, managing director of system specialists Energy Edge, warns.

Mr Stabler said the worst thing for the national electricity market would be for there to be no bad weather or other extreme events this winter, or the next or in 2025.

“It’s like going into a casino and winning the first time – it’s really, really bad luck because then you think it was you,” he said.

“Then we might think that we’re fine, we might let Eraring go, thinking the worst-case scenario hasn’t happened, therefore it can’t happen.”

Eraring, located south of Newcastle, is Australia’s largest coal-fired power station and biggest single emitter of greenhouse gases.

Last year, owner Origin gave notice that Eraring could close seven years earlier than planned and the recently elected NSW government is mulling whether to pay to extend the generator’s life.

For Origin, the economics of coalfired power had come under unsustainable pressure from cleaner and lower-cost generation, including solar, wind and batteries.

“By default, transition is disorderly,” Mr Stabler said.

Big generators looking at financial losses for the next four years don’t want to stay on and the resulting energy market gaps, until enough renewables come online, will be expensive, he said.

“If these assets leave, it’s going to be chaos,” he added.

Energy experts say Eraring’s closure will have a far greater and potentially more dangerous impact on the grid and energy security than last month’s closure of AGL’s Liddell plant.

While the 50-year-old Liddell plant had become inefficient and unreliable, Eraring still provides one-fifth of NSW’s electricity.

Last winter, flooded coal mines and other events took 40 per cent of coalfired generation offline. Some 5000 megawatts of coal-fired generation remains offline heading into this winter.

Snowy Hydro 2.0, intended to support the transition of the east coast electricity grid, has been delayed until 2028 at the earliest.

Meanwhile state and federal govern ments are supporting the development of big batteries and neighbourhoodscale projects to support a cleaner grid. Energy regulators and governments support the use of gas as part of the energy transition, despite criticism. The industry argues the latest gasfired generators have half the emissions of coal power plants and can flick on and off to meet peak demand.

AGL’s new “fast start” Barker Inlet gas plant in Adelaide came online in 2019 and has decades to run, alongside the 250-megawatt Torrens Island battery, which is expected to be operational within months.

A grid-scale battery is on the drawing board after Eraring is shuttered.

“Batteries are in competition with

gas plants,” chief operating officer at AGL Markus Brokhof told AAP.

Batteries, which can charge when prices are low – or even negative – and discharge when prices are high, suit several hours use, Mr Brokhof said “If it goes beyond four, five, six hours, there is no storage technology available at the moment,” he said.

Instead, “gas peakers” such as the one on Torrens Island can fire up in five minutes to meet periods of peak demand – at a price.

NSW is only a third of the way to its renewable energy target and interconnectors need to be built to link states.

The Australian Energy Market Operator recently announced long-term agreements for $2.5 billion worth of renewable energy projects to be connected

to the grid by the time of Eraring’s exit.

These projects are the first round of a rolling 10-year plan for tenders every six months as NSW exits coal and moves to renewable energy.

Two solar farms, a wind farm and a long-duration battery will together contribute 1.4 gigawatts of renewable energy generation in NSW.

AEMO has forecast that these projects could displace up to 11 million tonnes of carbon emissions over the 20-year contract.

But the new generation means that NSW has locked in a mere 4.1GW of its legislated 12GW target by 2030.

The New England Solar Farm in that region’s renewable energy zone, Stubbo Solar Farm in the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone and the Coppabella Wind Farm in the Southern Tablelands will be plugged in.

In an Australian-first, an agreement was also awarded to RWE Renewables Australia’s long-duration chemical battery that can potentially deliver at least eight hours continuous discharge of stored electricity – and change the economics again.

“You don’t expect that you would have continuously bad luck, unless it’s not luck,” Mr Stabler said.

“Unless it’s failure, like fate, bad engineering or something else that has resulted in the power station being unreliable, and that ‘unreliable’ is now a permanent feature of the market.” –AAP

Alfresco dining for dogs

Peanut

The 250-megawatt Torrens Island battery is expected to be operational within months. Photo: Matt Turner/AAP

Tidbinbilla visitor centre closed

THE Tidbinbilla Visitor Centre will be closed until further notice to address issues caused by persistent water leaks.

Stephen Alegria, of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, said the closure was “out of an abundance of caution” to keep volunteers and visitors safe and will not impact access to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, where entrance fees have been waived.

“Over the past six months, the Tidbinbilla Visitor Centre has been undergoing a comprehensive building review to address issues caused by persistent water leaks, residual moisture and associated issues,” Mr Alegria said.

“We have decided to close the Tidbinbilla Visitor Centre so these issues can be addressed.

“Visitor centre staff will be relocated to the Tidbinbilla depot and will be available over the phone to assist as they continue to service the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre area.

“Access to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, including the sanctuary and walking trails will not be impacted. Entry fees have been waived until further notice and the boom gate will remain open throughout the reserve’s normal opening hours from 7.30am to 6pm.”

He said maps and brochures would be available outside of the visitor centre for those who need them.

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Step up, Albo, do what prime ministers do

IT’S time for the prime minister to intervene. Otherwise, he risks the collapse of the “Yes” case for the referendum on the Voice. And he doesn’t have a moment to lose.

Ironically, the threat comes not from the “No” side, but two of the most prominent Aboriginal supporters for the Voice on his own team.

Trouble is, they are not team players. The two rapscallions are, of course, Noel Pearson and Stan Grant, who are so wrapped up in their own personas they can’t see the damage they are doing to the cause.

I have no doubt that Albo can. He’s been around the political traps long enough to understand just how vulnerable a referendum can be when one side splits on what first appears to be a mere technicality.

He watched in horror as John Howard and his atavists chuckled in their beards as the republicans ripped into each other over the manner of choosing an Australian head of state to replace the British monarchy.

He would be even more horrified if his promise to pursue a constitutional amendment to accept the invitation contained in the “Uluru Statement from the Heart” were to suffer the same fate. It was, after all, the first promise he made on that night of electoral triumph over the Morrison ministry to begin

the rebuilding of an Australia fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Indeed, it goes to the heart of our self-perception as a nation embracing the great southern land bequeathed to us by the First Nations people whose love of country is so desperately needed if we’re to survive and prosper in a world where man-made climate change threatens our very existence.

So when Noel Pearson insulted the Aboriginal former human rights commissioner Mick Gooda as “foolish” and worse, “a bedwetter” for suggesting the removal of a few unnecessary words from the referendum question, the “No” folk saw their chance. The words, “and the Executive Government” are not just unnecessary since it’s the parliament not the referendum that

will decide the powers of the Voice. Yet the “No” side has raised it as a scary complication, and the great undecided centre right will split.

But perhaps that’s not the point. Gooda might be right or wrong, but it’s the ferocity of Pearson’s vicious response that elevated the suggestion to an excuse for the undecided to take the “safe” option and vote “no”.

Stan Grant’s protest about his desperate ordeal in the face of social media threats and insults was sad to watch. His complaint that his suffering of

BRIEFLY

Orroral Valley reopens after natural disasters

racial mockery and vile verbal attacks “is in the air I breathe”, is shocking. But when you choose a working life on public television there are well worn ways of coping. Engagement with social media is not compulsory. It’s not even productive.

Of course, that’s easy enough for a privileged whitefella like myself to say. But there is a bigger picture, Stan, and it’s designed to make life very much easier for the Aboriginal folk who will follow you.

That’s the message, surely, that Albo has to get across to these two fine and talented blokes. Maybe it’s the first time since his election that the PM finds himself confronted by a really difficult personal challenge. But that, Mr Albanese, is what real prime ministers do.

The globe-trotting and the great social reforms are the good stuff that comes with The Lodge. But this is also what you signed up for; and the result will define the rest of your political life.

robert@robert macklin.com

NAMADGI National Park’s Orroral Valley has reopened following the bushfire and flooding events in 2020 that damaged Rocky Crossing and other infrastructure.

The bushfires in 2020 burnt more than 80 per cent of Namadgi National Park, which was followed by intense rainfall causing significant flood damage across the fireground, destroying Rocky Crossing amongst the 86,000 hectares of land impacted from the bushfires.

A word or two about languages

THE free Canberra Festival of Languages offers language “taster” sessions, fun activities for all ages, informative displays and talks. At ANU Building 127, 10.30am-4pm, on June 17. Morning tea and light lunch provided. Bookings via actbilingual. weebly.com/events

Ladies to learn about strokes

STROKES and good health are the themes of Yerrabi VIEW Club’s next meeting at the Eastlake Club, Gungahlin, from 11am on June 15. Visitors and interested ladies are welcome. RSVP to 0419 698091 or email dotric65@gmail.com by June 12.

Stan Grant’s protest about his desperate ordeal in the face of social media threats and insults was sad to watch… but when you choose a working life on public television there are well worn ways of coping.

Noel Pearson, left, and Stan Grant… Albanese has to get the message across to these two fine and talented blokes.

Commissioner Yates needs to ‘confess and avoid’

THERE are two advocacy tools that are useful to consider in the context of what’s left of the Sofronoff Inquiry’s public hearings.

The first is “confess and avoid”. The witness is asked questions by their advocate that let them “fess up” to some failing. That done, the witness then explains it as favourably as they can, given the circumstances.

The second tool is the “plea in miti gation”. This is an important part of any sentencing proceedings, whether that follows a plea of guilty or a finding of guilt after a hearing. In such a plea, the person is presenting all those facts and circumstances that lessen the seriousness, so mitigate what they did wrong. It can be presented by the witness or by their advocate.

These tools bring benefits to both the witness and the decision maker. The witness has the chance to offer an explanation, to show insight and contrition, and therefore that the necessary lesson or lessons have been learned.

The decision maker, having received that acceptance of responsibility by the witness, can temper the criticisms they must make, and express more confidence about the future.

So far it has been the police, and only them, who have used these tools in the witness box. Both Commander

ment in the wake of the abandoned trial of Bruce Lehrmann to lead a Board of Inquiry into the actions of the Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC, the defence, the police and the Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates.

