CityNews 240215

NEWS REACHES TRAMALOT: THE PEOPLE ARE REVOLTING ‘They truly are’ is our King’s reaction, reports KEEPING UP THE ACT from the palace

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Why Steel’s ‘15-minute city’ is not a good omen

MIKE QUIRK

How much regulation is too much regulation?

MICHAEL MOORE

90 years on, bowlers still good for a roll up

NICHOLE OVERALL

SIAN UPS GETS

FROM

DOWNS

Meet determined mountain-bike champ SIAN A’HERN

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NEWS / peacocks

New petition stirs Narrabundah’s peacock wars

By Katarina

LLOYD JONES The famous Narrabundah peacocks are under threat again from a new petition titled “Remove the Peacocks and Save Our Environment and Sanity” circulating online.

A peacock at home in a Narrabundah back garden.

At the time of publication, the petition had nearly 200 signatures.

In 2018, the ACT government made plans to capture, cull and re-home a number of wild peacocks and peafowl that have been resident to Narrabundah for the past 30 years.

For one Narrabundah resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, the government’s retreat from managing the peacock population has been disappointing and she would like to see them removed.

“First of all they’re not native and I’m in favour very much of supporting native wildlife. They are not native and for me that’s fundamental,” she says.

“Second thing is, I often hear people jamming their brakes on, it sort of worries me when I hear that, I know the ACT government put signs up, that to me was a bit of a sign of surrender.

“I guess the third factor for me is they make a lot of noise around the

on my roof, and I’ve had a roof man in because I’ve been quite worried about what they’re doing up there,” she says.

She doesn’t want to see them killed, but relocated to somewhere where they will be a bit less disruptive.

“Arboretum, Government House, somewhere where people would appreciate them, and also so that members of the public can see them,” she says.

“There’s a lot of them and they’re growing, that is evident now in a way that hasn’t been over the last five years.

“I gather they are hard to catch, but, where there’s a will there’s a way.

“But look, there will be a lot of people who I think will not be very happy with that idea.

“Desirably, if you could have fewer numbers, still have a colony here if that’s what people really really want, but not so many.

“I think there’s about 30 of them now and I quite often see groups of four or

Peta Swarbrick and Timothy De Wan, members of the Save the Narrabundah Peafowl group.

Photos: Katarina Lloyd Jones place when they’re mating.

Timothy De Wan, member of the Save the Narrabundah Peafowl group and resident of Narrabundah disagrees with these critiques.

“The peafowl have been here for over 30 years, this is not a recent thing and they’re valued and loved by the community,” says Timothy.

“It’s a bit like moving into a suburb under a flight path and then complaining about the planes.

“The birds have been here longer than most people who lived here.

“Most people appreciate wildlife,

INDEX Arts & Entertainment 27-30 Crossword & Sudoku 31 Dining & Wine 29 Gardening 26 Keeping Up the ACT 11 Letters 12-13 News 3-13 Politics 4 Streaming 30

whether it’s peacocks or cockatoos or even possums, but there seems to be a very small number of people who just don’t like anything around them at all.

“They’re not violent birds, they don’t attack people, they just wander around.

“We don’t think that peacocks should be treated any differently just because they didn’t originally come from here.”

The unnamed resident said she has had to put a barrier up against her windows because the peacocks see their reflection and, because of their mating behaviour, “the result is an awful mess”.

“They’ve been up on my roof, mating

Since 1993: Volume 30, Number: 7

Cover: Mountain-biking champion Sian A’Hern.

Photo: Andrew Campbell.

Story Page 6.

Well written, well read

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

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

General manager: Tracey Avery, tracey@citynews.com.au Senior advertising account executive: David Cusack, 0435 380656 Advertising account executives: Damien Klemke, 0439 139001 Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au Journalist: Katarina Lloyd Jones, katarina@citynews.com.au Arts editor: Helen Musa, helen@citynews.com.au Production manager: Janet Ewen Graphic Designer: Mona Ismail Distribution manager: Penny McCarroll penny@citynews.com.au

five and they’re now digging holes.

“Their behaviour is very noticeable.

“If people felt they were properly looked after, and if there was such a strong feeling that you need to have a colony here, then manage that colony so that there’s smaller numbers and they don’t endanger themselves by going on the roads so often.”

Peta Swarbrick, another member of the Save the Narrabundah Peafowl group, says she can appreciate that some people don’t like the birds.

“I’ve got some really good friends who live down the end of the street, and they are behind a house that encourages peacocks, so they do get more than their fair share of activity, and they really don’t like them,” she says.

“I think it’s completely valid for people not to like them, but I think some people find it really frustrating that they don’t have the power to just get rid of them.”

A spokesperson for the ACT government says there are currently no plans to remove the birds from Narrabundah.

“The present management safety for peafowl in Narrabundah revolves around managing the small population – based on extensive community consultation undertaken in the recent past,” the spokesperson says.

The petitian is at: change.org/p/remove-the-peacocksand-save-our-environment-and-sanity

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POLITICS / red tape

How much regulation is too much regulation?

Too much red tape and regulation has echoed as a clarion call from big businesses over many years. But how much regulation is too much?

Greens MLA, Jo Clay, has introduced the Environment Protection (Fossil Fuel Company Advertising) Amendment Bill 2024 to ban fossil-fuel companies from advertising in ACT sporting venues.

The intention is to restrict their ability to use sport to enhance the reputation of fossil-fuel companies, and build on similar bans in cities such as Sydney, Amsterdam and Stockholm.

Ms Clay wants the ACT to be the first to introduce jurisdiction-level restrictions. She has the support of Belinda Noble, the founder of Comms Declare, who argues the ACT as “the first state-level jurisdiction to act will further cement the ACT’s status as a global clean-energy leader”.

Is this a step too far? Labor thinks so. Although the Assembly voted unanimously in June 2021 to join in signing a fossil-fuel non-proliferation treaty, Labor will not support this latest move.

As Ms Clay told the Assembly, this type of restriction on advertising is mentioned in that treaty. And, on climate change, “Labor needs to be

Real choice, the freedom for individuals to choose, comes when balanced information is available.

Greens MLA Jo Clay… wants to ban fossil-fuel companies from advertising in ACT sporting venues. pushed all the way”.

Regulation of this kind is not new.

In her tabling speech in the Assembly Ms Clay drew attention to tobacco policy. Early regulation to restrict tobacco use started with a combination of taxation and restricting marketing practices.

In that case, a fund was established in jurisdictions around Australia that supported health promotion bodies such as VicHealth. Success in reducing tobacco use in Australia has been outstanding.

When such regulation is introduced, there are invariably clarion calls from industry about interfering with their freedom. However, regulation does have an important place in protecting vulnerable sections of our community

and for introducing policies that are in the community interest.

ANU and Princeton political philosopher Prof Philip Pettit explored the importance of regulation by explaining the real drivers of freedom. Freedom is not about noninterference, he argued, but rather about preventing domination.

Real choice, the freedom for individuals to choose, comes when balanced information is available.

For years the tobacco companies dominated newspaper and television advertising space with “smoking is cool” messages. One option for governments to balance the information would have been to spend as much money advertising about the dangers of smoking. This would have created a level playing field. Non-domination!

There is an alternative for governments. Instead of spending huge amounts of taxpayers’ money on advertising. That alternative is to provide a level playing field by restrictive regulation. This means that no view “dominates”, and people are genuinely free to choose.

Regarding advertising of unhealthy products, this approach could be applied to advertising of junk food to children, the over-the-top advertising of the alcohol industry and, even more so, the gambling industry. These industries are dependent on such marketing.

To avoid regulation, they regularly offer a compromise to government.

“Health washing” is an attempt to make it look like you are doing something to counter the harms created by your product.

For example, pregnancy warning labels on alcohol beverages. The original voluntary code by industry produced just such a warning. It took me two and half minutes to find my first example. Similarly, with gambling – messages for problem gamblers that look good but are next to useless in impact.

Will the Labor and Liberal parties consider that fossil-fuel industries are using sports to “greenwash” their industry? They should ask about the extent to which the fossil-fuel industry dominates the thinking of those who attend or watch sporting events.

Former Australian Wallabies captain, and now senator, David Pocock

believes that the Australian fossil fuel industry undermines our relationship with Pacific neighbours. He argues that Australia must stop approving new fossil-fuel projects that are “an existential threat for those nations”.

His personal experience in sport had a significant influence on his thinking: “I remember being a rugby player talking to some of my Fijian-Australian teammates, who talk about their home village having to find higher ground for cropping because the land’s becoming too salty, becoming saline”.

Effective regulation by governments is not only acceptable. It is a responsibility. A litmus test for extent to regulate, to introduce red tape, ought to be the degree to which it prevents domination.

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

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A second opinion on hearing loss

– you need professional advice, not a sales pitch A woman came into my clinic for a consultation about her hearing aids, telling me her hearing aids were 4 years old and she had never found them to be of much help. She said the salesperson quoted her $14,000 for a pair of hearing aids, however, the monthly special of 20% discount meant they cost her $11,200. So, she ‘only’ paid $11,200 for hearing aids that did not help her. Sadly, I hear this all too often.

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years. If you are not sure about their advice, then seek a second opinion. The wrong hearing aids can be an expensive waste and could lead you to stop wearing them. You should always have a trial of hearing aids to ensure that they are right for you.

6. Pensioners and eligible DVA card holders often have entitlement to free services. If you are covered by a government concession, then let the clinician know (even though your clinician should ask). Eligible clients may obtain free hearing tests, consultations, and free hearing aids (referred to as fully subsidized hearing aids).

you are dealing with a qualified clinician, then they belong to a professional association. The best contact is an independent complaints body referred to as Ethics Review Committee.

You can email ethics@auderc.org.au and view the website www.auderc.org.au. You can make an anonymous complaint and your complaint will be handled in a confidential and professional manner. If you are in the ACT, contact the ACT Human Rights Commission email human.rights@act.gov au and the website www.hrc.act.gov.au.

1. Visit your GP. If you or someone you know has a problem with their hearing, visiting your GP to check for wax in the ears, and to get advice is a “A person without starting point.

These hearing aids are appropriate for many professional qualifications people, however if you 2. Qualifications. Always has no business advising you have great difficulty check the qualifications of about your hearing. hearing in background the person you are dealing noise (for example a They need to belong to a with. A person without professional association with a Code restaurant), then you professional qualifications may want to consider of Conduct, so you know they are has no business advising partially subsidized acting in your best interests, you about your hearing. hearing aids. This is when not their own.”

They need to belong to a the government pays a professional association with certain amount, and you – Dr Vass a Code of Conduct, so you pay for additional features know they are acting in your best and benefits. Your decision interests, not their own. should be based on the following: (a) Can you afford the more expensive 3. Independent advice. You should get hearing aids? Don’t go into financial stress independent, professional advice. if you can’t afford them. (b) Are you clear 4. There are a wide range of hearing aids out on the free vs partially subsidized features there. Finding the right hearing aids for your & benefits? Never believe someone who communication needs can be challenging. tells you the free hearings are not good or Hearing aids vary in price and performance. of poor performance, this is simply not true.

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COVER STORY / Sian A’Hern

Mountain bike champ gets ups from the downs

By Katarina

LLOYD JONES “I’ve had so many injuries it’s almost like a routine,” says Sian A’Hern, 25-year-old downhill mountain-biking champion and Queanbeyan local.

“Most injuries I just get on with, I do what I can around the injury, I just have to be a bit more creative,” she says.

But, at the end of 2021, Sian says she had a terrible training crash that left her with a brain injury, punctured lungs and an extensive list of other internal injuries.

“Recovery took a long time,” she says.

“It took me a really long time to ride fast again.

“You can ride after injury no problem, but it’s about how to be fast and push your limits again.

“You get so scared of what’s going to happen if you crash again, especially with a head injury.

“The risk of permanent disability is obviously really high.

“When I had my head injury I was like: ‘I don’t want to do this ever again.’

“I was just over it at that point.”

Sian says she was originally com-

6 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

Downhill mountain-biking champion Sian A’Hern… “All I wanted was to win that race, and not just win nationals but beat all those international riders and win it outright.”

Photo: Andrew Campbell pelled to try mountain-biking after encouragement from her parents and brother, who is also a downhill mountain-bike world champion.

“I started mountain biking in 2014, then in 2015 I competed in my first race, which was a national round in Thredbo,” she says.

“I got second in the junior category.

“I then went on to the National Championships a few weeks after that,

got second again, and I was like, ‘man, this is a cool sport.’

“The following year I qualified to race the World Cup and I actually won the World Cup series.

“So that was pretty crazy.

“Then I ended up winning the overall series in 2016.”

It was at this point Sian says her mountain-biking career began to stall due to four years of injuries and a lin-

gering uncertainty of her passion for the sport.

“In 2019 I did another full world cup series, then I decided I was going to have a break because I didn’t really love it any more,” she says.

“I just wasn’t hungry for it and didn’t really have any support.

“Then in 2020 and 2021 I just stayed at home, I worked full time and rode for fun.

“I kind of gave racing one more shot, and if I liked it I would keep going.”

Sian went on to compete in the Downhill Canadian Open at the 2022 Crankworx World Tour event.

“I got one of my best career results in Canada, my first race back, and fell in love with it again,” she says.

Sian also went on to reclaim her position as national champion, competing at the 2023 AusCycling Mountain Bike Championships.

“Winning national champs last year was the highlight of my career so far, it was one of those really special races,” says Sian.

“Thredbo for me is such a special part of my career growing up.

“A few international racers came… and all I wanted was to win that race, and not just win nationals but beat all those international riders and win it outright.

“That was the biggest goal.

“I was faced with so much adversity that week, I had a silly crash and hurt

myself quite a lot, but I just kept my head on what my biggest goal was.

“For qualifying, I won by 15 seconds, in front of Nina Hoffman, who is from Germany.

“She actually won a World Cup last year so I was pretty stoked to win that one.

