CityNews 240418

The ACT is unique in not having posted a single surplus for more than a decade, write

Sorry, but a new brand won’t cure Health morale

MICHAEL MOORE

Sam who? Time for some vice-regal ‘sunshine’

ROBERT MACKLIN

Stolen painting found by tree… and more howlers

CLIVE WILLIAMS

The emperor explains what makes a great city

KEEPING UP THE ACT

HELEN MUSA previews an up-close look at birds at the NFSA

NEWS / Hawker Playing Fields

Club kicks on as government forgets its promises

By Katarina LLOYD JONES

Having easy access to water at a sporting field is “a pretty standard thing” says Ashley Parker, longtime volunteer for BelSouth FC.

But at the Hawker Playing Fields, Ashley says the ACT government took away the tap and crimped it up, so there’s no water.

“On the game days we purchase some large water drums so people could fill up, but any other day of the week when they’re doing training here they can’t access it, maybe they can go into the toilet and try and jam their water bottle under the shallow sink and try and fill it up but that’s basically impossible,” he says.

needed a bit of a redesign to make sure they could easily get in, but they’re actually there.

someone, a handyman or something who can come put that gutter back on, can come fix the holes in the roof and that sort of stuff.

“We’re at that point that nothing else is going to help us and we’re sick of feeling like we’re complaining.”

Dot says BelSouth FC is a very community focused club that prioritises the love of football and having fun over pursuing Division One all the time.

“It’s about parents getting involved and everything, and I believe if we don’t have that support from the government, we’re going to keep losing people because they look at these big, shiny clubs that have the money and have their own sites,” she says.

“Community football in Canberra is dying.”

BelSouth FC president Dot Hendrie says the lack of easy water access is just the tip of the iceberg, and that she has spent the three years of her presidency unsuccessfully campaigning for repairs and upgrades at the Hawker Playing Fields.

Four years ago, Ashley and Dot say Sport Minister Yvette Berry made a promise that, if re-elected, the Hawker Playing Fields would receive $1.3 million worth of upgrades.

Dot says the funding was meant to see the upgrade of storage, canteen, change room and bathroom facilities, along with the replacement of the existing lights with LED lights, and to see the lighting extended to the top field.

Dot says none of these things have been done, even the broken guttering has not been fixed, leaving the area prone to flooding.

The club is currently using shipping containers and a small room that is part of the canteen and toilet facilities for storage, says Dot.

“One of the catchphrases was they

regardless of their gender.”

Despite the already inadequate storage space, Ashley says the club recently received a message from the government requesting they remove all items from the main building so that the space could be converted into a disabled toilet.

“The existing toilets, the girls have two bays, and the guys have one bay and a urinal, in each of them one of the bays is big enough to accommodate people that might be in a wheelchair, it even has rails and things installed in there,” he says.

“So the facilities are actually already there, the toilets may have

“Additionally, if you do have mobility issues, you’re in a wheelchair or something, there’s no disabled parking.

“And then there’s no ramps to get out of the car park, you’ve got to come across grass, and eventually maybe you can come down here and utilise this.”

Maintenance of the field has also fallen to the club, Dot says, and they don’t have enough volunteers to do it all.

“For two, three years we’ve been purely self funded, managing ourselves and everything,” says Dot.

“So this year we’ve actually called out to small businesses to see what we have in our club, potentially we have

“I can tell that the engagement levels have just dropped off with the ACT government because whatever they say they’re going to do, they don’t,” says Ashley.

“There’s just no faith in the support that the government provides local sporting clubs, our experience has just been abysmal.”

Dot says they have already had to start having a conversation with Belwest about the possibility of merging the teams, as the increasing demand on volunteers has become too difficult to maintain.

Sport Minister Yvette Berry did not respond when asked for a comment.

BelSouthFC Volunteers in front of a shipping container they have had to buy to meet storage needs. Photo: supplied

The club’s canteen, bathroom and storage area. The storage section will become a disabled toilet. Photo: Katarina Lloyd Jones

Sorry, but a new brand won’t cure Health morale POLITICS / Why rebrand Canberra Health Services?

Canberra Health Services has had its fair share of poor publicity. Will spending $1.5million on rebranding really help?

Rebranding is just one part of the equation. Health Minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith also likes to tell the positive stories – as she did late last month regarding the amazing research being conducted by clinicians and academics within her portfolio.

One and a half million dollars could employ additional staff and help relieve pressure where there are staff shortages. Staff shortages and staff morale are the key issues that impact on the health portfolio.

As pointed out by ABC journalist, Harry Frost, the last 12 months has not been an era of good publicity for the Canberra Health Services. He drew attention to multiple headlines that should be a debilitating message for any health minister or any government.