Sofronoff’s terms of reference define what is relevant to his inquiry. He elicits what he needs to know, which is different from what he might want to know. He knows the difference. He has been far and away the best questioner we have seen – not just for the content of his questions but also his personal style in asking questions. There’s no waste, no unnecessary diversions. It’s keyhole surgery. There’s pain, but it’s minimised.

Dr Peggy Dwyer and Kirsten Edwards are the perfect choices as the “front women” for Yates. They demonstrate the pay off for thinking carefully when choosing an advocate.

Yates needed to build a persona before she got in the witness box. Through them she has, and it’s very

DPP Drumgold overlooked that factor. He chose the wrong kind of advocate for this battle. He chose a highly skilled, very successful former top prosecutor. Both he and his advocates are combative – a useful attribute for some cases. He needed an advocate who could draw attention to his good qualities.

That was starkly illustrated with the two attacks by his advocates, both failures, upon Insp Marcus Boorman for telling the defence advocate, while the jury was out, that if the jury convicted he would resign.

Given the timing of those attacks, and that they were via the questioning of his superior officers, they carry the characterisation of spite coupled with cowardice. Not a good look and so unnecessary.

It’s human experience, not a law degree, that tells us who is floating and who is sinking. Anyone who has ever been a juror has that insight.

Using those amateur, but lifeinformed insights, who might benefit from “confess and avoid”? Who needs

to think about being seen and heard to be contrite and better informed?

Yates knows there has been a lot of criticism of those photos of her assistance to Higgins at the courthouse. That criticism is that jurors could too easily have formed the view that Yates, a commissioner, believed the accused to be guilty. Such a view would be highly prejudicial to the accused. It defeats the aim of a fair trial. It erodes the presumption of innocence.

Whatever she thought at the time, it would be foolish now to deny that those are reasonable concerns. Her best option is to “confess and avoid”, a tool that she may have used in a statement already filed with the inquiry. If not, she might choose to use it in a statement that she files before her appearance as a witness this week.

Any such “confess and avoid” would focus upon the following: this is what I did at the time. In the months since I have reflected on what I did. I now realise what I should have done and will do in the future…

A statement along those lines would be part of counsel assisting’s questions to her. It will shorten and cool down any cross examination of her. It will also make the commissioner’s task easier. That wins all round.

There has been mention that DPP Drumgold may give further evidence. If so, given that he must know his position, what can he do for the status of his office, for the inquiry and for himself?

The answer is to make a plea in mitigation as follows: he can remind us of the heady tonic that was the uncritical praise for any self-proclaimed victim. He can share his commitment to bringing their wrongdoers to account. He can “fess up” to having let that commitment cloud the use of his training and experience to guide his decision making and conduct of a trial.

He can be amazed that he sent that now notorious November 2022 letter to the police chief.

He can apologise to those he wrongly thought were acting to thwart justice.

He can shoulder the responsibility. He can resign.

This is an edited version of former barrister Hugh Selby’s original column published on citynews.com. au, search “Sofronoff In quiry: Behind the tears, some flowers?”.

Why the bus offers the best lift to the future

2019. Light rail was adopted despite the government’s 2012 submission to Infrastructure Australia for Stage 1, comparing the cost with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), finding BRT had twice the benefit to cost ratio (BCR) of light rail, would cost less than half to establish and provide the same stimulus of light rail.

IMPROVING Canberra’s bus system has lower risk and would be more effective in reducing car use and addressing future travel demand than light rail.

Lower car use is necessary to reduce greenhouse emissions, the cost of accidents, oil imports and pollution. However, the car will continue to be the main mode for most purposes as it is difficult for public transport and other modes to compete with its convenience, comfort, trip time and flexibility.

Data from the 2017 ACT and Queanbeyan-Palerang Household Travel Survey indicate of the 1.3 million trips made each day, 77 per cent were by car with the proportion of trips varying from 63 per cent in south Canberra to 83 per cent in Gungahlin (see chart).

While the reduction in car use will be assisted by investment in cycleway and pedestrian infrastructure and optimising the location of housing

and employment, improving public transport is the main focus.

The late Paul Mees in his 2011 submission to Transport for Canberra, said the substantial upgrading of bus routes, service levels and vehicles and cycleway improvements in the late 1970s, resulted in the public transport mode share reaching 9.9 per cent in 1991 and an increase in cycling.

With self government, public transport use fell when operating subsidies for bus services were reduced and services cut sharply. The bus system was unable to deliver fast, frequent and reliable services and by 2001 the public transport mode share had declined to 6.7 per cent. The public transport mode share increased to 7.1 per cent in 2016 but in 2021 it had fallen to 6 per cent (with the share affected by the increase in working from home).

Based on Canberra’s experience from 1973 to the early 1990s, Mees

vice model that focused on efficiently providing fast, high-frequency, fully integrated services across the whole of the city.

The Public Transport Association of Canberra, in its 2023-24 budget submission (with the major exception of its call for increased light rail services), reflects the views of Mees calling for more frequent bus services, timed connections, faster services and better integrated active travel. It identified more frequent bus services as a priority suggesting “a reasonable standard is every 10 minutes or better on rapid routes, 15 minutes in peak, 30 minutes off-peak weekdays, and 60 minutes late nights and weekends”.

In 2012, the ACT government adopted light rail and the first stage from Civic to Gungahlin opened in

The ACT government has costed the LR1 at $872m (at January, 2016 prices).

Max Flint, from Smart Transport Canberra, calculated the real cost was $1.61 billion at January 2019 prices, not including $600 million to rehouse 1288 public tenants relocated from the corridor. He suggests the cost of Stage 2 to Woden could be in the order of $3 billion given its greater complexity.

The extension to Woden will have a journey time about twice that of the existing R4 and R5 buses, which will militate against patronage.

Extending light rail has a high degree of risk. The improvement in electric bus-based technologies could reduce the efficacy of light rail.

Brisbane chose electric bus rapid transit for its Metro route as it was found to be two thirds the cost of light rail. The trackless tram, already in operation in China, may also be more cost-effective. A trial is to occur in the City of Stirling (Perth) later this year. The higher light rail peak-hour capacity may not be needed if the trend to increased working from

home (which the ABS 2021 Census found increased from 3.1 per cent to 10.9 per cent between the 2016 and 2021) continues, reducing peak-hour demand. Improvements in autonomous vehicles could also limit the public transport capacity required.

There is also uncertainty about how crucial light rail will be in increasing density along the route. Increased higher-density housing in the Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong town centres and at Kingston in the absence of light rail suggest accessibility, not technology, is more important.

The transport investment also occurs in the context of competing spending priorities, with ACT debt forecast to be more than $8.6 billion in 2024/25, large unmet needs especially in social housing and health (let alone theatres, sports stadia) and the ability of buses to serve a greater number of employment locations must question the priority afforded light rail. More so when its transport, city development and climate objectives could be achieved by a more rapid electrification of the fleet and increasing the frequency, comfort, speed (assisted by additional transit lanes and BRT) and coverage of buses on feeder and intertown routes. The prudent investment priority is buses not light rail.

Mike Quirk is a retired NCDC and ACT government planner.

Care Finder

“The ACT government’s public transport, city development and climate objectives could be achieved by a more rapid electrification of the bus fleet and increasing the frequency, comfort, speed and coverage of buses,” writes MIKE QUIRK.

Wouldn’t this be great for West Basin, Andrew?

ON a recent trip to the US we saw not just one but two large sports stadiums on the waterfront at Pittsburg, a medium-sized city.

Wouldn’t this be great for West Basin? It’d give the residents of the apartment buildings behind an interesting outlook (although they might need to close their windows against the noise).

And it may be necessary to extend out into the lake a bit more, but no one would object to that, would they?

It might even make some sense of Light Rail Stage 2A, at least occasionally. Go for it, Andrew!

Richard Johnson, Kingston

Time for a little humility, Mr Barr?

HAVING read Michael Moore’s column (“Hospital takeover raises enormous red flag”, CN May 18), I couldn’t help but wonder if Andrew Barr might repent, get down on both knees and beg the Little Company of Mary to take over the Canberra Hospital?

It seems to me that the healthcare of Canberrans and the surrounding regional community would only stand to benefit enormously from such an appropriate act of penitence.

I think a little humility from our chief minister could go a very long way, but I won’t hold my breath.

Dione Smith, via e-mail

‘Amazing’ place on the doorstep of Canberra

CANBERRA is certainly having some beautiful autumn weather. Recently, my wife and I visited the Namadgi National Park information centre just south of Tharwa. We were most fortunate to come across the stunning exhibition by local photographer Graham Gall “Our Forest in Focus – Life in our Trees”. Complementing Gall’s photographs was the engaging commentary from the Australian National Botanic Gardens, the National Arboretum Canberra, the Australian National University and others.

Accompanying the exhibition is the informative short film “The Importance of Trees” in the visitor centre’s theatrette. Gall is the ACT’s Attenborough. The exhibition is

free and runs until June 28.

Given the stunning day, we also strolled around the woodland discovery trail. An easy loop with brilliant historical instalments.

One featured the surveying of the ACT, another “Gudgenby in a Box”, the early pioneers and their stories in the context of Gudgenby homestead. But perhaps the most powerful story was that for thousands of years, our First Peoples gathered on Mt Gudgenby to feast on Bogong moths and socialise. What an amazing place right on the doorstep of Canberrans.

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Victoria

Leading into renewable obsession mess

MIKE Quirk (Letters, CN May 25) relies on a poem from a washed up, old musician to describe Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Maybe Mr Quirk could publish a few lines from Annie Lennox’s “Would I Lie to You?” to describe current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

As our electricity bills skyrocket, I am left wondering what happened to that election promise that helped get Labor elected that said it would reduce our energy bills by $275. Not to mention the 24-hour nurses promised at aged-care facilities and not to touch our superannuation.