“Then in the finals, I won by seven seconds.

“It felt like one of those races where the whole mountain was behind me, everyone was cheering, everyone there wanted me to win.

“That was probably one of the most special races.

“In the future I’m really hoping to stand on a podium at a World Cup for elite womens.

“That’s really my biggest goal this year.”

Sian will compete at the 2024 Thredbo Cannonball MTB Festival in February and at the 2024 AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships in March at Lake Macquarie, NSW, followed by the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Series and World Championship, with events taking place across Europe and North America from May through to October.

“I just want to see where this sport takes me, it’s already taken me so far and I feel like I’ve achieved so much in quite a short period of time,” she says.

“I don’t know what the future holds but I’m excited for it.”

citynews.com.au

NATIONAL TRUST (ACT) TRUST ACT HERITAGE FESTIVAL EVENTS 2024 ACT Heritage Oration, Thursday, April 18, 6pm-8pm Heritage – The Power of Place and the Primacy of Purpose This year’s ACT Heritage Oration will be delivered by the Hon Ted Baillieu AO, pictured, chair of the Australian Heritage Council.

Mr Baillieu served as Premier of Victoria and Minister for the Arts from 2010 to 2013.

Gary Kent, National Trust ACT President, presenting the National Trust ACT First Peoples’ Heritage Award to Dhani Gilbert and Andy O’Meara at the Wildbark Visitors Centre at Mulligans Flat on 5 February 2024.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Welcome to our occasional column on National Trust of Australia (ACT) activities.

The ACT Assembly elections are rapidly approaching and the Trust is developing a heritage “wish list” to present to political parties and candidates.

We would be pleased to take your suggestions – please write to me at: president@nationaltrustact.org.au As usual there are many heritage issues on which we are working.

I am pleased to announce that the ACT Heritage Council has accepted the nomination by the Trust of the iconic CML Building in Civic, which is a marvellous Australian example of the Late Twentieth-Century International Style.

We have written to ACTPLA asking that it not decide on the proposed demolition of this important building until the Heritage Council has considered our nomination.

The Trust has also submitted comments to ACTPLA on the development application for the Canberra Brickworks.

We have requested further consideration of the design to reduce the impact on the original fabric and structures of the Brickworks and to achieve a design solution that better utilises this unique piece of Canberra’s heritage.

The Trust notes the recent referral of Light Rail Stage 2B for consideration by the Federal Government. We will continue to monitor the potential heritage impact of this project and advocate accordingly.

Elsewhere on this page you will find details of many forthcoming Trust activities – it would be wonderful to welcome you to one or more of them.

Gary Kent – President

Venue: Australian Academy of Science’s Shine Dome, the first Canberra building to be added to the National Heritage List, for its historical and architectural significance. www.trybooking.com/COWAX

National Trust (ACT) Heritage Festival Open Day – Yarralumla Woolshed, Saturday, April 20, 10am-3pm.

Come and rediscover the historic Yarralumla Woolshed with something for everyone: performances, displays, food and more.

Learn about its role in our pastoral history up until the last wool bale left from here in 1967.

Bookings not required. Gold coin donation.

Heritage Polaris – Saturday, April 13 Come and make tracks in the capital as teams of two (or more) riders take to the cyclepaths, forests and roads seeking out a choice of heritage checkpoints in a seven-hour event that is open to serious riders, recreational riders and teams of all ages. For those who prefer a shorter ride, there is also a Half Heritage Polaris.

For more information and bookings: www.heritagepolaris.com.au

Millpost: back through time – Sunday, April 14, 9.30am-2.30pm This Millpost tour is a rare opportunity to see multiple historic features on a working farm.

David Watson’s book Millpost: Back Through Time will be launched by local historian Brendan O’Keefe. Morning tea and lunch included.

Supported by:

National Trust Heritage Walks • Connect with Old Acton Peninsula Walk 1, Sunday, April 21, 9.30am-11.30am • Braddon, Sunday, April 21, 2pm-4pm • Stories of Early Forrest, Saturday, April 27, 9.30am-11.30am • Dickson’s Once Upon a Time Centenary – Saturday, April 27, 1.30pm-3.30pm • Connect with Old Acton Peninsula Walk 2, Sunday, April 28, 9.30am-11.30am • Modernism and Canberra Red Brick in Griffith – Sunday 28 April 2-4pm Bookings are required for most events (except the Open Day).

More details will be available when the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival is launched on 14 March. They will also be on the National Trust (ACT) website: nationaltrustact.org.au

The National Trust receives support and funding from the ACT Government.

YESTERDAYS / lawn bowls

90 years on, local bowlers still good for a roll up “We still have time to finish the game and to thrash the Spaniards, too.”

Such was the response to the interruption of a lawn bowls match Sir Francis Drake was competing in as the Spanish Armada threatened the English coastline in 1588.

Or so the legend goes.

The British Navy indeed prevailed and the sport, popularised by ancient civilisations, spread further: from the moors of Scotland where its rules were cemented in the mid-19th century, to the shores of colonial Tasmania in 1844.

Australia’s introduction 180 years ago saw its first bowling green laid “at the back of Beach Tavern” in the Apple Isle’s aptly named Sandy Bay. Ninety years on, in 1934 Queanbeyan launched its inaugural bowling club in a paddock where the local constabulary had kept their horses; a prime position alongside the main thoroughfare, Monaro Street.

For a sport perhaps more known for its former requirement that players be fully donned in white – including the gloves and stockings of the ladies – just as its broader background is more colourful, so too, is its regional story.

In celebrating its 90th anniversary, the Queanbeyan Bowling Club is marking such highlights as its medalwinning Commonwealth Games

The Governor-General Sir John Northcott meets the ladies of the Queanbeyan Bowling Club at the opening of a new clubhouse in 1957. athletes (most notably, Ken Woods), its significant female firsts, an influx of Canberrans and an Australian rugby union representative to boot.

It was five years into the Great Depression when accomplished sportsman and Queanbeyan Town Clerk from 1932, Patrick “Paddy” Carew, “spared no effort” to bring the game to town.

Paddy was born a Queenslander, one of five equally sporting boys (he’d be dad to five girls on marrying a daughter of “Father of Australian Boxing”, Larry Foley). A state and national rugby rep, named in the Sunshine State’s “Gallery of Great Players”, he was also a first-class cricketer, in 1903 “setting the record highest individual score in Queensland district cricket”.

Along with being a handy golfer and boxer, bowling would become an-

other passion, earning him numerous Queanbeyan and Canberra club titles.

Over in the national capital, “Hostel No. 1” – today, The Hyatt hotel – had opened in 1925/26 with a bowling green and a croquet lawn for the exclusive use of its guests. Within five years, Canberra boasted two clubs. As interest grew in tandem with the nation’s capital, a third – Canberra South – was added in 1951, its clubhouse designed by much-lauded Austrianborn architect Harry Seidler.

From Queanbeyan’s unveiling of its green and a weatherboard and corrugated-iron roofed clubhouse, its membership of 71 in its first decade grew almost tenfold as it looked to a new century.

The club survived drought – a 20-foot-deep (six metres) well dug on the advice of a “water diviner”, covered over on hitting solid rock – its

clubhouse reduced to cinders in 1969, and fluctuating financial fortunes. This would change with a new “one-armed” conscript: poker machines in 1947.

Expanding from two to 26 in the ensuing 50 years, competing with the capital’s clubs was rarely easier: given a chequered history of legality, the ACT didn’t lift its ban on the “fruit machines” until 1975, “primarily to discourage the growing patronage of nearby NSW clubs by Canberra residents and the subsequent loss of revenue.”

Initially, Canberra and Queanbeyan formed part of the Federal District Bowling Association (1928) also taking in Yass, Goulburn, Cooma – and the “Kenmore Mental Hospital”.

Although long derelict, that historic property retains its bowling green, added in 1931 to provide “a regular form of entertainment for the benefit of patients.”

Unusually, Kenmore residents also enjoyed “mixed games” between the sexes, with reports stating “women will become so adept at the game that they score in future at the expense of their more sturdy opponents.”

Melbourne has the oldest surviving bowls club, celebrating 160 years,

but the first women’s match – also a Victorian affair – wasn’t until 1881 in Stawell.

Even when “ladies clubs” began to appear from the early 1900s, it was generally through the auspices of the blokes’ organisations.

Queanbeyan women lined up the jack under their own steam from 1952, while the Canberra Women’s Bowling Club appeared in Kingston five years later (winding up in 1992).

Both of these female-only clubs were trailblazers in the broader region in establishing “their own clubhouse and identity” – no longer having to deal with such things as complaints from male bowlers about “lipstick on tea cups”!

And the final “kiss” then goes to the women on President’s Day, February 22, 1987: “The members of today are creating the history of tomorrow”.

Nichole Overall is a social historian and journalist. She can be heard co-hosting the CityNews Sunday Roast program, 9amnoon, on 2CC.

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citynews.com.au

NEWS FEATURE / King Charles

What happens if the King can’t perform his duties?

ANNE TWOMEY explains what might happen if King Charles can no longer perform his duties.

KING Charles III’s cancer diagnosis will turn minds to the question of what happens if he becomes unable to fulfil his constitutional duties.

Buckingham Palace has announced he will continue performing his official paperwork and his weekly meetings with the prime minister throughout his treatment.

But what happens if he becomes seriously ill?

There are three options: counsellors of state, regency and abdication.

Counsellors of state First, King Charles can delegate some or most of his royal functions to counsellors of state, as happens most commonly when he is travelling overseas. Two counsellors of state act jointly in exercising royal powers such as assenting to laws, receiving ambassadors and holding Privy Council meetings.

The counsellors of state are the spouse of the sovereign and the next four adults in line of succession to the throne – being Queen

Camilla, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice.

However, Prince Harry is excluded while he is outside the UK, and in practice Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice are not called on to act as they are not “working royals”.

As this left only Queen Camilla and Prince William to perform the role, a law was passed in the UK in 2022 to add Princess Anne and Prince Edward to the list.

Counsellors of state may carry out most of the sovereign’s functions while he is ill, but they cannot dissolve parliament, except on his instruction, and they cannot create peers. Whether they can appoint a prime minister remains a matter of debate. Most significantly, they cannot exercise powers with respect to the King’s other realms, such as Australia.

Regency The second option is a regency. This occurs if the King “is by reason of infirmity of mind or body incapable for the time being of performing the royal functions”. The sovereign

Cartoon: Paul Dorin

Consequences for Australia

King Charles… he will continue performing his official paperwork and his weekly meetings with the prime minister throughout his treatment.

Photo: Buckingham Palace via AP does not control when or for how long a regency occurs.

Instead, it is initiated by a declaration of three or more of: the sovereign’s spouse, the lord chancellor, the speaker of the House of Commons, the lord chief justice of England and the master of the rolls.

The UK’s Regency Act requires Prince William to be regent, as he is the next adult in line of succession to the crown. The regent has the powers of the King with respect to the UK, but cannot change the order of succession to the crown.

The Regency Act does not give the regent powers in relation to realms such as Australia and NZ. NZ resolved the problem by inserting a section into its Constitution Act which provides that whoever is made regent under the law of the UK may perform the royal functions of the sovereign with respect to NZ. Australia, however, has done nothing in this regard, so a British regent would have no powers with respect to Australia.

Abdication The final option for an incapacitated monarch is abdication. This leads to difficult questions about how an abdication would operate in relation to each of the realms.

When King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, it was achieved by both a signed instrument of abdication and the enactment of legislation to which the various realms, including Australia, assented. This is not possible today, as the UK can no longer legislate with respect to Australia.

Abdication would therefore raise difficult questions about whether there needed to be a separate abdication of the King of Australia, to trigger the application of the rules of succession that are now part of Australian law, or whether covering clause 2 of the Constitution, which defines the sovereign by reference to Queen Victoria’s “heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom”, would apply.

Because of the potential constitutional messiness of dealing with the King’s role in his 14 realms beyond the UK, it is likely abdication would be avoided.

If King Charles were incapacitated and counsellors of state or a regent were appointed, would this cause any real problem in Australia?

The King’s only remaining substantial powers with respect to Australia are the appointment and removal of the governorgeneral and the state governors. The governor-general’s term is expected to expire in the middle of the year. If King Charles were then seriously ill and unable to appoint a new governor-general, no one could do so, as neither counsellors of state nor a regent could do so.

Instead, the current governor-general, David Hurley, could choose to continue in office, as there is no formal termination of his office until he is replaced.

Alternatively, he could resign and his office could be filled on a temporary basis by a state governor as administrator, as is the usual practice when there is a vacancy in the office. If the office of a state governor becomes vacant, the lieutenant-governor, who is often the chief justice of the state, can exercise the governor’s functions.

However, if a regency were to continue for a long time – perhaps years – this could become unsustainable.

The other consideration is that if there is a regency, there is no power to dismiss a governor-general. So if a constitutional crisis arose, such as that in 1975 with the dismissal of the Whitlam government, the governor-general would know that he or she could act without the prospect of dismissal on the advice of the prime minister.

This unbalances the constitutional pressures that are deliberately built into the system, giving a stronger hand to the governor-general and weakening the position of the prime minister.

The problem could be addressed in the same way as the rules of succession to the throne were changed in 2015 to remove gender discrimination. It would involve each state enacting a law requesting the Commonwealth to enact a law that recognised the authority of a regent to exercise the sovereign’s powers with respect to Australia.

While it is not essential to fix this problem, it would still be wise, as a matter of orderly constitutional housekeeping, to address it before any real difficulties arise.

Anne Twomey, professor emerita, University of Sydney. Republished from The Conversation.

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CityNews February 15-21, 2024 9

PLANNING

Why Steel’s ‘15-minute city’ is not a good omen

By Mike

QUIRK Chris Steel, as transport and planning minister, can improve the quality of life of Canberrans.

His record, highlighted by the reduction in bus services, prioritising light rail over extending bus services and a failure to act on employment location, suggests minimal improvement is likely.