The takeover of Calvary Hospital Bruce from The Little Company of Mary has caused significant concern in the community and amongst staff. Canberra Health Services is hoping that rebranding will bring those staff into the fold in a very mechanical manner.

The death of a five year old, warning of “dangerous cardiac” situations, and a patient waiting three hours after breaking a neck are just a taste of the poor publicity.

The impact on staff morale of these sorts of headlines cannot be underestimated. Will a new logo turn this around? Or are there mixed motivations?

Deputy chief executive Janet Zagari argued that with the takeover of the now North Canberra Hospital it was “really important to have a brand that represented all of CHS rather than just some areas”.

No doubt, rebranded uniforms will constantly remind the staff at the hospital that they are the North Canberra Hospital – no longer Calvary staff. It might be irritating, but they will clearly be part of the Canberra

Health Services.

However, rebranding is not restricted to one facility. Canberra Health Services is responsible for 25 facilities across the ACT. Ms Zagari has argued that appearances are critically important for managing thousands of staff across the territory and especially for recruitment. Recruitment has been the base on which the rebranding argument has been built. It is a pretty shallow base. The key to recruitment is to have high morale, and a health and hospital system that is rated as the highest in the country by independent assessment. Since Labor came to power, the Canberra hospital system has moved from being rated the highest hospital system in Australia to the lowest.

According to Ms Zagari: “We know that in order to attract staff to come and work in Canberra Health Services, but also to attract research grants, those sorts of things, that a very clear brand strategy is important”.

Surely, ensuring appropriate staff morale would come a long way before spending money on peripheral issues such as branding.

It is not as though the ACT government is flush with money. The CityNews has constantly discussed the financial woes of the territory. This has included increased taxation, increased borrowings, the loss of the Standard and Poor’s AAA+ credit rating along with misdirected spending on pet projects.

If the ACT were flush with a surplus, there would be much less room for criticism. However, Treasurer and Chief Minister Andrew Barr has never delivered a surplus budget.

Ms Zagari argues that a rebranding will provide a fresh face and create an atmosphere of modern thinking to assist in recruiting. The claim is that recruiting teams in NZ, the UK and Ireland argue the new logo is helpful in attracting staff. The two-minute video to attract new staff features the

new logo as a tiny icon at the top left of the screen.

Trying to cover up failures in our health system is attempted by telling the good news stories. The inaugural clinical research report, for example, highlighted some of the amazing research being conducted by researchers and clinicians within Canberra Health Services and supported by a range of academic institutions. Research is important and the achievements ought to be recognised. However, research is not the key to staff morale or recruitment. How many nurses will be recruited because Canberra has some outstanding research projects?

Surely, improving morale and spreading the message about all the good work that the current staff in the Canberra Health Services do… is a much more important tool for recruiters than a new brand!

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

The new logo and happy staff…”Trying to cover up failures in our health system is attempted by telling the good news stories,” says Michael Moore.

Soccer mom Karen’s striking out from Sidelines

“I didn’t completely dig into that Australian obsession with sport, but this focus on winning and imposing that pressure on kids, and then using sport as a lens to look at parenting and modern society, that’s where the whole thing came from,” she says.

Karen has recently returned from a self-funded promotional tour around Australia for Sidelines, which was published in January and it is currently being translated into French, as Karen has become somewhat of a celebrity there.

“My best-selling book in Australia and internationally was The Lightkeeper’s Wife, which was my second novel,” says Karen.

“It was picked up by a small but good French publisher… they published it, and it was beautiful.

“It was the silhouette of a lighthouse and they changed the title to something that was more appropriate for a French audience, and the book just went great guns over there.

“Nobody told me it sold a hundred thousand copies in a month.”

Karen speculates her popularity in France comes from the French love of the wild Australian landscape, which often plays a central role in her novels.

It is a passion she shares with them, she says, crediting her upbringing on a small farm in the Dandenongs as the origin for her connection with nature.

“I used to lie in the paddock with the cows coming around and licking my gumboots and hands,” she says.

“Then when I got a horse I used to ride everywhere, miles and miles on my horse, alone.”

She says she also suspects the philosophical questions she poses in her novels draw in the French audience.

way about pathways to diagnosis and stuff like that.

“I can feel the switch when I have to flick from one thing to the other.”

Karen says that like most authors, she draws a lot of material from life.

“Each of my novels have been some -

thing that I was interested in, or concerned about, or was burning for me at the time that I wrote it,” she says.

explore humanity and the challenges that we all face.

“The publisher was really passionate about it and she really got behind it, and then a French bookseller picked it up and he was like the Oprah of French books, and went on TV France and said, ‘this was one of the top 10 books of the summer’.”

“Most of my books hover over some sort of issue, even this latest one, Sidelines, hovers around parents living vicariously through their kids and how that affects kids in terms of mental health and enjoyment of sport and ongoing participation,” she says.