His criticism of Tony Abbott is strange considering Abbott led the party to a landslide election victory against the Rudd/ Gillard debacle. Abbott cleaned up Labor’s mess in a year, but was backstabbed by the Labor lite embarrassment that was

Albanese and his not so merry men (and women) look like they are leading us into a renewable obsession mess, something Climate and Energy Minister Christopher Bowen keeps making a fool of himself about.

Ian Pilsner, Weston

Australia’s largest houses cheek by jowl

IN his column “Rage, rage against heat islands and fewer trees” (CN May 25) Paul Costigan wrote “The reality of the... ACT Greens is that Canberra has enough birds, trees and other critters – so a few less and more heat islands is just fine. That’s Greenslabor’s gentle urbanism!” Regrettably, that’s all too true in Australia’s increasingly crowded capital city.

Drive around any of the newer Canberra suburbs, such as Whitlam in Molongo, and you will see row after row of Australia’s largest houses cheek by jowl, with barely space for a fence – and perhaps a bush or two – between them.

The area at the front of each house is almost entirely paved with a concrete driveway (as shown in Costigan’s article), concrete footpaths, kerbs and gutters, leaving little or no space for trees to grow.

An aerial view shows that backyards are little better, with little more than room for children to play – if their parents can be bothered planting a lawn. Such suburbs are likely to be heat islands, which will become progressively hotter as global heating continues relentlessly.

Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

THE VOICE Falling prey to the ‘same sins’

WHILE Max Flint (Letters, CN May 11), persists in falling prey to the same sins he accuses the “Yes” supporters of, ie lack of evidence-based specifics, he is now seriously misrepresenting the prime minister.

Max writes: “The PM has even said it would be a brave government to deny the Voice”, implying Labor would become the willing creature of “elite suburban” indigenous leaders. The actual comment came in response to an “Insiders” question concerning NT alcohol bans that, controversially, were about to end.

“If the Voice were to say the bans should continue”, the questioner asked, “would that happen?”

Albanese replied lightly: “Well, it would be a very brave government that said it shouldn’t”. A specific answer to a specific, but hypothetical question.

Max’s overarching claim though is the “Yes” arguments merely “boil down to being the right thing to do”. What’s wrong with that? Haven’t most decent Australians been brought up to understand what is right and to act accordingly?

The real gem, however, comes from Max’s website, which he invites us to visit. He actually portends a successful referendum could result in a “blatant [indigenous”] power grab”, leading to a demand that, “a member of the Voice” (sic) be appointed governor-general in order to reject any law that doesn’t benefit [indigenous] peoples.” That, presumably, would be just before the sky falls in.

Eric Hunter, Cook

When the editor makes the mistake

ONE of my pet peeves is when the editor of our daily local paper [ahem, not this one – Ed] amends one’s letter to give a completely different slant to it and then refuses after several requests to correct the error.

My letter mentioned that my default position when a government is pushing a particular issue too hard, is to vote “No” on the basis that in most cases the government’s advocacy is to improve its own position rather than that of the community.

This is the position with the Voice. Having stated my viewpoint I then concluded my letter with the following sentence: “If Albanese wants the Voice to succeed then I suggest he back off”.

The editor [of that other paper – Ed] took this sentence out completely, which left readers thinking that I would vote against the Voice, which is not the case at all. So be careful about how your letters may be altered, without contact with you, before publishing.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Asked to ‘buy a pig in a poke’

THE paucity of reasonably balanced information on what is probably the most significant change to the Australian Constitution has prompted a personal investigation of the Voice.

I feel I am being asked to “buy a pig in a poke” and feel that the simple referendum question without also inserting the proposed new Chapter IX wording is disingenuous.

I am guessing the omission of Section IX (which is very brief) is because it appears to be politically contentious from the point of view of governance.

If the referendum asked our constitution to respectfully acknowledge previous indigenous occupancy without any undisclosed undertones it would have overwhelming support, including mine.

Brian O’Connell, via email

It’s only fair to be consulted first

MYRIAM Amar (Letters, CN May18) has totally misconstrued my letter of May 4 as meaning I don’t support the Voice.

My letter was challenging Jeremy Hanson to provide details of how his statelevel-only Voice would work because his federal leader, Peter Dutton, was pressing PM Anthony Albanese to provide details of how the federal-level Voice would work. For the record, I support the Voice and will vote “yes” in the referendum.

While the constitution permits a government to impose special treatment on members of a race, be it beneficial or detrimental, it is only fair that members have a right to be consulted first.

Bill Bowron, via email

Luke Clews

Malcolm Turnbull.

The Pittsburgh waterfront stadium… the idea might even make some sense of Light Rail Stage 2A, at least occasionally. Photo: Richard Johnson

Businesses with friendly focus on the environment advertising feature GREEN FUTURE

Whether it’s garden maintenance, safe recycling or a general house clean, there are plenty of businesses throughout Canberra who have a green, futurefriendly approach.

To celebrate World Environment Day on June 5, “CityNews” spoke to some of the businesses dedicated to providing a quality service with a focus on being environmentfriendly.

metal recovery problems and create safe, simple and sustainable scrap-metal recycling solutions.

“Access provides the widest range of services to people, to collect or assist them to get their scrap to us for recycling.

“With bins three to 30 cubic metres, flatbed trucks, tippers and excavators with grabs and magnets, when it comes to collecting scrap we do not use contractors, it is all done by Access people and equipment,” he says.

Recycling wood into something beautiful

THOR’s Hammer grew out of Thor Diesendorf’s passion for making furniture with recycled timbers.

“Sustainability and hands-on making is at the centre of our business,” he says.

“We aim to show our respect for these timbers by designing products and pieces that are both practical and beautiful. We produce everything from building timbers to flooring and cladding, to furniture and joinery.

“Reducing waste is what we do. We take care with choosing materials and resources, as we do with sourcing timbers. This includes using natural sunflower-oil based finishes for coating, bio-based resin for filling nail holes, electric

and sold as firewood to minimise waste.”

Thor says he learnt to work with salvaged timber in the early ‘90s, while making furniture from recycled timber with Paul Lynzaat as his unofficial apprentice.

“Having made contact with the local demolition companies and doing a few salvage jobs, I saw how much good timber was going to waste,” he says.

“It is really important to us to be involved in the transition to a circular economy and a more sustainable society. We have been recognised for the Waste Minimisation and the Minister’s Award for Leadership in the 2023 ACT Climate Choice Awards.”

towards green steel manufacturing with an increase of recycled metal going into the mix,” he says.

“As time goes on the ratio of recycled metal into steel making will increase and to be part of that transition is challenging, and great to be part of.”

Access Metal Recycling, 15 Lithgow Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 9920, or visit accessrecycling.com.au

“Our mission is the same as it was when I started the business almost 30 years ago; keep quality timber out of landfill.”

– Thor Diesendorf

(Founder & Director of Thor‘s Hammer)

WE PAY $$$ FOR YOUR SCRAP METAL

Specialising in the collection, removal and recycling of scrap metal, Access Recycling has over 25 years experience providing an extensive range of scrap metal recovery and recycling services.

Ferrous & Non-Ferrous Metals General steel

Motor vehicles

White goods

Metal roofing

Compressors

Batteries

Plant, equipment and machinery

Storage drums

Cabling

Motors and gearboxes

Radiators

Non-toxic cleaning with quality and integrity

THE three focus points of Totally Green Cleaning Solutions are carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning and ground-level window cleaning, says owner Glenn Bignell.

“I tend to mainly do residential cleaning, and I started looking into environmentally friendly cleaning as a result of toxic chemicals in the cleaning industry having a negative effect on my health,” he says.

“I am using non-toxic, odourless and environmentally friendly cleaning products for a greener future and better health.

“Lots of small changes can have a big impact.”

Glenn says as a sole trader he has a direct connection with customers.

“Unlike big companies that tend to be disconnected from their customers, I like helping people and making a difference in their homes by providing old-fashioned customer service,” he says.

“For more than 10 years my business has been operating and evolving. Doing a lot of research and development has made me a better cleaner, which helps the health and safety of my clients, their homes and pets, and my long term health, too.”

Glenn says his mission statement is “to provide environmental cleaning solutions with both quality and integrity.”

Totally Green Cleaning Solutions. Call 0412 299284, or visit totallygreencleaning.net.au

Most outstanding Automotive Services and Winner of ACT Business of the Year 2023

Car Mechanical Services always helping you go further.

We offer a variety of services to keep your car looking and running like new. If you are in need of general auto service, our expert technicians fix all makes and models of vehicles. Charlie, Raffy and the Car Mechanical Services team would like to thank all our loyal clients that voted for us again in the 2023 Canberra Regional Local Business Awards. Now also having been awarded National Small business Champion and Sustainable Small Business of the year 2023.

Car Mechanical Services is committed to leading the industry in minimising the impact of its activities on the environment.

We are committed to being honest and reliable, providing you with a cost effective alternative to dealerships.

At Car Mechanical Services, we have been providing the very best in auto repair and maintenance.

Charlie has over 40 years first-hand experience in the motor vehicle industry. At our family owned and operated car centre, we believe our work is a reflection of our character. We always strive to uphold our reputation as a personable and reliable service.

Our factory-grade diagnostic tools and honest answers provided by our knowledgeable technicians, we are your cost-effective alternative to dealerships.

Providing the best auto repair, means that our technicians understand that you want to preserve the quality of your car as much as possible. Properly maintaining your vehicle will help you prevent complicated repairs and damage in the future.

Car Mechanical Services has been working to achieve a sustainable future and to improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the community.

Our staff are committed to making the workshop cleaner and greener, with an updated environmental strategy - establishing and implementing sound environmental management policies and promotion of best practice in all areas of our business. Car Mechanical Services’ sustainability initiatives demonstrate a holistic approach to reducing waste, promoting recycling, and preparing for the future of sustainable transportation.