His belief that Canberra is a 15-minute city is not a good omen. It is a simplistic concept where work, shopping, education, healthcare, community services and leisure can be easily reached by a short walk, bike or public transit ride from any point in the city.

A cursory look at travel data demonstrates this is wildly inaccurate.

People routinely travel further to access employment and services requiring larger catchments such as hospitals, tertiary education and specialist retailing and services found at the town centres, Fyshwick and Majura Park.

This flawed perception underlies an incomplete policy response. Reducing car dependence and the development of a more sustainable city is far more complex than providing additional

houses in and near centres, infrastructure and green spaces.

His use of the term is a deception similar to that he displayed when portraying the transport choice as between light rail and the car, ignoring bus-based solutions.

If Mr Steel wants to develop a more sustainable city, he should analyse the operation of Canberra’s centres hierarchy.

The hierarchy is Civic, serving as the prime centre for commercial, entertainment and facilities and services requiring a metropolitan catchment; town centres providing residents of the new towns with employment, retailing, community and entertainment services and facilities; local centres to meet the day-to-day convenience needs of the community; and group centres, serving a “group” of neighbourhoods to primarily meet the weekly grocery shopping and business needs of the community.

It represents a compromise between the often competing objectives of facilitating competition to achieve lowest possible prices; ensuring facilities are convenient and easily assessed; meeting the needs of the disadvantaged; reducing travel and infrastructure costs; providing safe, attractive and comfortable centres.

It has been modified from time to time to respond to change generated by factors including the increased

Minister Chris Steel’s belief that Canberra is a 15-minute city is not a good omen. It is a simplistic concept.

A cursory look at travel data demonstrates this is wildly inaccurate. workforce participation of women, increased car ownership, greater affluence, the advent of big-box retailing at Fyshwick and Majura Park, an increased demand for higher-density housing in and adjacent centres and increased size of supermarkets at town and group centres.

Town centres have increasingly become the locations of services including cinemas, higher-density housing and, with the exception of Gungahlin, continued to be locations for major office development (albeit at levels less than desirable).

Group centre policies were adjusted to facilitate additional residential and services space in response to the contraction of functions that had previously been supported such as banks, libraries and health centres.

Local centres have experienced a decrease in their share of retail and services space and an increase in vacant space.

In 1988, 60 of the 61 local centres had a supermarket. By 2011, 24 of

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the 79 local centres did not have a supermarket with the proportion of local centres without a supermarket varying from 7 per cent in central Canberra to 44 per cent in Belconnen.

The decline disproportionately affects those with low mobility including the frail aged, people without cars, with disabilities and those on low income.

Initiatives to improve the viability of local centres have included programs to upgrade paving, streetlighting, signage and street furniture; the widening of lease-purpose clauses and the land uses permissible and the introduction of policies permitting higher-density housing close to centres.

Some local centres have closed while others (eg Scullin, Aranda and Carleton Street, Kambah) are being revitalised by the opening of new activities including cafes and restaurants attracting customers from a wider area.

A recent response, Variation 381, increased the maximum size of supermarkets to 1500 square metres.

This will increase the attractiveness of some centres (eg Giralang) but will attract expenditure away from other centres and could exacerbate the decline of those centres.

The hierarchy, if it is to optimise the integration of land use and transport, needs to be responsive to

trends influencing household and commercial decisions.

Assessments required include: (a) The extent of how increased working from home will result in the conversion of office space to other uses, a reduction in commuting and additional spending at group and local centres. (b) The scope to increase office employment at town centres given the impact of office location on travel demand. (c) The impact of changing demography and decreased housing affordability on housing demand and choice by location. (d) Infrastructure costs by location. (e) Whether the light rail extension should be cancelled given the reduction in peak-hour capacity required and improvements in bus technology.

A cancellation would free-up funds for the improvement of bus services, cycling and walking infrastructure, a strategy that could be more effective in reducing car dependency by promoting healthy and sustainable living through increasing the ease of reaching desired destinations If decisions surrounding light rail are a guide, the needed assessments are unlikely to be undertaken by the analysis-light Barr-Rattenbury government.

Mike Quirk is a former NCDC and ACT government planner.

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BRIEFLY Ways to manage money and debt The free CAP money course helps participants find ways to develop skills to manage debt, budget and save.The next course will be held at Tuggeranong Baptist Church, Wanniassa, 9.15am-12.45pm, over two Saturday mornings – March 9 and 16. Register by March 5 at capmoney.org.au or email capmoney@tbcchurch.com.au. More from Robert on 0402 007551.

Laundry for homeless The Weston Creek Community Centre is now offering the use of a free laundry facility (washing and drying) and consumables, Monday-Friday, 8.30am5pm, for people who are homeless or in need. Timeslots have to be booked at 6288 1144.

Salute to the ‘hot hatch’ The Council of ACT Motor Clubs’ 43rd motor show – this year celebrating “hot” hatchbacks – will be at the Queanbeyan Showground, 10am-1.30pm on February 18. Funds raised will be donated to Respite Care for Queanbeyan.

Music trivia fundraiser Arts community radio station Artsound FM is holding a music trivia fundraiser around music from the ‘50s to the ‘90s at Eastlake Football Club, Kingston, from 7pm on February 29. Tickets are $25 each, or $20 for members, with a discount for tables of eight.

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CityNews February 15-21, 2024 11

LETTERS / well written, well read

Let loose to: editor@citynews.com.au

Further support of this mob not in city’s interest Where in the world of current democracies would you find a government which has been in power continuously for 20 years.

Nowhere.

Most thinking democracies give one mob a couple of terms and then give them the boot at election time and give the other mob a go.

What happens when you give one mob 20 years on the trot? You get what we have now: an arrogant government that knows it has the election in the bag.

And one that ignores its constituents with a “Bugger you Jack, I’m alright” attitude, sprouts a few promises to lull their supporters into pro-Labor mode and then continues as they have for 20 years.

Any visitor to Canberra’s suburbs would believe he/she is in a third-world country.

Paspalum and other weeds are unmown for three months and reach a metre in height.

Median strips with weeds growing out of the concrete because we no longer employ the chemical weeder crew. What are we getting for the astronomical rates that this mob have been charging – allegedly to get rid of stamp duty. A tram that is basically 19th century technology!

Labor voters have done this town a serious disservice – retaining a government that serves its own ideological needs rather than the needs of its constituents.

Cato, a Roman senator, concluded every speech with “Carthago delenda est” (Carthage must be destroyed) in an attempt to awaken his fellows to the danger Rome faced from Carthage. Carthage was destroyed. Rome was saved.

I have been a Labor supporter all my life but Blind Freddy can see that further support of this mob is not in the city’s long-term interest.

We should be like Cato and give the rallying call: “Labor must go.”

It’s time to look for fresh blood, different thinking, anything but the present government.

John Quinn, Spence

Why do we keep voting them in?

As a constituent of Brindabella I wrote to our MLAs seeking support for how City Services had planted street trees in my street, then weeks later removed them to appease a couple of residents.

The two Liberals (Parton and Lawder) said they’d write to the Minister Tara Cheyne.

Heard nothing from Labor’s Gentleman and Burch. Considering it was an environmental “green” issue, you’d think it might have sparked the pique of newbie Nuttall, and the so-called Environment Minister Vassarotti?

Nothing to say from any of them! Why do we keep voting them in?

Paul Easther, via email

Renewable energy, but not much here The ACT government takes pride in its green credentials, claiming that the ACT is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

However, only a very small percentage of the ACT’s renewable energy is generated within its borders, with the vast bulk of it coming from contracts with solar and wind farms outside its borders, and in the form of offsets for use of non-renewables purchased via its mandatory contribution to national renewable energy targets.

Moreover, the ACT’s renewable energy only comes courtesy of a burgeoning footprint of energy infrastructure in rural and regional areas – solar farms, wind turbines, transmission lines that are out of sight and mind for residents of the ACT, but are disruptive to farmers, agricultural practices and wildlife, a fire risk, and a scar on rural landscapes.

If the ACT government wants genuine renewable energy “street-cred” it must share the industrial infrastructure burden it currently foists on others and embrace more solar farms in its own open spaces, wind turbines on its own hills and more transmission lines snaking through its own valleys.

And wear its own local NIMBY backlash!

David Palmer, Cook

Covid test kits cost too much

I must add that the test kit I bought was faulty and the pharmacist told me they couldn’t take it back. No reason.

Vivien Munoz, via email

Good night and good luck, Sister Keogh Seventy-eight-year-old Catholic nun Sister Jane Keogh will be sitting in the street outside Parliament House every night parliament sits in February and March.

She will arrive at midnight and remain to greet the parliamentarians with a donation box when they arrive at 9.30am.

Asked why she is going to suffer such cold and deprivation of sleep, she replies: “I need to do something that symbolises the desperation and lack of safety for the Moresby men and their families.”

Sister Keogh is a long-time supporter of the men of Manus Island. When that detention centre was closed, the remaining refugees were sent to Port Moresby. There are now 52 men, with their partners and children, left in PNG, but there is no longer any financial support from the Australian government and they are in a desperate state.

“I am part of hundreds of individual Aussies, pensioners and refugee support groups raising money and providing about $10 a day per person since November 22 to feed and help these people for whom we are the only source of income. We do not know what will happen next. Will someone die?” she says.

“It IS crazy that I might think or hope that my actions will do any good. Labor and the governments of PNG have been given the facts over and over for years. Thousands of letters have been sent, thousands have joined protests and weekly vigils all over Australia. The government isn’t interested.

One solo old lady isn’t going to make a scrap of difference.”

Good night and good luck, Sister Keogh!

Patricia Wilkinson, Yarralumla

I recently tested positive for covid for the first time and I was outraged at the cost of the test kit, $31.95 for two strips. Some pharmacies charge more.

This is a lot of money for pensioners. They used to be free. I wouldn’t mind paying $10, $15, but considering the virus seems to be rampant in the ACT, there’s a strong case for ACT Health to review the cost of the kits or at least lower it for pensioners.

I wrote to them but I’m not holding my breath for a reply.

Warming threatens extinctions ‘avalanche’ Does anyone care that global warming is about to cause an avalanche of extinctions?

One-hundred-and-three Australian species are listed as extinct. That number is growing by about two per year and 50,000 Australian species are likely to become extinct due to global warming, 500 of which are local to the ACT.

Australians are among the main drivers of global warming.

Australians caused an average of 17.6 tonnes of CO2-e emissions in 2022-23, double the world average. Australia’s national target is to remain above world average per capita emissions until 2035.

The ACT’s per capita carbon footprint is four times the world average. Scope 3 emissions make up 94 per cent of our carbon footprint. They are not included in our emissions targets.

In 2021 the Commissioner for Sustainability and Environment made 12 recommendations for the ACT Government to address scope 3 emissions.

The government-funded Conservation Council ACT Region has been silent about scope 3 emissions since June 2022, when the government confirmed that it would implement only one of the commissioner’s recommendations, ie “work in partnership with state, territory and national governments to discuss initiatives to reduce scope 3 emissions.”

Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner and ACT Conservation Council board member Peta Bulling expressed concern about the 114 species that were added to Australia’s threatened species list in 2023 (“Threatened species list ‘ballooned’ in 2023”, citynews.com.au, January 22). She expressed no concern about the 50,000 species threatened by global warming.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Julie’s right about cross-border justice Julie Tongs, CEO of the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services, has got it right in relation to the Cross Border Justice Scheme (CBJS) in her opinion piece (CN February 1).

Ms Tongs has delivered a strong argument for the CBJS; on a fiscal, pragmatic and psychological approach to detainees who have outstanding warrants in different jurisdictions.

As far as I can determine, there are very few (if any) cons to Ms Tongs’ proposal (based on precedents set in NT, WA, and SA), particularly when it comes to detainees’ connections with loved ones in the ACT, regardless of their cultural identity.

As we know, the ACT and NSW border is very narrow, with ACT being a small jurisdiction compared to other states and the NT. Over the border, criminal activity occurs; we know that.

For example, if a person living in the ACT commits a criminal offence in the ACT and is convicted and sentenced to a period of imprisonment, they will do their time in the ACT. However, if that person has an outstanding warrant in NSW; say an offence committed in Queanbeyan, there is a real possibility they will be extradited to NSW upon their release from the Alexander Maconochie Centre. Again, if convicted and sentenced to a period of imprisonment, they could end up anywhere within the state of NSW Corrective Services prisons.

How does this keep relationships going, as well as rehabilitation and the commitment to a human rights prison?

Janine Haskins, Cook

Marr’s work must be seen as ‘pure fiction’ Letter writer Eric Hunter (CN February 1) suggested that fellow correspondent Ian Pilsner should “slip off his rose-tinted glasses and read David Marr’s Killing of Country”.

As Marr is not an historian (he is a journalist and author), his areas of expertise are law, Australian politics, censorship, the media and the arts – therefore “Killing of Country” must be seen as pure fiction.

I suggest Eric takes off his rose-tinted glasses and read some of leading Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey’s books.

He states there was no violence with the first fleet. I have also read other books that state the same. I am sure there was violence, but it happened on both sides, not just white on black.

I have a set of books of snippets of the diaries of the first fleet people for the first five years. There is no mention of the violence and corruption to which Eric refers and, given they are personal diaries written at the time, then they must be seen as accurately representing the period.

Capt Phillip was instructed to make friends with the locals, not get rid of them, and that is what he did. He even took Bennelong to Britain for a trip.

As to Ian “blaming young Australians for their supposed lack of knowledge”. This fact has been brought up a number of times in the news and I have seen some younger people being interviewed on television.

Some really do not know the facts, what is going on in the world, and know nothing of our history.

Vi Evans via email

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LETTERS / 2

Let loose to: editor@citynews.com.au

ESESSON FOUNDATION

charity event

Is the most interesting Fundraiser for volunteer thing about me my age?