“It’ll be interesting to see how it goes when it comes out over there, it’s been a while between books with covid and a few deaths in the family and things like that.

“I never want to be didactic in my writing, I want to explore different viewpoints and explore an issue and

Her latest novel, Sidelines, came from 14 years of being a soccer mom, she says, and the interesting things she would see in other watching parents.

Karen only discovered her French fame after being hashtagged into somebody’s post in France about her ‘being a small miracle’.

“Hopefully they haven’t forgotten me.”

karenviggers.com

Photo Michelle Higgs

‘The benefit cost ratio of the Brisbane Metro is 1.91. That of the Canberra Metro extension 2A is 0.38’

Is it a tram? Is it a bus? Which Metro works best?

It all began with horsedrawn carriages running with small steel wheels on steel tracks.

This provided welcome relief from riding over cobble-stoned streets in large-wheeled vehicles with rudimentary suspension.

When the electric engine replaced the horses in the second half of the 19th century, the tram was born. With its costly steel tracks, providing the luxury of a smooth ride without pollution, the tram became a prestigious feature of elegant shopping streets of rapidly expanding cities.

Buses, cheaper and more flexible, rattling over uneven pavement and polluting the air, were the worker’s transport.

With the development of longrange, battery-powered buses with superior suspension and today’s smooth road surfaces, the buses’ disadvantages disappeared.

However, the distinction of the latter being low-class while trams are elegant with supposedly high-value “capture” along

assurance provided by the tram’s rails to the investor of long-term public transport along the route, is here simulated by more elaborate stops which provide overhead battery charging, shortening the time the bus requires at the depot to recharge. Named “Brisbane Metro” and referred to in the promotional literature at times even as a train, many seem to be unaware that what will be running throughout Brisbane in dedicated lanes is in fact a bus.

The media has even accused the Brisbane City Council of deceiving the public. That is, like the shape of the Brisbane Metro, a question of perception.

In the past, asking Google whether the Brisbane Metro is a bus or a tram, the answer was evasive, calling it the most appropriate, modern transport for the city.

After media protest, one finds the answer: “a fleet of 60 electric high-capacity trackless trams will run on dedicated busways.” Elsewhere the term “metro bus” has appeared.

Whatever you might call it, it does look much like a close relative of the Canberra Metro.

five extra trams and retrofitting the existing 14 trams with batteries.

In Brisbane, $1.4 billion covers the purchase of 60 bi-articulated electric Metro buses for two new Brisbane Metro lines running 21 kilometres with 18 stations, providing interchanges at 11 locations, and flash overhead charging at stations plus endof-route charging facilities.

in these sections?

Since London Circuit has been raised by six metres, cars presumably cannot move to the left. Moving to the right risks colliding with the trams.

The considerably lower per km cost of the Brisbane Metro compared to the Canberra Metro results from using existing infrastructure, including busways, and investing not in rails but in what benefits the public, namely electric vehicles with the latest comforts and ease of accessibility.

In Canberra, diesel buses will pollute till 2040, and the drastic reduction of bus lines and stops has forced many to rely on their cars, increasing traffic congestion.

In 2012 the only comparison ever made between BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and LRT (Light Rail Transit) pointed out the significantly higher benefit cost ratio (BCR) of BRT compared to LRT, with no difference in the commercial development along the line.

In 2010 the Chinese company BYD rolled out its K9 electric bus, so successfully that it was soon manufactured in California. Canberra decided on a Spanish tram unable to climb the hills of the ACT instead. For Labor needed the Green’s vote to govern, and the price was the tram.

The considerably lower per km cost of the Brisbane Metro compared to the Canberra Metro results from using existing infrastructure, including busways, and investing not in rails but in what benefits the public, namely electric vehicles.

The benefit cost ratio of the Brisbane Metro is 1.91. That of the Canberra Metro extension 2A is 0.38.

The former is “fully funded in partnership with the Australian Government”. With its low BCR, the Metro of the Australian capital is, understandably, not so blessed.

Further, it includes the 213-metre Adelaide Street Tunnel easing bottlenecks in the Brisbane CBD, while in Canberra the raising of London Circuit will be creating these.

The video mock-up of the Canberra Metro extension from Civic to Regatta Point shows sections of the raised London Circuit with the tram lines in the middle, and one car lane in each direction on either side. How will emergency vehicles reach accidents

Historian Beatrice BodartBailey is an honorary professor at the ANU School of Culture, History and Language and an emeritus professor of the Department of Comparative

THE GADFLY

Sam who? Time for some vice-regal ‘sunshine’

“Sam who? Oh, Samantha Mostyn… yes, I’ve seen her on The Drum. Seems like a pleasant person; very bright and on the ball… but that’s about it.”

The PM’s introduction of Ms Moyston as our next governor-general added little to the bare fact of the appointment.