Their efforts contribute to a greener automotive industry and set an example for others to emulate. Initiatives include: Mechanics dismantling car parts for recycling. They are a plastic and disposable-free workplace.

They even provide a drop-off point for many recyclable items. To prevent plastic oil containers being made and going to landfill, the business provides refills for customers. The business is adapting its workshop and training staff to be electric vehicle ready.

Car Mechanical Services is now a Platinum member of Green Business Bureau 2023 and an ACT Government, Every Day Climate Choices Accredited Recycler.

environmental risks are properly identified, prioritised and managed in an appropriate way.

Sourcing and promoting a product range (where applicable) to minimise the environmental impact of vehicles. We’ve gone less black more green.

Car Mechanical Services owners Charlie and Raffy Sgroi.

Totally Green Cleaning solutions owner Glenn Bignell.

GARDEN designer and horticulturist, Joel Black says a well laid-out garden adds to the enjoyment and value of a property.

“But a well laid out garden doesn’t always need expensive landscaping,” he says.

“There is so much that can be achieved with good advice, well selected plants and a little know-how.

“I focus specifically on soft landscaping because it is so flexible and adaptable, and can be implemented right away.”

Joel says autumn and winter are the perfect

times to revitalise a garden.

“It gives us time to design and plan before everything starts growing in the springtime,” he says.

“I do this work because I know how much pleasure a garden can bring to a home and a family.

“Whether you are setting up to teach the kids about growing vegetables, or you want to sit with your morning coffee watching the birds in the trees, or you just want to hide from the neighbours behind a beautiful wall of green.”

Joel says he has structured the business to

allow him to help people, from a simple one-off consultation to a full property garden design.

“I can help with establishing and maintaining plants, too,” he says.

“Sometimes this last step is missed by garden designers and landscapers, leaving a beautiful plan, but a client that is overwhelmed and doesn’t know how to care for the plants that then struggle and die.”

Joel Black Horticulture and Garden Design. Call 0409 832056, or visit joelstidygardens.com.au

Garden Designer

Using the philosophy that gardens can be beautifully designed, and re-designed, without necessarily resorting to expensive hard-landscaping.

Soft-landscaping can create an oasis of cool greenery, productive kitchen gardens, or bird attracting plantings. Whatever your goal for your garden is, soft landscaping can get you there.

Within your existing garden footprint, we’ll work with you to ensure your garden thrives in a changing climate and increasing temperature extremes.

• Fully qualified Garden Designer and Horticulturist.

• Designs can either be hand-drawn as an A3 scaled plan or as a 3D computer model.

• All designs are informed by Joel’s horticultural expertise, tailored to Canberra’s climate and your particular site conditions.

• We also provide one-off consultancies, with a walk through of your garden, providing onsite advice on your current set up and options for re-design. You can then decide whether you take the ideas and run with them yourself, or we can help to create and implement a design.

Joelstidygardens.com.au 0409 832 056

joelsgardens@gmail.com

With more than ten years providing trusted cleaning services to the Canberra region, you can rest assured your home or office will be in good hands.

• Personal Customer Service

• Affordable Pricing

Ph: 0412 299 284

www.totallygreencleaning.net.au

Festival celebrates day every

FESTA Della Repubblica, a free event that this year celebrates the 77th Italian national day, will be held at the Italian Cultural Centre, Forrest, on June 4.

Hosted by Com.It.Es, its Canberra president Franco Barilaro says Festa Della Repubblica is a community event and every one’s invited to experience and enjoy all aspects of Italian culture.

“The Italian community is thrilled to invite all Canberrans to share the celebrations of the Italian National Day,” he says.

“The Festa Della Repubblica is an opportunity for families to enjoy good food, great coffee, fun activities and immerse themselves in a very Italian atmosphere.

“This is an event where all the Italian regional associations get together to celebrate. This is our 12th year of celebrating and we are welcoming everyone to come in and be an Italian for the day.”

Com.It.Es is an organisation formed by leading members of the Italian community, with the Canberra branch working with the Italian government and the Italian embassy to meet the needs, hopes and desires of the Italian community in Canberra.

“There will be Italian music performed live by Joe Sorrentino, and the spectacular Dante Musica Viva Choir will perform a

“There will also be Italian street food, gelato, sweets, chestnuts, and coffee stalls open from 10.30am to 4pm.

“Activities will include a jumping castle, face painting and Italian cars on display.”

The Italian ambassador, Paolo Crudele, will open the festivities with a summary of the Italian president’s speech.

“It will be promoting integration, as we share our culture and traditions with Canberra. Fortunately, we are already well

He admits that lunchtime is his favourite part of the day, after he does his 11am speech.

“The event wouldn’t be possible without all our volunteers, they put a lot of work and preparation into making the day a success, and I wish to thank each and every one of them,” he says.

Festa Della Repubblica, Italian Cultural Centre, 80 Franklin Street, Forrest, 11am-4pm, June 4.

Our Hostel will enable you to enjoy a relaxed and caring community environment with 24hr care. Located within a beautiful garden setting in Page, Villaggio Sant’Antonio offers safe and secure living in both our Aged Care Facility and our Independent Living Retirement Villas.

For all enquires please contact us on 62551794 or reception@villaggio.com.au www.villaggio.com.au

The Dante Musica Viva choir.

Italian cars on show.

Fest Della Rebubblica stalls.

The Calabresi stand at La Festa Della Rebubblica.

one can feel Italian

When Italy voted for a republic

Festa Della Repubblica (Festival of the Republic) marks the day in 1946 when the Kingdom of Italy voted to swap its king for a president and become a democratic republic with a new parliament.

After a mainly military education, Victor Emmanuel III came suddenly to the throne in 1900 on the assassination of his father, King Umberto I.

In 1946, public opinion forced a plebiscite to decide between the monarchy and a republican form of government.

In an effort to influence the vote in favour of the dynasty, Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favour of Umberto, but the plebiscite resulted in a victory for the republic, and both Victor Emmanuel and Umberto went into exile.

The result of the referendum was far from a landslide, with only about 54 per cent of the voters choosing to remove their monarch as head of state through this peaceful revolution at the ballot box.

On one hand, it was a big step to end the line of kings that had ruled Italy since its unification about a century earlier, and it was not strictly necessary to get rid of the

FAST FACTS ON ITALY

• Italy is one of Western Europe’s youngest countries, first becoming a nation-state in 1861.

king in order to have a new constitutional democracy. But on the other hand, many Italians were disappointed in the royal family for supporting the ill-fated Fascist dictatorship that led the country to military defeat in World War II.

Democracy was not new to Italy in 1946, either, the Italian Parliament having played a strong role as a check on the power of the king and his ministers since the mid-1800s. But with the king’s support, the Fascist Party, led by Benito Mussolini, was able to seize power in the early ‘20s, and later pass a law in 1926 that completely freed Mussolini from accountability to Parliament.

In this way, the Festa Della Repubblica can be seen to celebrate the return of democracy to Italy in a stronger, more permanent form.

The first period of Italian democracy was based on a constitution agreed to by the King of Piedmont-Sardinia, Charles Albert, in 1848, when Italy was still in the process of uniting as a single nation. The Statuto Albertino, as it is known, was so important to Italy’s formation that the day it was signed became the first Italian National Day.

This was always celebrated on the first Sunday in June, which hovers from year to year around its modern replacement, Festa Della Repubblica.

• Italy’s population, as estimated in 2023, is about 60,000,000 people.

• There are multiple theories about the meaning of Italy’s flag. A popular one is that the colours carry idealistic significance: green for freedom, white for faith, and red for love.

• The capital of Italy, Rome, is more than 2000 years old and is often known as “the eternal city”.

• Thirteen of Shakespeare’s 38 plays are set in Italy.

• With a median age of 46.8 years, Italy has the oldest population in Europe.

• Mount Etna, located on the coast of Sicily, is Europe’s most active Volcano.

• Italy is tied second as the most successful national team in the history of the FIFA World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006).

• Italy is the world’s largest wine producer, making about 4,250,000 litres every year.

Italian Cultural Centre, Forrest.

Com.It.Es Canberra president Franco Barilaro.

The Colosseum in Rome.

Get expert help with that job around the house

THE saying “there’s always room for improvement” is as relevant in the home as it is in many other areas in life.

A house is likely to be a person’s biggest single investment, so it makes sense to make the most of living in it and, at the same time, adding value through professionally guided improvements or DIY repurposing. Here “CityNews” showcases the goods and services of local experts who can help you achieve those objectives…

WHAT the team at C&C Painting Group love most about their work is transforming their clients’ homes and other spaces into something they love and can really enjoy for years to come, says co-owner Tanya Chamberlain.

“Having years of local industry experience, C&C Painting’s four owners saw an opportunity in 2018 to bring their vast range of skills and experience together to provide a top-quality painting and decorating service that clients could trust,” she says.

“We got together to start our own business adventure, and it has grown so much since then, with every member of our team contributing different input and skills to create the very best experience.”

Tanya says C&C Painting offers full interior and exterior home repaints, commercial painting,

strata complex repaints, government painting services and can also manage some other renovation needs, “for your convenience”, including roofing, render and plaster repairs.

“We believe that we have the perfect mix of experience and knowledge combined with a modern flair, which means we are up to date with current trends and best practices,” she says.

“Nothing is too hard for us. We are very particular about leaving the house clean, tidy and a job well done. We understand that people may be living in their home while we work, or they might be off-site and trust us to be in their homes.”

C&C Painting Group, 1b/GF 118 Lysaght Street, Mitchell. Call 6221 3466, or visit ccpaintinggroup.com.au

C&C Painting Group are a local award winning Canberra based company improving the lives of our clients one project at a time.

Our services include:

• Interior & Exterior Home Repaints

• Commercial Painting Strata Complex Repaints

• Government Painting Services

We can also manage some of your other renovation needs for your convenience (roofing, render & plaster repairs) - Enquire today

ENDEAVOUR Carpets offers the largest range of top-quality floor coverings in Canberra and Queanbeyan, with options that help keep the home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, says co-owner Taylor O’Brien.