Why are people so interested in my age?

Younger acquaintances dare not ask, presumably because they fear being shocked by the response, but older ones often enquire, some (perhaps afflicted by memory lapses) more than once.

Is my age the most interesting thing about me?

As an older woman, I am growing used to being addressed in unusual ways. I am called “dear” and “darling” by people I do not know. Sometimes, I am referred to in the first person plural, as in “how are we today?” On a recent bushwalk, as they shot past me, younger people told me how well I was doing.

I simply ignore these moments. Lately, though, I have learned that in addition to being a social curiosity, I am somehow also personally responsible for the housing shortage. Could it, I wonder, have something to do with record levels of population growth?

My generation worries about its legacy. As youngsters, many of us loved starting clubs and organisations, many of us even continue to go to church, and we are aghast at the prospect of these worthwhile entities dying out.

If a younger person shows up, we make the most tremendous fuss over them, thus ensuring they never reappear. Perhaps we should stop worrying and learn to chill a bit more.

There are brighter moments. The American comedian George Burns said if you lived to be a hundred you had it made, as hardly anyone died past that age.

As for me, I am off to read the latest Intergenerational Report, if I can find my spectacles.

Jenny Stewart, Torrens

Jury is still out on the renewable grid Ray Peck (Letters CN, February 8) seizes on an isolated fact about the wholesale price of electricity to argue that rushing into renewables has been a wise move.

The jury is still out on the renewable grid that has been committed. All evidence is that the consumer will bear a huge cost that could have been avoided with an appropriate degree of planning and better scheduling and management of development.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s recent announcement on lower wholesale electricity prices, which Ray Peck cites, does not even mean that prices to the consumer will fall.

The wholesale cost of electricity only accounts for one third of the cost to the consumer. The other two thirds of the cost depends on factors broadly involving network, supply and retailing, for which the costs are increasing.

The reality is that the consumer will have to keep paying today’s prices for years to come, or more depending on how they pay for the cost of firming.

John L Smith, Farrer

The perfect date for Australia Day Columnist Robert Macklin’s comprehensive analysis “We are not yet a nation that embraces its past” (CN January 31) underlines the intergenerational racism that still blights any sense of national character.

It aligns with the two centuries of intergenerational trauma that pervades the lives of many of today’s First

Nations peoples.

Macklin’s suggestion for a republic will help, but the underlying, ingrained historical impacts won’t be eliminated simply through a change of governance.

Our colonial shortcomings are now well documented, but they’ve been sidelined by the legendary “Anzac warrior” culture which dissociates Gallipoli and succeeding conflicts from our “frontier wars”.

Earlier, the indigenous dispossession was excused by early colonial governments and their administrations on the false grounds the country was “empty”, therefore British law respecting indigenous populations wasn’t relevant.

There was only one group of losers; “the troublesome natives” had to be “dispersed” in order to enable uninhibited profits from the booming Merino wool trade.

Yes, “dispersed”; the official euphemism used to cold-bloodedly brush aside the tens of thousands of kidnappings of women and children, the murders and the massacres.

Also ignored was the fact a few settlers negotiated with local native occupants, producing far more peaceful and positive results. But that didn’t suit the vast majority, including the colonial leaders, for whom increasing profits through the rule of the gun and the sword was much more convenient.

I trust Robert’s view of drawing a line under our past by becoming a republic doesn’t mean burying our colonial misdeeds.

Become a republic, yes, but do what the few enlightened settlers did by working to create inclusiveness. We can move forward, but with both the beneficial and the horrific honestly and openly acknowledged. The day that happens would be a perfect date for Australia Day. Eric Hunter, Cook

Many immigrants helped build this country Richard Johnston (Letters, CN February 7) may want to reread his history and find that Australia Day was first officially celebrated publicly in 1838 on the 50th anniversary of the settlement.

There were centenary celebrations throughout the continent in 1888 and in 1938, on the 150th anniversary, the day was proclaimed an official holiday.

In the early 1800s the date was celebrated by the colony as Foundation Day, then later was called Anniversary Day, before being known as Australia Day. His suggestion of May 8 has been suggested before and does not have any significance in our history. His reason that everyone can get together and have a holiday is quite ridiculous as you can already do that on January 26 and it is much warmer weather, great for barbecues and water activities.

Interestingly, Richard claims that May 8 is too close to May 27, ACT’s Reconciliation Day, which is now a public holiday too. It would also be hard to find an alternative date that doesn’t clash with other 20-plus days of the year that are dedicated to Aboriginal commemoration, celebration and mourning.

He fails to mention that it is many of our immigrants that helped build this country that are the ones that are quite happy with January 26 being Australia Day. When the country can accept the sacrifices and hard work of our early settlers, convicts, immigrants and indigenous people as one, then Australia will have finally come of age.

Ian Pilsner, Weston

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health work in Pacific Dentist Ajitha Sugnanam set up the Esesson Foundation in the hope she could provide quality and free comprehensive healthcare to vulnerable people around the world.

“I honestly just wanted to give back to the community, and there weren’t a lot of programs that were doing just healthcare,” says Ajitha.

When she looked into volunteer opportunities, Ajitha says there were a lot of governance and framework limitations, and many places wanted people to pay money for the opportunity to volunteer.

“I just wanted to do it, so I set up the foundation originally to do it for myself, not for anyone else to do it with me, then people started joining me,” she says.

On March 2, the Esesson Foundation will host a fundraising event at The Commonwealth Club, in Yarralumla, for an upcoming charity trip to Papua New Guinea.

“We chose PNG because we’ve never done anything in the region before,” says Ajitha.

“We’ve always gone to India, southeast Asia, Mexico, Africa, and it’s our region, and the safer our region is the better our relationships are and the more we can all work together, so I thought we would start doing more within our region.

“We do work in Australia also, but we like doing work in countries that don’t have the same sort of support as Australia does.

“The fundraiser is Pacific Island themed – we’ve made a cocktail – and people can mingle and get to know each other, there’s a silent auction and a live auction, there’s entertainment, islander-themed food, there’s a drinks package for the four hours and there will be regional performances from the islands.”

Ajitha says that she and a team of 21 other people will be in PNG for one week, and will see 3000 children in that time.

“We have a gynecologist and obstetrician coming to do female health and consultations, we have a public health physician and a team of 14 oral health professionals, so dentists and oral health therapists,” she says.

Dentist Ajitha Sugnanam works on a young patient in Uganda in 2019.

“We are going to do everything, general health, female health, public health and dentistry.

“We are all healthcare professionals that do the work and you can donate on our website.

“Esesson prides itself on 100 per cent of its donations going straight to healthcare.

“The fundraising doesn’t go to any administrative costs, we are completely volunteer run so there’s no staff costs.

“This is the first time we have ever spent money on marketing, and I am paying for it myself, not the foundation.”

Ajitha says that the Esesson Foundation is also ACNC registered, meaning any donations over $2 are able to get a tax-deductible receipt.

“Doing something worthwhile with my skill set for people that really need it and being surrounded by people who also want to do it, it’s a really positive environment to work in” says Ajitha.

Tickets from humanitix.com/esessson-foundation-fundraiser.

More on the Esesson Foundation at esesson.org

Join us for a night of giving!

T H E M E : PA C I F I C I S L A N D S Cocktail Event The Commonwealth Club - Canberra 6PM - 10PM SCAN TO BOOK TICKETS Organisation info: www.esesson.org CityNews February 15-21, 2024 13

THE EXPERTS

Meet the local experts who love what they do There’s always something new to learn or new ways to improve daily living. Whether it’s wanting to improve health, learn a new creative skill or language, or even looking at ways to a better night’s sleep, the ACT region has experts in every field imaginable.

These locals have spent years mastering their craft and are passionate about sharing it with others.

Reliable and accessible help with your health

Benchmark Sleep Services’ owner Christian Rabatsch with consultant Laura Couper Logan.

Christian sets the benchmark in sleep services Benchmark Sleep Services’ owner Christian Rabatsch has more than 30 years’ experience in dealing with sleep apnea and related conditions.

“I used to run a sleep lab and have worked for all the major companies – Philips, Fisher & Paykel, ResMed,” he says.

“I set up this business about 12 years ago, because I used to go around and see the retailers and what they did, and I actually felt they didn’t do a good job.

“So, I called mine Benchmark Sleep Services because we want to be the best at what we do.”

Now there are 10 stores throughout Canberra and NSW, and Christian says their success has

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come from a focus on the patient, not sales.

Christian says he and his staff are not only clinical people, but are also like motivational counsellors.

“People really want to know that there’s someone on their side, they’re not out there on their own,” he says.

“It’s all about trying to create a nice image for the public, not that they feel they’re coming in and have to buy something, they’re coming in because they’re getting help.”

Benchmark Sleep Services, level 1, 8/48 Corinna Street, Phillip. Call 6105 9000 or visit benchmarksleepservices.com.au

“Our organisation’s mission is to eliminate Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in Australia by 2030,” says Sarah Ahmed, Hepatitis ACT executive.

“That’s what we’re here to do, we want to facilitate that move, that change.

“We want to support our local government and our local community to just get this mission accomplished.

“We specialise in helping people access healthcare, we refer people to doctors, specialists, we provide them with information on medication, treatment, how to prevent reinfection, how to avoid getting infected.

“What people don’t realise is that there is no such thing as a healthy carrier for Hepatitis C or Hepatitis B, everyday that you let yourself go untreated, your liver is getting more and more damaged.

“Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B are significant contributing factors towards liver cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Australia.”

Sarah says that when people come to Hepatitis ACT and see a doctor, they don’t have to pay any doctor fees or any pathology fees.

Even medication fees are taken care of, says Sarah.

Hepatitis ACT executive Sarah Ahmed.

“Everything is covered by Hepatitis ACT, we receive some funding from ACT Health in order to facilitate that treatment, ensuring that treatment is accessible to everyone,” she says.

“If people have any questions about liver health or about hepatitis, they should call the Hepatitis Australia information phone line, 1800 437222 (1800 HEP ABC).

“There is a very simple treatment for Hepatitis C,” says Sarah.

“Call us and have a chat.”

Hepatitis ACT is located at 36 David Street, Turner (opposite the O’Connor shops). More information at hepatitisact.com.au or call 6230 6344.

THE WAIT IS OVER!

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Benchmark Sleep Services Level 1, 8/48 Corinna St, Phillip ACT 14 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

02 6105 9000

canberra@benchmarksleepservices.com.au citynews.com.au

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Hepatitis ACT cordially invites you to join us for an enlightening evening at the “Conversations on hepatitis C” dinner event.

Expert services for children with additional needs “We are a not-for-profit organisation that was started by a group of passionate parents that had children with additional needs about 30 years ago,” says Karen Mills, Treehouse Queanbeyan director.

“We provide services to families with children with developmental delays and disabilities from birth to the end of primary school.”

Karen says they have a range of services available but particularly their early intervention groups for children younger than school age.

“Through early intervention groups we offer specialised support for young children who have a disability or learning support needs and their families,” says Karen.

“The overall aim of this service is to provide parents and families with the knowledge, skills and support to meet the needs of their child and to optimise the child’s

development and ability to participate in family and community life.

“Services are provided using a family-centred approach, recognising the importance of working in partnership with the family.

“Our quality group program individualises all goals for each child through collaboration with families, relevant therapists and outside services.

“As far as I am aware there is no other organisation in the Queanbeyan/ACT region offering this range of services and support for families with children with a disability.”

Treehouse Queanbeyan, 1 Thorpe Avenue, Queanbeyan.

Call 6299 7271 or visit treehouse.org.au

This exclusive gathering will take place on Thursday, 22 February 2024, starting at 6:00 PM at the elegant Hotel Realm in Barton.

RSVP: Please confirm your attendance by 15 February 2024 to secure your place at this informative and enjoyable evening.

Tickets can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com.au

Treehouse supports families with young children with developmental delays or disabilities up until the end of primary school, in the Queanbeyan, ACT and surrounding areas through: • Early intervention groups for young children • Social inclusion groups for primary-aged children • Speech and Occupational therapy • Key Worker support • School holiday programs • NDIS plan management • Pathways to Preschool program • Telehealth sessions • Programs for families and carers • Snuggle & Sing Program for Mums with young babies held in Queanbeyan, Braidwood and Bungendore By intervening early and providing specialised support and services, children with developmental delay or disability will get the best possible start in life.

6299 7271

treehouse.org.au

1 Thorpe Avenue, Queanbeyan NSW 2620 citynews.com.au

CityNews February 15-21, 2024 15

THE EXPERTS

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Pain support with a personal touch Arthritis ACT can support people no matter what type of chronic pain condition they have, says CEO, Rebecca Davey.

“It’s important to remain active at all ages, to condition muscles that protect against injury”, and Arthritis ACT has solutions for people of varying abilities.

Rebecca says Arthritis, Pain Support & ME/ CFS have staff who are not only experts in their fields, but many are peers in that they also live with the conditions that bring our clients to us.

“This means we really understand where you are coming from, your fears, your hopes, and what you can do,” she says.

“Many of our programs are held as group programs. This helps keep the costs down for you, but it also means you get to meet other participants who are dealing with similar issues.

“Sometimes when we’re living with invisible disabilities or illnesses, you feel really isolated because you feel no one else understands. In our programs, everyone understands. Many people come to our programs and make lifelong friends with others who really do ‘get you’.”

That’s only the start, Rebecca says, with Arthritis ACT also offering services such as exercise physiology and disability support to help people in managing their pain.

“No task or question is too big or small for us.”

Arthritis ACT, Pain Support & ME/CFS ACT, 170 Haydon Drive, Bruce. Call 1800 011041 or visit arthritisact.org.au

Rhonda and Ken Hubert of Capon and Hubert Lawyers and Mediators.

Leading lawyer with a ‘can-do’ attitude

Arthritis ACT CEO Rebecca Davey.

Ken Hubert, of Capon and Hubert, began his career as an articled clerk with Romano and Verducci, and spent some time as an associate assisting Justice Kelly, says finance director Rhonda Hubert.

“He has spent his working life in legal practices in Canberra,” she says.

“He then worked with William G Pierce, eventually buying out the practice, which then merged with that of Geoff Capon, and became what is now known as Capon and Hubert.”

Rhonda says Ken’s legal career spans nearly 40 years.

“Ken’s main area of expertise revolves around family matters, where he listens to clients to define issues and determines possible options, before he then handles negotiations and court proceedings,” she says.

“Ken aims to define what is most important to his clients, walking through the process with them to achieve an outcome they can live with.

“Other than family law, Ken has extensive experience in the areas of estates litigation, commercial and property, and he also sometimes deals with criminal and traffic infringement matters.”

Ken helps people with their legal issues with confidence and compassion, says Rhonda.

“Ken is a people’s person and always leads with a ‘can-do’ attitude.”

Capon and Hubert Lawyers and Mediators, first floor, 32-38 Townshend Street, Phillip. Call 6152 9203 or visit chsol.com.au

Working with you for the best result Ken Hubert Family Law and Mediation.

Wills and Estate Planning

Daryn Griffiths Property and Commercial Solicitor

Experienced in Wills and Estate Planning and in all areas of Family Law, including adoptions.

Ken is an accredited business and family mediator.

Over 30 years serving Canberra

Let us help to navigate the complexity of conveyancing laws in the ACT & NSW including stamp duty, identity verification, and tenancy laws. We also specialise in retirement village agreements.

For the best outcome hen it matters how it’s done call Capon & Hubert on 6152 9203 First Floor, 32-38, Townshend Street, Phillip ACT

chsol.com.au | enquiries@chsol.com.au 16 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

citynews.com.au

SOLVING SCIATICA Sciatica is caused by nerve pain that originates from the lower back and can cause pain from the point, right down through your bottom and down one leg to your calf.

muscles, tendons and ligaments surrounding the joints and bones that support the sciatic nerve.

Not the entire area may be causing you pain at any one time, but what the pain will certainly do is cause you frequent extreme discomfort that is often not relieved by pain medication.

Sciatic pain will generally respond well to rebuilding the support structures surrounding the sciatic nerve. For some people surgery may be the only solution, but in most cases, even if surgery is required, building up the support structures either prior to or following surgery will still be necessary.

Exercise is a key to dealing with sciatica.

People who have lived with sciatica for some time will generally have some weakness of the

This is largely due to not having used their body to the fullest extent due to the sciatic pain.

Arthritis ACT has a team of exercise physiologists that can improve your quality of life in relation to your sciatica. Both hydrotherapy and land based exercise techniques are useful, and for those who do not like water exercise, land based exercise is just as effective.

Do you want to solve your sciatica?

Call us today on 1800 011 041 and book your appointment with one of our exercise physiologists and scientists to solve your sciatica.

MEET OUR EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGISTS & EXERCISE SCIENTIST

Blake Dean

Holly Hazelwood

Sophie Bullock

Natasha Perry

You do not need to have any particular condition to utilise our services, just a desire to ‘Build a Better You.’

www.arthritisact.org.au | e: info@arthritisact.org.au

Enquire or book today

1800 011 041

THE EXPERTS

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Masters of the must-see range of tiles

Car Mechanical Services co-owners Charlie and Raffy Sgroi.

Mechanics with a passion to ‘do something good’ Car Mechanical Services co-owners, Raffy and Charlie Sgroi, have been in business for 15 years, with Charlie having more than 40 years of mechanical experience.

“In the last five years we have really focused on being a profit-for-purpose business, which is for us to create a legacy and not just make money but do something good,” says Raffy.

Last year, Car Mechanical Services won the sustainable small business of the year award, one of the first automobile companies in Canberra to do so, says Raffy.

“We have continued trying to improve that, so proper recycling, use less chemicals and reusing pretty much everything we can, and maintaining the vehicles a little bit more frequently, so you don’t have too much wastage there.

Raffy says the automotive industry only has one per cent females.

18 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

“We want to be approachable for them and a choice of career,” she says.

“In the last couple of years we had a few girls come in and do work experience and hopefully they will pick up an apprenticeship.

“We also do work experience and a little bit of career coaching for neurodiverse kids.

“As we know it can be difficult for them to find a path in the industry, it might sound very noisy, very disruptive, so we try to create positions for them to thrive and do whatever they can.

“When you see these kids come in and show their passion, it’s a big joy.”

Car Mechanical Services, 82 Kalgoorlie Crescent, Fisher.

Call 6162 4111 or visit carmechanicalservices.com.au

For more than 40 years Rivoland Tiles has developed a reputation for excellence in the floor and wall tile industry, says general manager James Hibberson.

“Whether you’re seeking inspiration, advice or looking for that perfect tile, come and visit the showrooms and talk to one of Rivoland Tiles experienced staff,” he says.

“The Crawford Street (Queanbeyan) and Mitchell showrooms are a must-see according to leading interior designers.

“Our showroom display ranges are selected to provide inspiration and ideas for both inside and outside your home or a commercial setting.”

James says Rivoland Tiles is an example of a successful family business that has grown and adapted with the times because of the knowledge, commitment to customer service and genuine passion for the industry given by family and staff.

“With the advice from helpful staff, you could transform your environment to suit your personality, using the best floor and wall tiling products available in Australia,” he says.

By regularly travelling around the world, their import buyers are offered the latest available and in many cases exclusive stock.

“Whether you are seeking modern sophistication or a quirky and unique personal touch, the team at Rivoland will help you find that perfect tile,” he says.

Rivoland Tiles, 100 Crawford Street Queanbeyan, call 6297 4510 or 55-57 Darling Street Mitchell, call 6241 1557, or visit rivoland.com.au

citynews.com.au

CAR MECHANICAL SERVICES

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‘There’s always someone saying you’re not capable of doing a job, trying to bring you down, but you just need to give it a go’

Champion Raffy rules and Charlie’s okay with that RAFFY Sgroi, CEO of Car Mechanical Services, was named Trade Services Champion at the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards. She’s finding it a little surreal.

“It was not expected at all, I was up against so many incredible women,” she says.

“But it’s nice to know my efforts through work are reflecting well on what I want to achieve.”

The Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards support and recognise small businesses owned by women across Australia. The awards seek to recognise the hard work that women business owners contribute to the local community in generating employment as well as their commitment to the Australian economy.

Car Mechanical Services was established 15 years ago in Fisher, but Raffy’s husband Charlie has been working in the industry for more than 42 years.

“We started Car Mechanical Services for ourselves, to give us a bit more control and freedom,” says Raffy.

“Our goal was to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace.

“I’ve had to push through challenges to set an example, and this award shows I’ve done it, and we are doing the right thing.

“What has been the most encouraging for me, in my success, is knowing that Charlie has given me his trust and support.”

She says Charlie has always been passionate about working on cars, and he’s really good at what he does.

“Charlie has worked in mechanics for more than 42 years, with three or four

Winner… Raffy Sgori with her Trade Services Champion trophy.

The Car Mechanical Services team, from left, Francesco Sgori, Angus Gray, Raffy Sgori, David Beatty and Charlie Sgori… “I am proud of Car Mechanical Services, proud of Charlie and proud of myself,” says Raffy.

years’ experience beforehand in helping his dad repair their tractor, and that is where his passion began,” she says.

“Charlie has trusted all my new ideas, and without his knowledge and guidance behind me I wouldn’t be where I am today, and Car Mechanical Services wouldn’t have the praise and reputation it currently holds.

“I am proud of Car Mechanical Services, proud of Charlie and proud of myself, for putting all this work into actioning change within the industry.”

Raffy says now they have a few young girls doing work experience with them.

“They are very driven girls, and have only been further motivated by seeing me in the workshop every day,” she says.

“Mechanics has often previously been known as a male-dominated industry, but

I’m here showing that women deserve a fair go.

“Especially with all the work health and safety rules now, women can lift or do anything men can.”

Next on her list of goals for the company, while continuing the path she’s begun, Raffy says she’s hoping to grow their work-experience opportunities to people who are neurodiverse.

“It’s part of growing our inclusive workplace,” she says.

“There is always someone telling you that you’re not capable of doing a job, trying to bring you down, but you just need to give it a go.

“If it turns out that you don’t like it, or you’re not good at it, that’s okay, at least you tried and you made the decision for

yourself rather than listening to other people, because you might just surprise yourself.”

Raffy says she is also passionate about making improvements for sustainability, and she is doing just that through Car Mechanical Services.

“The world is obviously moving towards electric vehicles pretty quickly, and we want to set a benchmark for the automotive industry,” she says.

“We have invested in electric vehicle repairs and servicing, and we have significantly reduced our single-use plastic consumption.”

Instead of the five-litre plastic tub generally used for engine oil, Raffy has introduced Car Mechanical Services to bulk buying their engine oil.

“Doing this has saved probably 70,000 bottles from landfill,” she says.

“We are going to implement anything possible to improve the sustainability of our business.

“I’m passionate about it because I know we can do so much more than just catering to electric vehicles to make a difference, and I think it’s our responsibility, for each and every one of us, to do our bit for the planet.

“If you tell someone to think of a car workshop, they will think black and dirty.

I want to see, and I want other people to see more green, and even more pink would be welcome.”

Car Mechanical Services, call 6162 4111 or visit carmechanicalservices.com.au

CAR MECHANICAL SERVICES ALWAYS HELPING YOU GO FURTHER Raffy Sgroi, CEO – Australian Women’s Business Champion Awards 2023 Youth of the year Local Business Award 2024 - Angus Gray Australian Small Business Champion Award Automotive Champion 2023 Most Outstanding Canberra Automotive services 2021-2022 ACT Business of the Year 2023 ACT Sustainable Small Business of the Year 2023 Global Recognition Award Diverse and inclusive workplace 2023 Contact us: 02 6162 4111 | www.carmechanicalservices.com.au citynews.com.au

Visit Us: Unit 2/82, Kalgoorlie Crescent, Fisher ACT CityNews February 15-21, 2024 19

THE EXPERTS The many ways that hemp can help South Pacific Hemp store manager Sue Booth says at South Pacific Hemp they go to great lengths to source only the best hemp products.

“We get to know the story and origin behind each wholesaler, we pride ourselves on knowing these individual companies’ stories and telling our customers exactly where the products originated,” she says.

“The global market for hemp is predicted to nearly quadruple in value between 2020 and 2027.

“This is because of hemp’s hardiness across a wide range of climates, its ability to grow in and improve poor soil, as well as absorb more carbon dioxide than any other crop, and that every part of the plant is useful.”

Sue says she also takes pride in having vast knowledge about the different hemp products and uses.

“We have a green hemp healing balm that is good for arthritis,

psoriasis, bruising, nerve pain and eczema,” she says.

“Or, we have a popular hemp and cherry balm or black sheep, which can help with nappy rash, inflammation, bites and stings.

“The store also has a range of clothing and linen, fabrics, bedding and cushions all made to promote wellbeing.

“Hemp protects your skin by naturally filtering UV light. It also resists bacterial growth and breathes excellently, preventing odours and has four times the strength of cotton and it won’t weaken when washed.”

Sue says hemp gives years of wear, while its breathing ability, antibacterial and antiviral properties help promote good sleep.

South Pacific Hemp, 84 Wollongong Street, Fyshwick. Call 0431 318898 or visit southpacifichemp.com.au

Low-impact exercise technique keeps skiers fit

The staff at Cool Country Natives.

Knowledgeable staff with a big range of native plants Cool Country Natives stocks the largest range of Australian native plants in the ACT and surrounds, says owner Karen Brien.

“We have deliveries of new stock every week, and offer drought and frost-hardy plants for your home garden,” says Karen.

“Drought and frost-hardy plants will be easier to manage, and make it easier for watering.”

Karen says her dedicated team of reliable and knowledgeable staff are 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

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right spot; we’re attentive and we know what stock is in the nursery,” she says.

“Please come and talk to 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.

“We are open seven days a week, from 8.30am to 4.30pm, and most public holidays between 10am and 4pm.”

Cool Country Natives, 5A Beltana Road, Pialligo. Call 6257 6666, or visit coolcountrynatives.com.au

A new, scientifically studied exercise technique called Nordic Walking is more effective than jogging, but as gentle as walking, and is even used by cross-country skiers to stay fit in their off-season, says Capital Nordic Walking founder Kristen Pratt.

The technique uses specially designed poles that are planted behind the user to propel them along using the power of the upper body as well as the legs.

“When there’s no snow the Scandinavian and Nordic skiers shorten their poles and do exactly the same movement as they would in cross country skiing,” says Kristen.

“It doubles the number of muscles being used and strengthened compared to walking and running, making it easy to get a high-intensity cardiovascular workout,” says Kristen.

But while the technique is perfect for skiers, Kristen says anyone can try the versatile exercise.

“Because we have so much control over the range of movement and the level of intensity, you can adapt it to where you’re at and scale it up as you start to improve,” she says.

“The great thing about it is you

Capital Nordic Walking founder Kristen Pratt, right. don’t have to go very fast to get a good workout, but competitive Nordic walkers can get up to speeds similar to running.

“For people who like walking, it can turbo-charge your walk and for people who are really fit, like runners and crossfitters, it’s a really good cross activity to build muscle because it is so low impact.”

Capital Nordic Walking, email hello@capitalnordicwalking.com.au or visit capitalnordicwalking.com.au

Proudly stocking the largest range of Australian native plants in Canberra and surrounds

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Ph: 0431 318 898 | 84 Wollongong St, Fyshwick | southpacifichemp.com.au | 20 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

Let our expert staff show you a range of plants suitable for your garden soil type, to grow and enjoy an abundance of Australian native plants.

Come out today and see us at Pialligo!

Phone: 02 6257 6666 5A Beltana Road, Pialligo, ACT www.coolcountrynatives.com.au citynews.com.au

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The team at Belconnen Physiotherapy.