Established in 1970, and still a family run business, Endeavour will this year celebrate its 53rd anniversary.

Taylor says the business has maintained its original objective of displaying exceptional choices of carpet, bamboo, timber, laminate, cork floating floors, vinyl, vinyl planks and rugs.

showroom as Canberra’s “greatest floor show” with thousands of samples on display, and an experienced team of flooring specialists to make the cus tomer’s experience as easy as possible.

retailers send their customers to view our huge range of top-quality floor coverings,” she says.

As a member of the Independent Carpets group, Taylor says it means Endeavour Carpets can offer customers greater choice and the best available prices.

“As a family business, Endeavour Carpets appreciates that customers are spoilt for choice in a competitive market place, and so maintain an objective to offer the best service and products available and for the best possible price,” she says.

When customers visit Endeavour Carpets, Taylor says they experience

Founders Daniel Carrick and Luke Chamberlain

‘Beautiful’ furniture for the home

OWNER of Timberland Furniture

Tony Purdy says he has a range of beautiful furniture that includes almost anything the home needs: bedding, dining suites, TV units, coffee tables, buffets and more.

Included is a range of Tasma nian Blackwood, says Tony, one of Australia’s most beautiful and sought after timbers.

Tony says the Tasmanian Blackwood furniture offer is being sold at “really good prices”.

“There is clearance stock on tables, buffets, coffee tables and TV units, from 20 per cent to 50 per cent off.”

“I have furniture that can adorn different rooms of the house, but you can’t beat Tasmanian Blackwood as far as I’m concerned.”

Tony says size is often an issue for clients, so whether it’s a TV unit, bookcase or buffet table, Timber land Furniture can custom-make furniture to fit the space.

“We customise the size of a particular piece to meet the customer’s requirements and they choose the timber,” he says.

Timberland Furniture, 100 Barrier Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 7411, or visit timberlandfurniture.com

Havana extension table in Australian Blackwood timber available at Timberland Furniture.

spend a lot more time at home”, says co-owner James Fullerton.

He says the business, which has been operating for more than three decades, has become a well recognised part of Fyshwick offering a wide range of dining and comfort options, as well as outdoor tables and wall accessories for any home improver.

Co-owner Taylor Radnell says every day is a sale day.

“We have electronic standing desks, mesh back ergonomic chairs and ample storage

Bedding built to suit every body

THE Australian Bedding Company is a family-owned business that has operated for 25 years, says office manager Stephen

“We have more than 35 beds and bedroom suites on display in our show-

“We truly offer ‘old fashioned service’ where your personal needs are catered for.

“We match your beds and furniture to your requirements. Our highly trained sales staff have time to spend with you and really

Retail store manager Raj D’Silva says they are getting ready for a massive end of

“The Australian Bedding Company showroom is overflowing with options to improve the home with a brand new bed,”

Furniture with a focus on detail

EBSWORTH Upholstery is well known for quality furniture restorations, says office manager Robyn Ebsworth.

Owned and operated by her husband Mark, “a skilled upholsterer with more than 20 years of experience”, Robyn says they’ve been delivering a range of furniture upholstery services to the Canberra and Queanbeyan regions since 2017.

pieces of high end furniture.”

James says Ex-Government Furniture is a staple of Fyshwick, with interesting items and objects spanning a wide variety of time periods, budgets and designer styles.

“To make a house a home, we provide furniture and accessories to help personalise any space. There’s a huge range and we can work with customers to their budget.

Ex-Government Furniture, 6 Yallourn Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 6490 or visit exgovfurniture.com

“We’re offering discounts on already discounted prices, all of our showroom floor and warehouse stock will be up to 25 per cent off, valid until June 30.

“We have everything from water beds to full bedroom suites.”

Stephen says the company sources a high percentage of Australian-made products.

“We have our own delivery drivers, so quick delivery of stock items can be achieved by staff, not contractors,” he says.

The Australian Bedding Company, 2/78 Hoskins Street, Mitchell. Call 6262 3260, or visit australianbeddingcompany.com.au

“What is less known is that together with The Art of Frippery we also offer a range of soft furnishings. These can be purchased from our retail space at Dirty Janes Canberra or custom ordered from our workshop in Beard,” she says.

“Soft furnishings are one of the quickest and easiest ways to give your home a refresh and add finishing touches. Cushions, throws and rugs can add a lot of warmth and comfort to your home particularly in the winter months and are a great way to add colour and textures to your home.

“Lampshades are a brilliant way to incorporate art and colour in a room. We have had increased interest in our lampshade-making services and have decided to share our creative

skills by offering lampshade making workshops.

“Starting from the end of June, small group workshops will be delivered at Dirty Janes. Two classes will be offered, to make a lampshade or a small table lamp. All materials and tools are provided, and you will get to enjoy a yummy morning or afternoon tea from Salters new café opening soon.”

Ebsworth Upholstery, 4/1 Alumina Street, Beard. Call 0434 982708, or visit ebsworthupholstery.com.au

The Art of Frippery, Dirty Janes Canberra, 80 Collie Street, Fyshwick. Visit theartoffrippery.com.au

Ex-Government Furniture owners James Fullerton, left, and Taylor Radnell.

Ebsworth Upholstery... Robyn says: “They’ve been delivering a range of furniture upholstery services to the Canberra and Queanbeyan regions since 2017”.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS advertising feature

Knowledgeable staff with a range of natives

COOL Country Natives stocks the largest range of native Australian plants in the ACT and surrounds, says owner Karen Brien.

“We have new stock of locally grown Wollemi from the National Arboretum now which is exciting,” she says.

“But we get new stock every week, and we offer drought and frost-hardy plants for your home garden.

“Frost hardy plants will be easier to manage, and make it easier for watering.

Decades of flooring and window experience

CARPET One and CBI Blinds & Awnings, located in Mitchell, have been serving the Canberra community for more than 20 years, says co-owner Leonie Gann.

“Our experienced team is well-equipped to assist customers with various flooring needs, from carpets, timbers, laminates and vinyl planks,” she says.

“Under the same roof is our window furnishings store CBI Blinds & Awnings, offering a huge range of window treatments, including roller blinds, romans, verticals, shutters, Verishades and curtains, and specialises in Ziptraks, Oztech retractable roof systems and outdoor awnings and shutters.”

Leonie, along with her partner Paul, run the family business and boast a team with more than 75 years of combined experience.

“Our expertise ensures that customers receive knowledgeable assistance in selecting the right products and addressing any

specific installation requirements,” she says.

“Carpet One provides free design consults and on-site measures, allowing us to identify and discuss any potential issues during the design process. “Our in-house magazine serves as a visual guide, aiding customers in finding the perfect style for their homes.”

Leonie says the team at Carpet One strive to match the products in their showroom with customers’ specific goals and preferences.

“Carpet One offers tailored package deals that provide customers with the opportunity to save on their flooring and window treatment purchases. These package deals are designed to offer cost-effective solutions while meeting customers’ requirements.”

Carpet One, 141 Flemington Road, Mitchell. Call 6241 5666 or visit carpetone.com.au/ mitchell or cbiblinds.com.au

Karen’s dedicated team of reliable and knowledgeable staff say they’re happy to talk to customers and help them with any queries.

“We go out of our way to help people find the right plant for the right spot; we’re attentive and we know what stock is in the nursery,” she says.

“Please come and talk with us for advice. We have plenty of tubestock and farm trees, and we know how it grows and what it requires. The team do their best to help our shoppers wherever they can.”

Karen says people should know their opening hours will change from May 29, in preparation for winter.

“Our winter trading hours change from 8.30am to 10am on weekends.”

Kim’s passionate about improving homes

AS the owner of Renovation Matters, Kim Persson says her love of renovating has seen her take her passion from a hobby to a successful business.

Kim says she’s got the experience and know-how to transform homes to the best effect.

“I can help people who are thinking of downsizing, or renovate to add in shower rails or seats,” she says.

“Or we can renovate a family home to get people money when moving into the next chapter of their lives.”

Kim says she’s noticed a change in the current market.

“Times are changing and it’s important to strategise, to give your house an uplift, making sure the home is well presented,” she says.

“I’m hearing that houses that are unrenovated or needing repairs are sitting on the market and not moving.

“It’s currently a buyer’s market rather than a seller’s market, so you have to be very strategic with the areas you renovate.

“We can renovate to sell, or to add functionality so you can stay at home more comfortably.”

Renovation Matters offers a “fix up, profit and pay later” process in which they can cover upfront renovation costs before settlement.

“If you’re struggling with tough times, or finding it harder to pay the mortgage, we can fund improvements until settlement,” she says.

“If we are needed to help a client, there’s nothing we can’t do to help make the renovation a stress-free experience.”

Renovation Matters, visit renovationmatters.com.au or call Kim on 0427 696662.

Renovation Matters operations manager Amy Gannon, left, with owner Kim Persson.

ASK US ABOUT OUR FROST HARDY PLANTS

HOME IMPROVEMENTS ad

Stressless furniture celebrates 30 years

TONY Ayres, manager of Sears Morton, says they have been offering their Norwegian Stressless range for 30 years in Canberra.

“The range offers recliners, lounges and even reclining dining chairs, and is on the upper end of the comfort market, so we’re having a 20 per cent off Stressless furniture sale,” he says.

“We’ve had most of our business through referrals, so by celebrating all year long we’re thanking those who have bought from us, and welcoming any new customers to come and check it out.

“The Stressless range is Australian chiropractor endorsed, and is modern, Scandic looking which never goes out of style.”

Tony prides himself on his customer service.

“We’re quite passionate about the product, and we have a good team who can answer all your questions,” he says.

“I’ve had feedback where people say they appreciate old-fashioned, personal customer service.

“I realise the importance of helping people to find the right furniture.”