Physiotherapy to absolve aches and pains Director Roy Daniell says Belconnen Physiotherapy Clinic was founded by his mother, Yvonne Daniell.

“We have provided physical health care to the people of North Canberra and Belconnen for over 50 years,” the senior clinician says.

“We have always been involved in looking after local athletes at all levels, but our main theme has been caring for the aches and pains, injuries, sprains and strains of the general population.

“We understand that at the beginning of a year, many people are keen to reclaim control of their health.

“To help people get started, we are happy to offer a $20 discount on initial consultations from now until Easter.”

There are also three new additions to the Belconnen Physiotherapy Clinic team, says Roy. “Zoe Zeuschner joined us late in 2023, Zoe has a long history of exercise prescription for health and injury

recovery, as well as working in team sports,” says Roy. “She came to Canberra to complete her Master of Physiotherapy, and we are very grateful that she has chosen to stay.

“Lara Rankin is a lifelong Belconnen resident. Her clinical interests are in helping people at all levels return to sport and improve their performance. She has particular interests in soccer and AFL. “Matt Chan just joined our team. He has extensive experience helping people manage injuries from workplace trauma and strains, to sporting injuries at all levels.

“He prides himself on empowering people to look after themselves better.”

Belconnen Physiotherapy Clinic, 1/20 Purdue Street Belconnen. Call 6251 3487 or visit belconnen.physio

• Nordic Walking turbo-charges your walkturning it into a total-body workout!

• Doubles the muscles actively used and strengthened, gets your heart pumping, burns more calories, and, it’s much easier on joints!

• PROVEN to be far more effective, and gets better results, than just walking, jogging, running, cycling and swimming!

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www.belconnen.physio 1/20 Purdue St, Belconnen

CityNews February 15-21, 2024 21

PETS, VETS & ANIMALS

Best in the business for animal care and attention Be it a fluffy kitten, a loyal dog or a talkative parrot, for many people pets can seem like family members.

And, while we always want the best for our loved ones, why not our furry, feathered or scaly friends?

This week CityNews has rounded up the best in the business when it comes to looking after your pets.

Walk-in clinic for urgent veterinary care “The Walk In Clinic for Animals is an after hours, no appointment, urgent care veterinary facility,” says veterinary director Bronwyn Orr. “We do non-life threatening admissions; vomiting, pain, lameness, all sorts of things that need to be seen, they are urgent and can’t wait, but the emergency clinics are not really set up for them.

“A lot of the time you have to go and wait five or six hours for anything that’s not super urgent to see a vet and they are considerably more expensive, so we’re trying to provide an option that is quicker, cheaper and gets pets seen when they need to be seen.”

The clinic is open every evening from 7pm to 10.30pm, says Bronwyn.

“We’ve been in operation now for just over a year and in that time we’ve seen a couple thousand pets, which is really amazing,” she says.

“We are really connected to the veterinary community and we work really closely with both the referral vets as well as regular vets.

“Every night at the end of our consultation opening hours, we send all of our histories back to people’s regular vets or GP vets.

“That means if you come and see us you’re not interrupting that relationship, you’re not losing your records, your regular vet is kept in the loop.

“I used to work in emergency, in those really busy emergency clinics and they work off triage, which means the most critical cases get seen

A peaceful way to say ‘goodbye’

Veterinary director Bronwyn Orr. first, and everyone else has to wait.

“That’s how it should work, it works like that in the human world too, but, I just thought there’s got to be a better way to help these people and their pets.

“Their pets still deserve care, but they just are maybe not in the right place for it, so that’s why I started it.”

Walk In Clinic for Animals, 30 Totterdell Street, Belconnen. Call 0482 092824 or visit walkinclinicforanimals.com

It’s difficult to lose a pet, and the team at Paws to Remember understands that, being a local family run business with a deep love of pets, says owner Cathy McIIhoney “We offer a private, gentle and environmentally-friendly cremation,” says Cathy.

Paws To Remember uses a process of green cremation, sometimes referred to as bio-cremation or water cremation, that utilises alkaline hydrolysis to ensure a natural method of cremation.

“Water cremation was known to the New Zealand Māori,” says Cathy “The bodies of chiefs or high-ranking individuals were sometimes immersed in hot alkaline springs.

“That was seen as a way to return the physical remains of the deceased to the land

and to connect the spiritual and natural worlds.”

“Each pet is placed in their own private chamber, ensuring only your pet is returned to you.

“The gentle nature of the process, which is not as aggressive as fire cremation, means more of your beloved pet’s remains are retained and available to be returned to you.

“We have a selection of urns to choose from; scatter urns, ceramic urns or timber boxes.”

Cathy says they are the only place where the service is done locally in the ACT. Paws to Remember. Call 0414 107355, email info@pawstoremember.com.au or visit pawstoremember.com.au

Walk in Clinic for Animals

No appointment, afterhours veterinary care for non-life-threatening conditions

OPEN EVERY NIGHT 7PM-10:30PM Call 0482 092 824 Located 30 Totterdell St, Belconnen

22 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

citynews.com.au

advertising feature Aviary offers a great time away with the birds

Jamison Veterinary Hospital co-owners Dr Charles Webb and Dr Natasha Webb.

Compassionate and knowledgeable pet care “My husband and I have both wanted to be vets since we were young,” says Dr Natasha Webb, co-owner of Jamison Veterinary Hospital.

“For both of us it has just been something that we really enjoy doing together as a team.

“The key with our hospital is that we’re not a corporate-run hospital, it is a privately owned, locally owned, family-owned business.

“It’s very personalised and tailored, and we really believe in helping our clients make the best decisions they can for the care of their pets by involving them in the process.”

Jamison Veterinary Hospital opened in November, but before that Dr Natasha Webb and her husband Dr Charles Webb, also co-owner of the hospital, ran the Canberra Mobile Vets service for nine years.

They continue to run the mobile ambulatory service, which provides mobile care for farm animals and pets, whereas the Jamison Veterinary Hospital is for cats and dogs only.

“We also run puppy school, and are going to be doing pet health talks in the near future,” says Natasha.

“We offer all routine surgeries, including desexing, dental, lump removals, stitch ups, and then quite a few more advanced surgeries including orthopaedics, advanced soft tissue abdominal surgeries and we have extensive imaging equipment, including digital X-ray, ultrasounds and endoscopy and we have a very comprehensive in-house laboratory.”

Parrots, finches, doves and quail are among the birds ready to interact at the Canberra Walk-in Aviary, says owner and manager Mick Logan.

The aviary is great fun for all ages.

Now is the best time to get up close and personal with a range of friendly, free-flying birds, he says.

“While not all birds will interact with you, visitors get the chance to observe, up close, species of birds that otherwise would be hard to see in the wild,” Mick says.

“We provide a small plate of food and a tub of mealworms and you can wander around and feed the birds.

“Provided the weather is fine, you can have a great time feeding the birds, taking photos or just observing our feathered friends.”

The aviary is a 1000sqm planted walk-in enclosure that has more than 500 birds from about 65 different species from Australia and the world, Mick says.

“We accept student and senior concession cards,” he says.

The aviary is open every day, 10am-5pm, with last admissions at 4.30pm.

Canberra Walk-in Aviary, unit 13, Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Call 6230 2044 or visit canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

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CityNews February 15-21, 2024 23

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For Sandy Borgo, owner of Charlie & Chums, dogs are so much more than just a pet.

“Dogs are my sanity,” she says.

“When you don’t have anybody else, your dogs are always there for you.

“I’ve got two and whatever room I go in, they follow me.

“My dogs are my solace in life and I’m not the only one, many people say that.

“They give you something to live for.”

Sandy’s love for dogs encouraged her to buy a particular keychain while travelling in Venice, and when she returned home she was inundated with compliments on it.

“Everybody just marvelled over it, they thought it was fabulous,” she says.

Sandy says that although it was from Venice she knew they must’ve had to buy it wholesale from somewhere.

“So I sat there and searched the internet,” she says.

“I started with that and jewellery, in pop-up stores, and then I had a shop for four years.”

Sandy is online only now, but she still has a huge range of products available.

“I’ve got dog collars and leads, I’ve got plaques, I’ve got giftware,

Sandy Borgo.

I’ve got some spec holders or reader rests, I’ve got ponchos, scarves, bright metal plaques that talk about the breed of dog and what they’re like, I’ve got dog hooks, I’ve got a lot of gardenware, pots beautiful metal ornaments that go on the wall and make your garden really pop.

“I’ve got little sculptures of dogs and cats in metal from an artisan company, some of them are broken down from old 44-gallon drums and made into sculptures.”

To ease the delivery process, Sandy also does local drop-offs free of charge.

“Particularly in the southside, about a 10-20 km radius within the area,” she says.

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For Kate Herlihy, the decision to go into cat grooming was simple, “I started grooming 20 years ago because I love animals,” she says.

“I have a passion for cats particularly and it’s an area of grooming that has been neglected in the market.

“The kinds of cats we’ve bred now, the Persians, the ragdolls, lots of soft fluffy hair, they would never Kate Herlihy. have been able to survive in the wild, they’re dometic breeds, they expect you to groom a dog, you’ll require grooming to survive. injure the cat or you’ll get injured “A lot of them get horribly matyourself. ted, they get greasy, they get sores “I love cats, I understand under their fur, they’ll actually pull their behaviour and I’m able to their own hair out sometimes if tailor and cater for the differences they’ve got knots. between cats and dogs, which is “In a nutshell, there’s this why I set up my cat-only salon so massive need, and cat grooming as that I could work in a one-on-one an industry is still massively under specialist way. serviced.

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Keep your dog busy, social and beautiful A love of dogs and passion for grooming them means Debbie Hart, owner of Central Bark Pet Styling, enjoys every second of her work day.

“I’ve been dog grooming for eight years, I’ve owned Central Bark for five years and I’ve been involved with animals for 40 years,” says Debbie.

“I expanded from having a small, home salon because I basically just wanted to look after more dogs.

“We’ve just moved from smaller premises in Gungahlin to much bigger premises in Mitchell.”

After noticing a gap in affordable doggy day care services in Canberra, Debbie Hart focused her attention on being able to help more owners and their pets.

“Since COVID-19 there has been an

increase in interest in doggy daycare, because people were at home and now they’re back in the office and the dogs get a bit anxious,” says Debbie.

“That’s the hole we fill.

“The doggy day care runs Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 5.30pm.

“The dogs are fully supervised, we have vet nurses and dog trainers on staff and we also have enrichment toys.

“They get plenty of exercise, so they sleep well when they get home, they learn to socialise very well.

“My favourite bit is when I see one of my dogs out, and they recognise me and come up to say hello.”

For six years Lucienne (Luci) Amundsen, has been providing “whole dog” care to Canberrans and their pets.

“On one side of Canine Culture we’ve got a services space where we work directly with owners and their dogs,” says Luci.

“We offer a behaviour-based, structured day school where we really focus on socialisation with dogs.

“On the other side we’ve got our retail section, where we’ve extended our approach with what we do in our service-based business, looking at letting dogs be their best selves.

“We offer a really big range of all sorts of foods, supplements, training gear, all that kind of thing, that is intentionally picked to be within the range so that we’re offering people really good quality choices to pick for their dogs.

“It’s the same gear that we would choose to use.”

Luci says this multi-angled approach to the way they support dogs and their owners is what makes Canine Culture so special.

“It’s all about the relationship that we have with our dogs and what we share with them,” she says.

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CityNews February 15-21, 2024 25

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Curry plant… the colder its environment, the more leaves it loses.

The Kurrajong tree… used as a street tree in

Photos: Jackie Warburton old suburbs in Canberra.

Curry needs heat to grow, too Curry leaves are a main ingredient in Indian dishes and this plant is easy to grow in Canberra with a little care.

Curry plant (Murraya koenigii) is a tropical plant that can grow to three metres, but here it can only survive as an indoor plant during winter and as an outdoor patio plant in summer.

The colder its environment, the more leaves it loses. Keeping it snug in winter will get a mature plant growing in a few years.

The foliage is what is used in the kitchen, and the bush needs to be one to two years old before harvesting. Remove the whole leaf stems, not individual leaves, to encourage new stem growth. Importantly, don’t harvest more than a third of the plant or it will lose its vigour for the next year.

During spring and summer, the curry plant produces clusters of small, creamy white flowers and is self-fertile with lovely black berries to follow.

The berries should not be eaten, but are useful for growing more curry plants from seed.

Propagating curry plants is best

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done with fresh seed and the temperature at a minimum of 20C. Sow in a seed-raising mix and keep moist. To get seedlings through the winter, a propagating heat bed might be required.

So, with a little patience, you’ll have an edible, indoor plant.

There is also another plant called a “curry plant” (Helichrysum italicum) but it’s a completely different plant. While it’s aromatic and smells like curry, the two must not be confused as the latter is not edible.

FLOWERING now – and has been throughout summer – is the well-known Kurrajong tree (Brachychiton populneus).

A local species, it can be seen in our nearby bushland. It was used as a street tree in old suburbs in Canberra, notably along Limestone Avenue in Braddon. These trees were planted in 1928 and have survived well on natural rainfall over all those years.

They are evergreen trees that shed some leaves in summer, but are not considered deciduous. They are slow growing, and the juvenile foliage is very different to the adult leaves.

The flowers have beautiful bell-shaped petals and are pinkish red inside and attractive to bees and wasps. Once the flowers have finished, the

dramatic, large seed pods appear that burst open when ripe.

At 10 metres, the tree is too large for some gardens but a good choice in a large native garden – or just enjoyed in the local bushland.

I have one in my front garden that I grew from seed around 2010 and the tree is now about five metres tall and gets no supplemental watering.

If you want to grow your own, soak the seed in boiling water to break its coating and sow in spring or autumn, avoiding the hottest and coldest time of the year. Sow when the temperature is around 20C and pot into seed-rising mix and keep moist. Germination can be a little slow and it can take up to at least three weeks. jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au

Jottings…

• Plant out winter vegeta bles.