Sears Morton, 167 Newcastle Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 5587, or visit searsmorton.com.au

One of the reclining dining chairs available at Sears Morton.

Cambridge is the write call for Kirsty

COVER STORY

By Helen Musa

KIRSTY Budding will head to England later this year to begin a two-year Master of Studies in Writing for Performance at Cambridge University.

While there, her supervisor will be British playwright Fraser Grace, whose plays include “Breakfast with Mugabe” and “Always Orange” for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The program, which starts in October, is taught in the form of intensive residencies at Cambridge University and distance supervision periods, allowing Budding to continue living in Canberra most of the time and to manage her business, Budding Entertainment.

No stranger to these pages, a quick glimpse back shows that in 2019 she was announced as “YMag Woman of the Year” by Australian women’s empowerment magazine “YMag”, and also honoured with their “Rising Star Award.”

In 2016 she won Best Script Award for her play “Brexit” in Short+Sweet Theatre, then at the end of the same year staged “Santa, Baby”, short Christmas plays writ ten by Canberra playwrights and in 2015, her full-length play “The Art of Teaching Nothing” was staged.

Business-wise, she extended her aptly-named Budding Theatre to include a new talent agency providing professional opportunities for children and teens.

But Budding is no “theatre-only” tragic. In the lockdown period she launched a “Theatre & Wine Appreciation” course for adults, but she also holds a masters from the ANU in Arab and Islamic studies.

Scarcely daunted by the pandemic, in 2021 she completed, online, the professional program in producing with UCLA and the industry certificate in script assessment at the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

She travelled to the US where her screenwriting won top prizes in the Dallas International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, Sherman Oaks Film Festival and Hollywood Just4Shorts.

Last year was a bumper one, when her

ARTS IN THE CITY

on stage in Sydney, I thought, ‘I like this’.”

Being a self-described “old-school Anglican person,” she started adapting classic novels for the stage, mainly Jane Austen, whom she loves, but also Dickens, Louisa Alcott and Scott Fitzgerald.

“I realised that if you produce lesserknown works, people won’t come, but this way I wouldn’t lose money on the shows,” she says, noting with some amusement that when she put “Little Women” on in The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre staff were shocked by how well it went.

By 2015, her sideline teaching was becoming a real source of income, but it took until 2019 for her to stop teaching, just in time for covid to hit.

Nothing daunted, Budding took to Zoom and challenged her pupils to “stay engaged” by producing little videos.

“Of course, it wasn’t as satisfying as having everyone in the room, but it served a function,” Budding says.

With covid recovery pretty much behind her, Budding decided she wanted to do more stage postgraduate studies and Googled around.

“I wanted to do something involving writing for performance, but I also wanted to head back to the UK to see more of my grandma,” she said.

“I looked at different courses, but this one stood out. It involves four intensive study blocks where I travel backwards and there, but I’m still able to run my business in Canberra.

“In between residencies, they’ll set assignments and give feedback – I’m very happy to work on my own.”

New play of old radicals facing death

By Helen Musa

NEXT up at The Q is “The Waltz”, a new Australian play by David Cole, a teacher and scriptwriter from Goulburn.

The story focuses on former members of The Push subculture in Sydney, played by Pauline Mullen and Martin Sanders. It looks at two ageing radicals, now in their 70s and facing death. The often-funny play was inspired by a conversation between journalist John Thistleton and the playwright. At The Q, 7.30pm and 2pm, June 9 and 10.

BIG hART and the National Portrait Gallery are presenting “Gulgawarnigu: Thinking of something, someone”, new digital artworks produced by young artists from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of WA. The artworks were made during after-school creative sessions at the Digital Lab, a local tech art space that operates as a hub for innovation. NPG, June 3-October 2.

sci-fi comedy won the Houston Comedy Film Festival short comedy section, she was named a 2022 Screenwriter to Watch by Event Horizon Films, saw her screenplay for a feature set during the Australian bushfires selected for “Scriptable” by Queensland Writers Centre and was inducted into the Australian Writers’ Guild Pathways Showcase.

Born into a Gloucestershire family in England as the oldest of four children, Budding spent her childhood going to and from Australia, with short stints in Perth and Adelaide when little. But her formative years were in the UK, accounting for her crisp English accent, though she finished up at school in Perth from

age 15 to 17.

While her parents continued to prevaricate over geography, Budding headed straight for the ANU and, after graduating with an arts degree and a teaching diploma, she became a working teacher around Canberra.

On weekends and nights, she was already teaching theatre, until someone suggested to her that there was an opening in the market for children’s acting classes, so she started hosting holiday programs on a regular basis.

All the while, she was involved in the 10-minute play movement, Short+Sweet, of which she says: “They provided a stage for a forum and when I first saw my own script

Covid, she believes, has made everybody comfortable with the idea that you can achieve things from your own bedroom, so that distance studies are no longer considered second-rate education.

She doesn’t know the Cambridge area, but says that while growing up, the “Cambridge thing” got in her head, notably the Cambridge Footlights – think Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson.

The Cambridge University course will include scriptwriting for both live theatre and screen, and a section for stand-up comedy with a Cambridge Footlights team as part of the course.

“I’m all about comedy, I just want to laugh after the few years we’ve had,” she says.

“FOR the Record”, the members’ show at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, takes the humble LP as the starting point for member-artists to re-use, re-work or re-write the record. “Delve into your old LP collections… and create artworks that are sure to be a hit,” they advise. A one-day exhibition will take place at CCAS on the Lake on June 17, preceded by a party the night before where local DJs will spin all-vinyl sets. CCAS’s zero-commission policy means artists get 100 per cent of the sale price.

CANBERRA-raised director Amin Palangi will see his latest feature film, “Tennessine”, screened at the Sydney Film Festival from June 13. The “love-interrupted” movie follows the story of Arash (played by “Ali’s Wedding” star Osamah Sami) as he travels to Australia against his family’s wishes to reunite with his true love, Nazanin (Faezeh Alavi). Palangi, an ANU doctoral graduate and part of a very well-known family of Canberra artists, won the audience award at the 2014 Sydney Film Festival for his documentary, “Love Marriage in Kabul”.

THE Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra returns to Canberra to perform Beethoven’s “Septet” and Louise Farrenc’s “Nonet” in a concert titled “New Perspectives”. Albert Hall, 7pm, June 6.

Kirsty Budding… “I wanted to do something involving writing for performance, but I also wanted to head back to the UK to see more of my grandma.”

Photo: Linus Wong

DINING / Surveyors Hill Vineyards

Bistro dining at hospitable best

When Judy’s fabulous fifties start to fade

By Helen Musa

THERE’S something slightly quirky about the title of Canberra Rep’s coming production “Home, I’m Darling”.

SURVEYORS

Hill Vineyards is bistro dining at its best. The restaurant and cellar door welcome guests with a warm embrace, inviting them to stay as long as they’d like.

The menu changes weekly. Eggs, herbs, flowers and some veggies are home grown, and some cured olives are from the property’s 500 olive trees.

Four of us enjoyed the drive to the 40-hectare, family-owned vineyard, in Wallaroo near Hall, and we went all out with entrées, mains and dessert (too many dishes to describe in one review so shall focus on top picks).

The red lentil soup was the star of the entrées, lightly curried with tomato, fresh coriander and a decadent dollop of coconut cream ($15). The parfait of chicken livers, enriched with cream and brandy, was equally decadent and a super generous serve ($18).

We all adored the smoked trout paté with dill and punchy pickles, pretty on the plate. Speaking of plates, Surveyors Hill, in line with its country charm, has an eclectic array of dinnerware – each

WINE

piece unique.

With mains, the two lamb cutlets were cooked perfectly pink and arrived with creamy new potatoes and a medley of tomato salad ($33). The cutlets were marinated with garlic and herbs before being grilled. The twice-baked soufflé was a stand-out, created with sharp cheddar and gruyère ($25). A small, fresh white grape, walnut and parmesan side salad rounded out the dish.

We were going to share two desserts but ended up sharing three (no regrets). The vanilla bean crème caramel was TO-DIE-FOR, and we were delighted it was made with Surveyors Hill eggs and a few duck eggs for that extra richness ($12). Talk about a treat and the accompanying poppyseed shortbread was melt-in-the-mouth.

Our table went silent as we indulged, and I mean indulged, in the lime and coconut syrup cake ($15) with fresh passionfruit and double crème. The chocolate and hazelnut torte was

sensational ($15), featuring orange flavours, chocolate ganache and crème fraiche.

Diners and those visiting the cellar door can buy wine by the glass or bottle at cellar door prices (no markup). We selected the multiple award-winning, 2021 Viognier (only $10 a glass, $28 bottle), and the 2022 rosé, a blend of cabernet franc and grenache ($10 glass, $25 bottle). Staff were happy to chat about all wines, sharing loads of knowledge.

The cosy dining area is smallish but beautiful – cool in summer and with a wood fire to warm in winter (bookings recommended). Super-sized, double-glazed windows let diners soak in the panoramic views. The décor is comforting with bookcases loaded with fascinating books on wine and cooking, soft leather couches and puffy, colourful pillows. A new, large outdoor deck was about to open on our visit.

Tasting wine, come rain or shine…

The Stomp weekend organised by the Canberra District Wine Industry Association was forecast to be cold, wet and windy.

The forecast was regrettably accurate, but as I was being collected by friends, who had persuaded me to go with them on the Saturday of the two-day festival, I crawled from under the doona and donned my winter layers, trying not to let the mizzle outside affect my mood.

I cheered myself up remembering the story of the weather reporter whose wife filed for divorce. It was not what he predicted.

Our first stop was Clonakilla, as we were inveigled by the prospect of a taste of the 2013 Shiraz Viognier Museum Release, which sells for $150 a bottle.

It was an excellent year for Canberra district wines, as we were later to find out when we were also lucky enough to taste the 2013 Four Winds shiraz, which was outstanding.