• Watch for caterpillars on callistemons and spray wit h Diapel.

• Plant herbs such as par sley, thyme and sage and get them growing strongly before autumn.

• Liquid feed all plants fortnightly.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

INSIDE

Best meal deal on Foreshore

WENDY JOHNSON

Taimus wants to kick big goals with Henry V

By Helen

MUSA After a break of a year, Lakespeare, Shakespeare by the Lakes, is back in action with a rugby-themed production of King Henry V. It’s a long-held dream for director Taimus Werner-Gibbings and the first history play they’ve ever done after four comedies. He’s also always thought Romeo and Juliet could work, too, if given a Canberra framework.

Describing the production as opening up “a bridge from the 15th century to the 21st, where sport often serves as a cipher for war,” he’ll be staging it as a battle between the English rugby team and the French team, played on the French home turf, Stade d’Agincourt.

Henry V is an obvious choice for a largescale production and I was lucky enough to see John Bell perform it once in a tent pitched in Rushcutters Bay. As well as the lakeside locations, they’ll play at Viking Park Stadium in Tuggeranong and, for the first time, by night on the Patrick White lawns at the National Library. At least four of the shows will be free.

Werner-Gibbings is executive producer

Jake Fryer-Hornsby, who plays Henry V and Marni Mount, as Director Taimus Werner-Gibbings with cast members, from left, Princess Catherine.

Photos: Emily Hanna Marni Mount, Annabelle Hansen and Anneka van der Velde. and one of the founding team of Lexi Sekuless, Duncan Driver and Paul Leverenz.

By day a public servant and a Labor candidate in the coming ACT elections, it’s his first go as director for Lakespeare, he says.

He’s pretty well on his own this time – Sekuless is busy running her Mill Theatre in Fyshwick and Driver is a Shakespeare academic at the ANU, but still on hand to provide dramaturgical advice.

Werner-Gibbings believes Henry V is very good for outdoor treatment.

“Ours is a very sports-themed production… even Shakespeare uses tennis balls as a political metaphor,” he notes, adding,

“also, outdoor locations have lots of grass, so there’s lots of opportunity for colour and momentum.”

There’s no “Wooden O” (The Globe Theatre) because people sit on the ground or further back in chairs.

They can put numbers on the back of characters’ shirts, so you can work out which team they’re in, and their colours are simple – blue, for the French, white for the English and purple for the Duke of Burgundy. ”We’re encouraging the audience to dress in blue and white, and the English and French flags will be flying,” he says.

They’ve retained as much of the original

text as possible, but have changed the Welsh captain, Fluellen, to become a New Zealander.

He’s not making a particularly strong point out of gender-bending, so Henry is played by a male and Princess Catherine by a woman, although Lakespeare veteran Anneka van der Velde plays four males and one female, Queen Isobel, in Kath & Kim style with a touch of the hippie thrown in.

Marni Mount, is back in Canberra to play Catherine of Valois, who is strategically married off to Henry, as a football cheerleader, but in the scene in which she’s learning English she still retains all her “lightness and skill”.

Mount has been in Melbourne since 2021, when she moved to the Victorian College of the Arts to complete a masters in directing and she’s now written a play called Trophy Boys, about power and privilege school debating. She’ll soon bring that to Canberra.

She’s performed with Lakespeare before in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and is thrilled to be back to play in front of a “home crowd”.

Jake Fryer-Hornsby admits that Henry is “an absolute gem of a part to play.”

He’s not long finished working for six weeks on a psychological thriller The Surfer, with Nicholas Cage in Yallingup, WA, and is another old hand with Lakespeare, having played in As You Like it.

Here he gets some of the best oratory ever written by Shakespeare, including the speech at The Siege of Harfleur, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends” and the even more famous speech before the Battle of Agincourt. No wonder the French hate this play so much.

A terrific aspect of the role to him is how the young rake, Harry, is shown developing into a great king, dressing up as a commoner and sneaking around the camp at night before the battle to find out what the real people are thinking.

“He’s a Machiavellian, but an honourable Machiavellian,” Fryer-Hornsby says.

King Henry V, opens at Tuggeranong Town Park, February 23. More at lakespeare.com

FUTURE

CLASSICS

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CityNews February 15-21, 2024 27

EXHIBITION / Project Alchemy

Art rises from emotional ashes of Black Summer

By Helen

MUSA Alchemy is the age-old practice of attempting to turn a base metal into gold and by association find the elixir of life.

In the arts, however, alchemy has become a byword for turning something ordinary or even scorned into something precious and magical.

That’s exactly what’s happening with Project Alchemy, a multimedia exhibition coming up at The Hive in Queanbeyan, in which, magically the rubble, charcoal and shattered dreams that followed the Black Summer Fires of this region are turned into pure gold.

It’s the result of a project Queanbeyan artist Helen Ferguson has been managing on behalf of Canberra social change arts company, Rebus Theatre, working with affected communities – Bega Valley Shire, Eurobodalla Shire, East Gippsland, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and the ACT – with three artists selected from each region to “heal hearts and weave magic”.

It’s about to culminate in an exhibition at the “Yellow House”, The Hive, opposite the council chambers in Queanbeyan, where works by the 15 Project Alchemy artists will be seen.

Freelance videographer and photographic artist Sammy Hawker… “Photographers are a little bit suspicious of me, suspecting that I might not be a real photographer, and I agree with that.”

Photo: Karina Hudson Related ventures that followed Rebus-led residencies in 2022 and 2023 have included community dances, walks through firedevastated properties, eco dying, printmaking, music and chromatogram workshops, tree planting, dance and involvement with events such as The Daring Festival of Possibilities in Bega Valley Shire.

On show at the Hive will be embroidered works and a larger collaborative piece from artist Michele Grimston’s workshops, concertina art books of drawings and paintings from Cecile Galiazzo’s Wonder Walks and a free illustrated handbook, Nye on the River of Life, by artist Sue Norman

A chromatograph example of Sammy Hawker’s work… invented in 1900, it’s a process for separating components of a mixture to create “the visual expression of vibrant matter”.

Photo: Daisy Hill

with Colleen Weir.

A chosen artist from the ACT is Sammy Hawker, a freelance videographer and photographic artist who in her short time here has become almost legendary.

A relative newcomer to Canberra, Hawker studied video art at the Sydney College of the Arts, but moved to Canberra and discovered PhotoAccess – “My spiritual home,” she says.

“I learnt how to process film and then lockdown happened. I never saw myself as a photographer, but I discovered that film allowed me to experiment.”

She did and has since won a swag of

prizes, including the 2022 Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize and the 2023 Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize.

“Photographers are a little bit suspicious of me, suspecting that I might not be a real photographer, and I agree with that,” she says.

Hawker’s secret was her discovery of chromatography, invented in 1900 by botanist Mikhail Tsvet, a process for separating components of a mixture to create “the visual expression of vibrant matter”. By using a teaspoon of soil from a site, she could use the chromatography process to help material to express itself.

“I tried it with a leaf from a favourite scribbly gum in O’Connor, but it could have been from any tree or a leaf,” she says.

“I put a nine-centimetre circumference filter paper with a little wick, then the silver nitrate solution I had created spread up on the paper, so the paper developed. I blew the images up and saw the chemical make-up coming into a visual expression – the patterns that formed could not be manipulated or controlled.”

Hawker is a fire survivor, having been at Bermagui when the fires struck and also residing around that time near Michelago, feeling their direct impact.

This gave her the first-hand experience she needed to embark on Project Alchemy.

Her final exhibit for The Hive is not a conventional picture but a composition of 64 printed chromatographs.

“People who were recovering from the effects of bushfires came together with stories of strength and sometimes their favourite trees… I worked directly with some of them and others posted me a leaf or a piece of fire litter,” says Hawker.

“They told me beautiful stories, including one about how a tree had survived because it was next to a water tank which burst, sending water soaking down to the roots.

“I feel together they would make a great book.”

Project Alchemy, The Queanbeyan Hive Gallery, February 24-March 17. Official opening with dance, music and poetry readings, February 23.

ARTS IN THE CITY

Comedian Josh’s tidy new show

By Helen Musa Comedian Josh Thomas returns to the mainstage in a new show, Let’s Tidy Up, written with top playwright Lally Katz. It’s already been on a 20-date tour of North America and it’s all about, well, tidying up, which Thomas describes as “like Everest – a fundamentally impossible task, like trying to defy the moon and control the tides”. Canberra Theatre, February 23.

Living the Tradition is a film that follows cellist and composer Ilse de Ziah as she travels around Ireland to uncover the hidden secrets of a selection of Irish airs.

De Ziah, who performs contemporary, classical, rock ‘n’ roll, traditional Irish, jazz and experimental music, will be in Canberra with guitarist Ian Date to perform a 50-minute live performance after screening of the film at the National Film and Sound Archive, February 21.

At a snazzy season launch, Music for Canberra has signalled its intention to move into the future while respecting its past by naming several ensembles after pivotal supporters of the youth music organisation: The Gilby Strings, conducted by Anna Harrison in appreciation of the Gilby family; the BJ Gilby Chair after violinist Jane Barbara Gilby; the Louise Butler Strings, led by conductor Mandy Philipse, after cellist, educator and advocate Butler; and McCusker Strings, conducted

by Jenny Higgs, after the original conductor and co-founder of the organisation, James McCusker.

Canberra novelist Karen Viggers has a new novel, Sidelines, about parental competitiveness and pressure and the way this can impact on kids. “We’ve all seen parents behaving badly on the sidelines,” she says, “I wrote the book to stimulate discussion about how to be a better sports parent through encouragement and support, rather than pressure to win.” Viggers will be at Meet the Author, ANU Kambri cinema, February 22.

28 CityNews February 15-21, 2024

Art Song Canberra will open its Season of Song with a tribute to retiring president and longtime art song

Comedian Josh Thomas… Canberra Theatre, February 23. advocate, Oliver Raymond. The details of the program are supposed to be a surprise, but insiders say a very much-loved Canberra soprano will emerge from retirement for the day. At Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, 3pm, February 25.

Belconnen Arts Centre has a new resident company, Marie-Cecile’s Music, whose students and choir have already moved into the building, filling it with music every day. citynews.com.au

DINING / Black Salt, Kingston Foreshore

TREASURE YOUR FAMILY MEMORIES

Best meal deal on Foreshore In an exciting start to my new “foodreview year” I landed at Black Salt Dining. It was so yum I’ve already been back several times.

Black Salt sources produce from small, unique suppliers and although the menu – at first glance – may seem like “more Italian” (mains, pizza, pasta), the secret is in the execution and flavour combos.

Dishes are gracefully presented, and the experience begins with a delightful amusebouche. The emphasis is on finer dining with a relaxed ambience.

Black Salt is a hard-working family operation, headed by executive chef TJ Singh, who hails from establishments such as Rubicon. His lovely wife, Serah Rhee, is an attentive floor manager and nothing – I mean nothing – is too hard. The customer is numero uno.

Ten of us enjoyed lunch one day, after an hour on one of Canberra’s new, premium, self-drive “Love Boats”. We hopped off the boat and straight into Black Salt on the Kingston Foreshore (adjacent).

The lunch deal is currently the best on the foreshore – two courses ($45) and three courses ($55). Includes wine by the glass, a beer or a soft drink.

You can’t beat Black Salt’s burrata. Firmer on the outside and soft on the inside, it features a drizzle of an aged-balsamic reduction and is served with red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, green olives, basil, and funky brioche. Mighty tasty.

A fabulous dish, with light batter, is the fritto misto. Love the large, thin, crisp sesame leaf and the cooked-to-perfection calamari, plump prawns and baby octopus. The dish arrives with a

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Hiramasa kingfish sashimi…”art-on-a-plate”.

Chicken roulade.

dish of spicy, salty and sweet gochujang aioli and a fat wedge of fresh lemon.

Elements work together with the “arton-a-plate” Hiramasa kingfish sashimi. How captivating is the pina colada sauce, green namjin, makrut lime and zesty mandarin gel (told you Black Salt is about the execution)?

Another winner is the breaded eggplant with creamy skordalia, a slightly spicy bois boudran sauce, more of those punchy tomatoes and a micro herb salad. Basil oil rounds matters out.

Mains are just as delicious, although the linguini with seafood was slightly overcooked.

The pumpkin gnocchi is amazing. Love the Campagnola pizza, with Italian pork sausage and pepperoni, and double smoked ham – hearty and rewarding. The pork belly is divine and smashes

it with a rhubarb and apple coulis. Thumbs up to the chicken roulade, super moist.

Black Salt’s wine list is impressive and not expensive. Wines by the glass range from a reasonable $13 to $17 and bottles from $55 to $120 for a sexy shiraz and $170 for a sparkling pinot noir/chardonnay.

Open Wednesday to Sunday, lunch and dinner.

The menu is soon to be updated. Indoor and outdoor dining (overlooking the water).

Photos: Wendy Johnson

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WINE / Dracula

Legal blood spills over Dracula wine I recommend that you don’t use a knife to remove the pit from an avocado.

The technique for removing an avocado pit involves banging a knife into the exposed pit of one cut half, which is nestled in the hand or is resting on a chopping board.

Alas I didn’t use a heavy chef’s knife but instead used a light knife that didn’t sufficiently penetrate the pit and slid off, cutting my right index finger slightly.

No stitches needed but a quantity of spray skin after a dousing with disinfectant was the fix.

Blood flow now stopped, I cut the avocado for salad and while waiting for the chicken to cook in the air fryer, I decided to look at the first Daily Wine News received since my return from a Christmas/New Year sojourn in NZ. Blow me down, coincidence, here was an article that centred around blood, well, a bloodsucker anyway: “Treasury Wine Estates Sued Over A bottle of the Dracula Wine”.

Treasury Wine Talk about connection, this had it Estates 19 Crimes all: I’d just cut myself and thoughts Dracula Red Blend. of blood were in my head, the article centred on a legal dispute about wine and it invoked the myth of Dracula, something I’d been researching for my second book of fiction.

In looking at vampiric constructions I stumcitynews.com.au

bled across the fact that porphyria, a blood disorder, may cause severe blisters on skin exposed to sunlight, and it was this disease that was linked to one interesting facet of the vampire myth; that vampires must hide from destructive light. But to the nub of the story.

In the US, Treasury Wine Estates released a 19 Crimes Dracula Red Blend, in October.

Halloween was on October 31 in the US and the wine seems to have been marketed to coincide with that festival, replete with a glow-in-thedark label.

The release of this wine caused the owner of US-based Vampire Wines to issue suit, alleging that the release of the 19 Crimes wine was likely to cause confusion and to deceive the public at large.

In other words, the Vampire Winery is saying that the public thought they were buying its wine and this unjustly enriched Treasury Estates.

It sounds quite like an allegation in Australia of misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law. But, of course, this is a

distinct Californian piece of litigation.

Whether or not the action will have cutthrough is something that is awaited. But it is intriguing that there should be a fight over the name vampire that, I would suppose, has long been in the public domain.

After all, the Bram Stoker novel was published in the late 19th century. That is one piece of the puzzle. I asked Treasury Wine Estates to comment, but inside of driving a stake through the debate with a blistering comment, they wanted to kill controversy with a statement that frankly sucks: “Treasury Wine Estates treats the intellectual property rights of others with the utmost respect.

We stand by the integrity of our brands but we cannot make any further comments regarding this case while it remains pending.”

It’s terrible that they wouldn’t stick their neck out.

So, back to avocados: why do avocados make terrible friends? Because they are the pits. And my positive new year’s resolution: always de-pit avocados with a spoon.

What do vampires drink at happy hour? B positive.

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STREAMING

Larry’s not curbing final-series enthusiasm Curb Your Enthusiasm is the show about Larry David written

by Larry David who also stars as Larry David, a famous TV producer trying to navigate his way through retirement in Los Angeles.

David, who shot to fame after cocreating “Seinfeld”, plays a fictionalised version of himself – a cranky, awkward old man who makes no effort to hide his disdain for the rapidly changing world around him. Case in point: calling Apple’s Siri a “c***” in the show’s newest episode.

After 11 seasons that have spanned a remarkable 24 years, the new season now streaming on Binge will be the final outing for David and Curb Your Enthusiasm as the 76-year-old decides to throw in the towel on the cult-followed series.

Its longevity has outlasted even that of “Seinfeld”, so what is it that has made Curb Your Enthusiasm resonate for so long?

Well much like the misadventures of Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine, Curb has an absurd focus on the minutiae of social problems and the extreme lengths one might go to overcome them.

Take season five’s episode The Ski Lift, a fan-favourite where David pretends to be an Orthodox Jew in order to befriend the head of an organ-donation organisation with hopes of getting his friend bumped up the kidney transplant list.

Larry David… “The fans… don’t care about political correctness.”

David, of course, hatches this ridiculous plan after being unwilling to part with his own kidney.

Or if that’s not ludicrous enough, what about the season seven episode The Black Swan, where David accidentally

kills the majestic bird while playing golf.

The swan turns out to be the local club’s beloved mascot, leaving David to cover up a murder where his prized putter is the weapon of interest.

It’s unknown how many of these

farcical ideas actually come from real-life scenarios but it seems there’s certainly no shortage of inspiration.

In a recent incident David was forced to make a public apology to Elmo, yes, from Sesame Street, after attacking him live on air on the US Today Show.

It sounds like an idea straight out of a TV script, but no, David actually did express his regrets to the furry, red glove puppet on national television.

One might think then that Curb Your Enthusiasm almost writes itself, but part of what keeps this show fresh is just how much of it is improvised.

There’s often no script apart from the wacky situation, which becomes the framework for actors to impart their own comedy on, leading to some truly unexpected results.

From moments where David has dated someone who uses a wheelchair to score social points, to wearing a MAGA hat to repel unwanted company, to a particularly notorious episode titled “the N word”, Curb has a zero-tolerance policy for political correctness.

And yet despite these touchy subjects, it has somehow always managed to duck and weave the cancel culture of the modern age.

Even David doesn’t quite know why

this is the case. In a 2022 interview when asked how he manages to get away with it, the comedian replied: “I don’t know. It’s a very good question.

“There were fans of the show, they liked the show. And they have a good sense of humour. The fans of the show don’t care about political correctness.”

It certainly hasn’t stopped an incredible run of guest stars who have appeared on the series over more than two decades and who have also played themselves.

Woody Harrelson, Shaquille O’Neal, Martin Scorsesse, Wanda Sykes, Ben Stiller, Michael J Fox, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ted Danson, Richard Lewis... the list goes on.

No doubt fans will also be treated to a few more big names as well for the show’s farewell season.

And it seems David certainly isn’t taking his foot off the pedal for this last outing.

In the first episode he’s already lamenting the fact he has to give a “condolence tip” to a waitress who just lost her mother.

One can only imagine what Curb Your Enthusiasm has cooked up for its grand finale.

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HOROSCOPE Your week in the stars

By Joanne Madeline Moore

PUZZLES

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General knowledge crossword No. 919

February 19-25, 2024 ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

Romance, friendship and fun are highlighted on Thursday. With Saturday’s Full Moon in your daily routine zone, it’s time to prioritise, organise and stabilise, but avoid being too impulsive about a complicated issue involving money, values or possessions. The stars encourage you to dream ambitious dreams for the future.

Be inspired by fellow Aries, pioneering feminist Gloria Steinem: “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.”

Farts to fat, it's all about tax!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Bulls can blunder around being (unintentionally) insensitive. This week you need to be extra responsive to the needs of children, teenagers and close friends, otherwise Saturday’s Full Moon could trigger a misunderstanding or an emotional drama. With Venus transiting through your career zone, professional matters are set to improve – as long as you’re not too stubborn. The more flexible and understanding you are, the quicker things will improve.

In 2003 the “agricultural emissions research levy” otherwise known as the fart tax was proposed in NZ.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

This week the Full Moon (in earthy Virgo) falls in your home zone, so get your house in order and tackle domestic chores with extra Gemini gusto. But, if you spread gossip or jump to hasty conclusions, you could end up in hot water. And avoid the temptation to take shortcuts. A slapdash attitude will only mean you have to do everything twice. With a more methodical and practical approach, you can accomplish tasks and still have plenty of time to play.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

With Saturday’s Full Moon stimulating your conversation and social media zones, communicating with other people will be turbo-charged (in person and online) and a close partnership should prosper. The planets also bring good fortune in the form of an international friend, a wise mentor, an educational milestone, a financial boost or a travel opportunity. So it’s time to crawl out of your Crab cave and get moving, mixing and mingling ASAP!

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Regal Lions love to live in the lap of luxury! Saturday’s Full Moon activates your finance zone and encourages your tendency to be hasty with cash and careless with credit. But penny-pinching Saturn is visiting one of your money zones, so clever Cats will resist the temptation to blow the budget with an impulsive, extravagant spending spree. Big binge buys now will just lead to major money headaches later on. So slow down, plan carefully and shop prudently.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Partnerships – of the romantic, platonic and business variety – are highlighted this week, as the planets activate your relationship zone. Saturday’s Full Moon lights up your sign, so self-belief is the key to Virgo success and satisfaction. Don’t let annoying disruptions and minor matters rattle you! Keep going on your chosen path, with confidence and determination. Be inspired by birthday great, writer Anais Nin: “Good things happen to those who hustle.”

Down

4 Name a prized variety of wool. (6) 7 What is an animal, as distinct from a human being? (8) 8 Which persons suffer from Hansen’s disease?

(6) 9 Name a diminutive hero of folk tales. (3,5) 11 What is otalgia more commonly known as? (7) 13 What is the flower of a plant. (7) 15 To be powered by atomic energy, is to be what? (7) 17 What was once scattered over the floor of a butcher’s shop? (7) 20 Which breakfast dish consists of oatmeal, or the like? (8) 23 What do we call a person confined in a hospital, etc? (6) 24 Which bitter alkaloid is obtained from coffee?

(8) 25 Name the second book of the Old Testament.

(6)

1 Which conjunction means “therefore”? (4) 2 Name the spiny plant chiefly native to the hot, dry regions of America. (6) 3 What is a short, full, ballet skirt? (4) 4 Helen Mitchell was known as Dame Nellie ... (5) 5 What is a TV program that has been broadcast at least once before? (6) 6 Which point is directly opposed to the south? (5) 9 Which term describes potatoes? (6) 10 What serves as a reminder of what is past? (7) 12 Which dish is served at dinner before the main course? (6) 14 Who was known as “the Black Prince”? (6) 16 To move in a slow manner, is to do what? (6) 18 What is something added? (5) 19 Name a colloquial term for glasses. (5) 21 What is a more or less rigid floating platform. (4) 22 Which term describes the unit of inheritance? (4)

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

The Full Moon illuminates your solitude zone and Venus is in your creativity zone, so spend some quality time on your own and let your imagination percolate.

Activities like reading, writing, painting, drawing, dancing, playing music and meditating are favoured. And don’t forget to dream! Writer (and birthday great) Anais Nin wrote: “Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love.”

Solution next edition

Across

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Sudoku medium No. 361

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Tuesday’s Venus/Mars hook-up highlights romance, flirtation, cooperation, entertainment and good times. So loosen up, let your Scorpio hair down, and have some fun! Then Saturday’s Full Moon fires up your friendship zone, so it’s also time to review and renew your peer group. Be inspired by birthday great, writer Anais Nin: “Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

When it comes to work projects and professional prospects, this week’s Full Moon is in efficient, no-nonsense Virgo. So people don’t care how funny, friendly and fabulous you are - they just want to know you can do your job promptly and competently. With the Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune transiting through your family zone, don’t neglect the needs of your home and loved ones. Accept your domestic responsibilities with a sunny Sagittarian smile!

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

This week there’s a Full Moon in your adventure/aspirations zone, and the Venus/ Mars conjunction boosts confidence and self-esteem. So it’s a good time to grab the Goat by the horns and initiate some long-overdue changes – especially involving travel, education, communication and community connections. Be inspired by fellow Capricorn, writer Simone de Beauvoir: “Change your life today.

Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”

Disclaimer This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your professional adviser.

Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd AFS Lic No. 229892.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2024 citynews.com.au

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Sudoku hard No. 360

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Compassionate Venus links up with dynamic Mars in your humanitarian zone, so be proactive about helping others. Can you do some volunteer work, start a fundraiser, or organise a working bee? Plus – with the Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces – you’ll feel like daydreaming, visualising and creating even more than usual as you perform, paint, draw, dance, write, sing or play music. The Full Moon’s in earthy Virgo, so make your dreams a reality!

Solution next edition

Crossword No. 918

Saturday’s Full Moon stimulates your sexuality and secrets zones, so expect a dramatic week full of passion and/or intrigue. Also, with no less than five planets transiting through your sign (the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Pluto) it’s time to be creative, communicative, bold and brave! Draw inspiration from birthday great, writer Anais Nin (who had the Sun in Pisces and Mercury in Aquarius): “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

Farmers would have had to pay the tax based on their livestock holdings to counter the cost of greenhouse gas emissions from their animals.

In 2004 a consortium from NZ's livestock industry agreed to pay for some research not just via taxation. The government reserved the right to bring in the tax in the future if the industry withdrew from this agreement. So the fart tax was never levied.

In Denmark, in October 2011, a tax was raised on foods containing saturated fat at the rate of €2.14 per kilo of saturated fat. This was believed to be the world’s first fat tax.

It was charged on buttermilk, cheese, pizza, meat oil and processed foods if they contained more than 2.3 per cent saturated fat. It lasted for two Christmas dinners. The fat tax was repealed in January 2013!

In Sweden, in 2017 baby name regulations were administered by the Swedish tax department. These regulations replaced a previous 1982 law.

As a result, parents must have their child's name approved by the department before the child turns five. A penalty of 5000 kroner (about $A750) is charged to parents who fail to do so.

Interestingly, some names that have been passed by the Swedish tax department include Metallica and Lego, while Ikea, Allah and Jesus have been disallowed. Although members of the country's Hispanic community can appeal to use the name Jesus.

Meanwhile, in 1992 American singer Willie Nelson made a special album to pay his tax debt after federal agents seized his properties in six states and other assets including boxes of master tapes, touring equipment, gold and platinum records and clothes.

The album was called “IRS tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories”. This album featured only Nelson and his guitar and generated $US3.6 million for the IRS (approximately $A5.5 million). A further $US9 million ($A13.5 million) was requested from Willie to satisfy all his accumulated tax debts. Apparently, the music critics said the album was great.

In the US state of Iowa, pumpkins and other vegetables are exempt from sales tax if they are used as food.

However there is a Halloween tax, which charges tax if the intent of the purchaser is to use it for other purposes. So carving a pumpkin for use as a jack-o'-lantern for a Halloween display is taxable in the state of Iowa. Not sure how they tell.

In 2012, after the London summer Olympic Games there were some issues with the tax treatment of foreign athletes. Under the British tax system, foreign athletes competing in the UK have all their endorsement income taxed, even income originating from other countries. It is taxed proportionately to the time spent in the UK. It was always waived by the British government for the duration of the Olympics, but it kicked back in after their conclusion creating confusion and problems for some of the athletes.

There are lots more fun facts about tax which have been raised over the years. As you can tell governments like fiddling with tax!

If you need clarification of any tax matter that seems unusual please contact the expert team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd on (02) 6295 2844.

(Chartered accountant, SMSF specialist advisor and Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd AFS Lic No. 229892)

info@gailfreeman.com.au | www.gailfreeman.com.au Follow us on Facebook @gailfreemanandco

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