Clonakilla’s Tim Kirk was named Australian Winemaker of the Year in 2013. Kirk is the son of the founder, Dr John Kirk, who established Clonakilla in 1971. The shiraz viognier has become an icon of the excellence of Canberra district wines.

Clonakilla is viewed by many as the jewel in the crown of Canberra wines. In Halliday’s “Wine Atlas of Australia” he says this: “The quality of the wines is exceptional, none more so than the highly regarded shiraz viognier, which sells out so quickly every year that Kirk has introduced a second shiraz

During Stomp, Clonakilla had three whites and seven reds on taste, with the last wine the museum release.

The cellar door is a pleasant place to get out of the rain and the person who served us our glugs of wine was charming and knowledgeable.

The 2022 viognier was the best of the whites. This varietal is known for its perfumed bouquet usually featuring peach and honeysuckle. The 2022 was indeed perfumed with a musk-stick lolly nose, the pink confection linked to childhood.

While newly bottled, this wine was already mouth filling with a clean light acidity and, thankfully, just a hint of the musk that predominated on the nose. It’s one to put away and savour with goats’ cheese and fresh dates.

Of course, the 2013 Museum Release was

the best of the reds. It is a powerful wine, 14 per cent alcohol by volume. It had caramel on the nose and was silky in the mouth. The tannins were almost all gone so it didn’t have as much grip as anticipated, but the rich plum flavours showed this as a wine of quality.

After Clonakilla we visited Four Winds where the 2013 riesling and shiraz were available to compare with the 2021 vintages: as with the Clonakilla offering, a good return on the $29.50 a ticket for Stomp.

The 2013 shiraz was a wine for my taste. It had an earthy bouquet with a hint of liquorice (old wine and childhood lollies again!). It was not the velvet of the Clonakilla, but very rich and complex with a brambly black-fruit finish that surprised and delighted. Alas, there is not enough of the 2013 in stock for it to go on sale.

Despite the lousy weather, my friends and I had a great time, ending the day at Dionysus Wines singing along with the three-piece band, banishing thoughts of the imminent bleakness of winter and thinking good thoughts about the celebration of Canberra’s wines.

“Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, and makes weariness forget his toil.” –Lord Byron

It’s Olivier award-winning play wright Laura Wade’s twist on “I’m home, darling,” the familiar strains of the ‘50s husband returning to the little wife.

When I talk to director Alexandra Pelvin about her second directorial role for Canberra Rep, she tells me this play could hardly be more up to date.

Strangely enough though, Wade, an important UK playwright, who is also one of the writers and execu tive producers of the new Disney+ series “Rivals”, spent 10 to 12 years in collaboration with the director and the actor playing the main role in developing this script.

That means, if you consider that the #MeToo movement got going in 2017, she was way ahead of her time in documenting a big social shift.

She has set her play in 2018, where the main character Judy wants to live in the ‘50s, but is trying to make this happen with all the #MeToo stuff happening in the real world.

Here’s the premise of the play. Judy and Johnny are unreconstructed ‘50s bobby-soxers who attend events such as “Jivestock” (think Woodstock). Judy has always loved the idea of the ‘50s, ever since watching ‘50s movies with her dad.

She dresses in ‘50s gear, searching for the idealised beauty of pastel colours and gorgeous frocks, Doris Day and (pre-HIV) Rock Hudson – “Golden dreams of a kinder, gentler place,” Pelvin says.

But, here’s the unusual part, initially it’s Judy who is the family breadwinner managing a staff of six in a finance company. When she’s suddenly made “surplus to requirements”, she comes home and asks Johnny: “What if we lived in the ‘50s, I’d stay at home and you’d work?”

Initially, Johnny questions it, but he goes along way with it.

Luckily, there are no kids. Pelvin says that would complicate things for the playwright.

As they say in showbiz: “What could possibly go wrong?” And it does.

But in the meantime, playwright Wade has had fun examining gender roles in the context of the modern world, where feminists have made massive strides and the quality of life for women has improved.

Johnny works in an estate agency with people who don’t

friends, Fran and Mark enjoy a bit of a ‘50s aesthetic, though she’s a stylist and he works in an ad agency.

Three years later, Johnny isn’t getting enough commissions, the fabulous fifties appliances are breaking down and the retro car is very expensive to maintain with no second income.

Judy hides these facts from Johnny and in Act I, she’s trying to maintain appearances, but in Act II we see what happens when Johnny finds out.

Pelvin is not about to tell us how it ends, except to say that for some people it’ll be a happy ending and for others, a sad one.

“It is very, very funny,” she says, “but it also hits you where it hurts.”

To a contemporary audience Judy and Johnny will be representatives of people retreating from the world, a very present idea for people coming out of lockdown. But underneath, there is the theme of finding control in an unpredictable environment. Judy has opted for the ‘50s as reliable, but the world proved to be a lot more chaotic.

The cast, starring Karina Hudson as Judy, was about to get into the theatre when I spoke to Pelvin.

Needless to say, the set and costume departments are having huge fun – watch out for those frocks.

And Pelvin’s been sorting through her dad’s stack of old ‘50s records and has found a bit of Louis Prima, Mel Tormé and some Fats Domino, though she won’t tell me what she’s actually using for scene transitions.

Suffice it to say, there’ll be a lot of laughs and more than a bit of nostalgia.

“Home, I’m Darling,” Canberra Rep Theatre, June 15 (preview) to July 1.

Vanilla bean crème caramel… made with Surveyors Hill eggs and a few duck eggs for extra richness. Photos: Wendy Johnson

Lamb cutlets… cooked perfectly pink and arrived with creamy new potatoes and a medley of tomato salad.

At last, another look through the mirror darkly STREAMING

IN an era where there’s an endless number of TV shows clamouring for cultural relevance, “Black Mirror” has pulled off a rare feat by consistently managing to shock its audience.

From couples who record each other’s memories to a world where social media determines quality of life, this twisted sci-fi anthology on Netflix has included some episodes that have both disturbed and amused.

Each episode of “Black Mirror” is a selfcontained story, roughly an hour long, that imagines scenarios where humans unlock the frightening potential of technology.

In one of the show’s most popular instalments, young friends wrestle with the idea of uploading their consciousness to a digital “afterlife”.

In another, a grieving woman uses artificial intelligence in order to bring back her partner who was killed just weeks before in an accident.

One of the episodes, “Bandersnatch”, even featured an interactive story, allowing streamers to determine the outcome of the plot by making decisions with their TV remote.

All this is to say that “Black Mirror” has carved itself out as “The Twilight Zone” for the digital age. There’s perhaps no higher compliment.

has promised that new episodes will finally arrive.

At time of writing, the streaming giant has only confirmed the new season will hit the platform in June, ominously (and rather irritatingly) leaving an exact date off.

But no matter when, its return will be a welcome one for many subscribers, as the show has remained one of Netflix’s most consistent hits. It should be mentioned that those not subscribed to Netflix can currently catch some of season four for free on ABC iView.

The upcoming season will feature five

MUSIC / Tina Turner

eyebrow-raising episodes, including one about a shy sales assistant who must commit another set in space with “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul.

There’s one that does sound particularly intriguing, with rumour that it’ll be taking aim at the streaming industry itself.

The premise involves an everyday woman who discovers a global streaming platform has turned her life into a prestige TV drama series, setting the scene for a modern and meta rendition of “The Truman Show”.

While season five of “Black Mirror” was widely considered not quite as strong as its predecessors, these set ups for the new episodes come with a whole new world of

‘Queen of Rock’ dies in Switzerland

Rock icon Tina Turner, known for hits including “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and “Simply the Best”, has died in Switzerland at the age of 83 after a long illness.

The US-born singer came from humble beginnings in the state of Tennessee to reach global super-stardom.

She was admired for overcoming her abusive 16-year marriage with performing partner Ike Turner to find solo-career success in her mid-40s.

She rose to fame as a duo with Ike in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Hits such as “River Deep, Mountain High” and “Nutbush City Limits” stormed the charts in several countries.

As Turner revealed much later, the marriage was torture for her, with Ike beating and bullying her.

She eventually fled from him at the age of 37.

She gave up all financial claims to the music they jointly created in order to get through the divorce quickly and launch the next chapter of her career.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, Turner won eight competitive Grammy Awards and has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St Louis Walk of Fame.

She duetted at the Grammys with Beyonce for a rendition of Proud Mary which featured both the powerful singers, in sparkly outfits, mirroring each other’s choreography.

Other notable duets through her career included performing with David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Jimmy Barnes.

At the age of 45, she shone in the spotlight with the album “Private Dancer”, her solo breakthrough in 1984. From then on she filled stadiums and music stages all over the world.

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s the “Queen of Rock and Roll” thrilled audiences with her powerful voice, daring costumes, sexy dance routines and boundless energy. She landed numerous hits, from “What’s Love Got To

Do With It?” and “Proud Mary” to “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and “Simply the Best” to name a few. and later became a Swiss citizen.

With her German partner Erwin Bach, a record company manager who was 16 years her junior, she had lived on Lake Zurich since the 1990s.

They married in 2013 at a lavish wedding at their lakeside villa.

In 2021 she was inducted into the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“If they’re still giving me awards at 81, I must have done something right,” she joked at the ceremony via video link from Switzerland.

Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock to a sharecropper family on November 26, 1939, had suffered from colon cancer and kidney failure.

Her husband donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017.

In the autobiography “My Love Story” in 2018 she wrote about the many painful experiences in her life but honoured Bach as her saviour and her greatest love.

–with Reuters

potential that could further solidify “Black Mirror” as a cautionary tale for our age.

Its title, of course, alludes to the very thing its audience watches the show on.

THIS month, Amazon Prime Video has dropped one of the most expensive TV shows ever made.

How expensive? Try $50 million an episode, well exceeding the newest season of “Stranger Things”, which racked up a budget of $30 million an episode.

This new series is called “Citadel” and it’s yet another spy thriller to come from the Russo brothers.

The duo has become well known for blockbusters since directing “Avengers: Endgame”, and this is certainly their most ambitious project since.

It stars Richard Madden as Mason Kane, a secret agent who’s part of a global spy network named Citadel, which is locked in battle with “Manticore” – a quickly growing crime syndicate that threatens to take over

In its defence, “Citadel” doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. This is an action blockbuster that asks the audience to leave their brain at the door and the Russo brothers know it. Sadly though, that insane budget still can’t make this anything more than a way to kill a few hours.

Personally, I can’t help but feel Richard Madden’s talents would be of far more use in the role of a certain other secret agent since Daniel Craig hung up the tux.

Madden gets my vote.

And shock value is going off the shelves, this new series can’t quite live up to the thrills instilled by its predecessor.

Boiling bunnies, it seems, just doesn’t quite cut it anymore.

“Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul in one of the five episodes in season six of “Black Mirror”.

Richard Madden as secret agent Mason Kane in “Citadel”.

Tina Turner, widely referred to as the Queen of Rock and Roll, has died aged 83 in Switzerland. (EPA PHOTO)

Bare gardens bring time to plan

ONCE all the leaves have fallen, winter shows the structure of the garden and it’s a good time to think about what changes to make to improve the space.

It is also a good time to plan where evergreen plants and hedges might go to give the garden interest in the cooler months.

Hedges can be used in many ways and not just a border plant for privacy. They can be helpful for embankments, slopes and soil erosion or flowering swathes in the garden.

Most importantly, hedges make useful homes for unique habitats to nest, breed and hibernate. The larger the leaf, the more informal the hedge can be; the smaller the leaf, the more formal the hedge, the more trimming is required.

Most plants will need at least a little bit of sun in the winter to survive, so observing shadows in winter helps with plant choices beside hedges.

When digging the soil over for planting a hedge, a trench is beneficial for smaller plants. Larger plants can be planted in separate holes so choose what is best for what you are planting.

The compact evergreen

Teucrium fruticans is a terrific drought-tolerant plant that thrives in full sun. A magnet for bees, it has strong, grey foliage with beautiful blue flowers in the

spring and summer. It comes from the mint family, so it’s tough and a long-lived plant. Hedges can take from three to five years to establish, so careful planning and plant choices are important; the higher the hedge the higher the maintenance. Site preparation can be done now for planting in spring.

There are so many shrubs to choose from including dwarf varieties, such as Abelias, Choisyas or Correas. Small hedges are also great for pots as a moveable screen on a balcony.

OLIVES can be harvested from now to early winter and picked when they are nearly ripe or have begun to change colour from purple to black.

Harvesting small fruits from trees can be tricky. Lay a tarp or bird netting under the tree and dislodge the fruit with a rake.

Popular varieties that grow well in our region are Manzanilla (Spanish) and Kalamata (Greek). They can both survive hot summers and cold winters. They are self-fertile and will produce more fruit if there is a pollinator nearby.

Olives can be grown in pots as standards, topiaries or as an espalier. To keep olive trees productive, they need a general-purpose fertiliser and consistent watering while the fruit is growing. Planting olive trees is preferred in autumn, but can be done in spring and established before the hot summer weather comes.

Dig a hole twice the size of the pot, add compost to the hole and mix in with the existing soil. Olive trees are not fussed with acid or alkaline soil but will not tolerate wet feet and can live for long periods with dry weather.

Olives need to be processed within three days to prevent them going sour, but knowing if you want to brine them or press them will determine when they should be picked.

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au

Jottings…

• Grape vines and wisteria can be pruned now.

• Prune Kiwi fruit vines the same way as wisteria.

• Liquid fertilise leafy greens in the veggie patch.

• Deadhead winter-flowering plants such as cyclamens, bergenias and pansies to encourage flowering.

Olives… can be harvested now and should be picked when they are nearly ripe or have begun to turn black

The compact evergreen Teucrium fruticans… a terrific drought-tolerant plant that thrives in full sun. Photos: Jackie Warburton

HOROSCOPE PUZZLES

Your week in the stars

By Joanne Madeline Moore

5-11 June, 2023

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Red-hot Rams are talented creatures with fiery, fertile imaginations. And this week Venus and Mars are both transiting through your creativity zone. So, it’s time to show the world how fabulously creative you can be. This week, dig deep, connect with your inner muse and express yourself! Be inspired by music icon (and birthday great) Prince: “To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings. I wish it upon everybody. It’s heaven.”

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

With Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus hurtling through your sign, your energy levels are set on high… and you’re feeling (uncharacteristically) impatient. But Pluto cautions you to be less hasty and a lot more strategic, as you steer clear of quick-fixes and, instead, plan for the long-term. Good things will definitely come to clever Bulls who learn to wait. As birthday great Prince wisely noted: “Sometimes it takes years for a person to become an overnight success.”

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

It’s a busy week for gung-ho Geminis! Mercury (your boss planet) makes positive connections with unique Uranus, creative Neptune and powerful Pluto. Then Mercury transits into your sign (where it joins the Sun). So, it’s important to cast inauthentic personas aside and enjoy the freedom of being the real you. As birthday great Judy Garland said: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

You’re keen to retreat into your Crab cave as the Sun visits your contemplation zone. So solo activities like meditation and yoga are favoured. But a friendship could veer off-course and shake you out of any sense of complacency. Your inner voice will help you to navigate your way back home. Be inspired by Princess Diana (who had Sun in intuitive Cancer and Moon in rebellious Aquarius): “I don’t go by the rule book. I lead from the heart, not the head.”

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Va-va-voom Venus vamps into your sign (where it joins fiery Mars) so you’re keen to flirt up a storm and call in a few old favours. It’s also a terrific time to indulge in creative passions like cooking, drawing, decorating, renovating, gardening, music or craft projects. Coupled Cats – things could get hot and heavy as your libido fires up. Singles – you’re in a hurry to find your soulmate but you’ll have to be patient. Take your time and don’t accept second-best.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Virgos are clever and capable – but are you confident enough for big-time success? The Sun and Mercury are activating your career zone – but you won’t get ahead if you waste time making mountains out of molehills. Networking is favoured, as you expand your international connections. A wonderful opportunity is heading in your direction, but you must grab it when it appears, or it will pass you by. So, stop overthinking things and instead, start doing!

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

This week Mercury and Pluto boost your business brain, and you’ll feel more positive about your financial and professional future. But resist the urge to be precious about possessions and possessive of loved ones. Give family and friends plenty of freedom to do their own thing. Coupled Libra – resist the temptation to keep a big secret from your partner. Unhappily single? Venus and Mars encourage you to look for a lover who is outside your comfort zone.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Prepare for a rather tricky week as Pluto opposes Venus, and people (or circumstances) frustrate your plans. Don’t let others hijack your career goals or derail your domestic dreams. No matter how challenging things become or how long it takes, you need to be the captain of your own ship and the master of your own destiny! So, your motto is from fellow Scorpio, award-winning actress Tilda Swinton: “What is any life without the pursuit of a golden dream?”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

With Venus and Mars both visiting fellow-fire sign Leo, your Sagittarian playfulness and sense of humour are highlighted this week. So, you’re keen to amuse others, as you play the role of the ribald raconteur. (But remember, there can be a very fine line between being funny and being offensive.) When it comes to close relationships, resist the urge to be bossy and judgmental. Mercury encourages you to communicate in a curious and open-minded way.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Powerful Pluto reverses back into your sign (until January 21, 2024). So, you can expect unfinished business, thwarted (and then revived) ambitions plus deeply transformative experiences. Don’t let that deter you! If you are flexible and adapt to constantly-changing circumstances, then you can make progress in pleasing and satisfying ways. As actor/activist (and birthday great) Michael J Fox observes: “Our challenges don’t define us, our actions do.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

This week passion planet Mars and love planet Venus are both transiting through your relationship zone. Proactive partnerships and creative joint ventures are favoured, as you spark ideas off each other. Plus (courtesy of the Mercury/Uranus hook up) you’ll find your domestic life and family relationships will be exciting –and unpredictable. So, hold onto your hat, expect the unexpected and prepare for a wild ride this week. Life certainly won’t be boring!

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Do your best to assiduously avoid Piscean passivity and procrastination. Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus are all activating your learning and local environment zones. So, it’s time to be clever, confident and proactive as you set ambitious goals, attract mentors, and expand your world in exciting new directions. Study, observe, listen and learn! Your motto for the week is from birthday great (and music legend) Prince: “I like constructive criticism from smart people.”

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2023

General knowledge crossword No. 883

Across

1 What is timber, sawn into planks, boards, etc? (6)

7 Which animal belongs to the pachyderm family? (8)

8 Name a worldwide youth movement founded by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. (6)

9 Name an international telecommunications satellite organisation. (8)

10 Who, in classical mythology, is the god of darkness? (6)

11 What are persons with flaxen or light-coloured hair called? (8)

14 Name the ancient classical literary language of India. (8)

18 What is something puzzling or inexplicable? (6)

19 Who grooms racehorses in the stables? (8)

21 Name a US short-story writer, novelist, and adventurer, Jack ... (6)

22 From which aircraft did the helicopter evolve, perhaps? (8)

23 Name the author of “Animal Farm”, etc, etc, George ... (6)

1 Which Nevada city is famous for its gambling casinos? (3,5)

2 What are effusively laudatory advertisements found on the jacket flap of a book? (6)

3 Which device introduces opposition into an electric circuit? (8)

4 Which annual season precedes Easter? (4)

5 To put aside for consideration, is to do what? (6)

6 What is the Australian outback known as? (6)

12 Where was Napoleon defeated by the British in 1815? (8)

13 What are shell fragments known as? (8)

15 Name a cavity in a bone, especially that in the maxilla. (6)

16 What is comparative darkness? (6)

17 Name a small European cyprinid fish. (6)

20 Which term describes one who is precise in a self-righteous way? (4)

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