Google later revealed that she was married to a respected Sydney lawyer in Simeon Beckett, and they were the proud parents of a single daughter. No doubt we’ll get to know the family a little better when she takes over from the virtually invisible former Army general, David Hurley who followed to the letter his riding instructions from PM Scott Morrison: “Don’t make waves”.

Albanese would not have had the temerity – much less the need – to issue such a decree to Ms Mostyn. But then, he doesn’t need to keep secret the appointment of five additional ministries.

I have a particular interest in the Yarralumla announcement, having recently completed the writing of The Hidden Story of Charles Weston – Poet, Artist and Tree Planter and have just signed a publishing agreement with the National Library of Australia.

It tells a very different story of

Canberra’s beginnings from that of the American couple, Walter and Marion Burley Griffin.

For it was Weston, rather than the Griffins, who laid the foundation for the creation of the national capital with his planting of some three million trees and shrubs in 1915-1925.

Indeed, when PM Billy Hughes sacked Walter Griffin in 1920 and Weston took formal control, he started virtually from scratch. Even Griffin’s original street plan, which reserved residential development for

the north side of the lake had been radically redrawn.

In 1915 Weston had appointed his deputy, John Peace Hobday – who had trained at Windsor Castle – to oversee the development of the Yarralumla property, initially as a hostel for visiting VIPs and later as the official governor-general’s residence. Griffin had planned the G-G residence as a close neighbour to a permanent Parliament House.

Hobday – and his family – returned to the Yarralumla grounds when he

The vice-regal operations would greatly benefit from the ‘sunshine of public exposure’... we have every right to know the attitudes and actions made on our behalf by the governor-general herself.

became superintendent in the late 1930s. And the current G-G recently permitted us a tour of the various buildings saved and remodelled from that era.

It was a rare privilege and one that, I believe, should be more widely accessible to the Australian public in 2024 than the cloistered attitudes yesteryear.

Indeed, the secret Morrison ministries – to say nothing of the Whitlam sacking – should be warning enough that the vice-regal operations would greatly benefit from the “sunshine of public exposure”. While the governorgeneral is the monarchy’s representative to Australians, the individual is equally Australians’ conduit to the

monarchy. And we have every right to know the attitudes and actions made on our behalf by the G-G herself. Perhaps the most effective way for her to convey her approach would be through a single address to the National Press Club. Ideally, it would be followed by questions submitted by journalists and selected by the club’s president to avoid the cheap “gotcha” queries beloved by some of the television journos.

Whether self-censored or open slather, the occasion would be no more radical than the recent requirement for public explanation by the governor of the Reserve Bank after each meeting of its board. Moreover, King Charles is hardly likely to object to any measure that would expand the public connection to Buckingham Palace.

And even the most ardent republican would support a measure that stamped an Australian as the de facto head of state.

robert@ robertmacklin. com

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Albanese at Parliament House. Photo: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Not the size of the gift, it’s the size of your heart

In the early ‘70s we’d get a sermon every week – I loved the storytelling.

Some of them I hated, especially the ones with brimstone. Whatever it was, it sounded awful.

My favourite was when the wealthy dudes dressed in rich brocade (again, no idea what it was but sounded schmick) would donate heaps to the church and smugly gave each other plaudits and shared Pontius Pilate’s mobile number, then criticised a poor, old woman who gave so little, just copper coins.

Jesus, rather bravely, had a go at them, and said that what this woman was donating, represented a far greater pain to her, a much greater percentage of her meagre possessions, that what brocade-face had given.

I think of that story often, remembering sitting uncomfortably next to dad in his only suit in church, rumbling in his pockets for nonexistent change.

Later on he got a bit Bolshie about attendance, and would only go to mass if he knew I would be playing Amazing Grace and/or How Great Thou Art on the organ during the service. These tunes would make the 200-metre trip to St Patrick’s more worthy of his time than this week’s episodes of Countdown and the footy replay.

When I arked up and said: “Not

“Jesus said what this woman was donating, represented a much greater percentage of her meagre possessions, than what brocade-face had given.”

Image: AI generated by CharlVera

again, the punters are typecasting me musically”, mum would plead that dad might burn in Eternal Damnation just because I wanted to play some racy cool tunes, and my meticulous post-communion rendition of that modernist The Lord Is My Shepherd would be followed directly by a bolt of lightning above our house while dad was enjoying Abba and copping brimstone sandwiches (whatever they were) for infinity.

But, like the idiot I’ve been all my life, it took me decades to connect the dots. My friends Damien, Jeev, Andrew, Walter, Iain, Tim, Chandi

I try to do stuff for my communities because I’m still trying so hard to impress mum and dad, and just because they’ve been gone 15 years now I cannot be sure they’re not watching me from the sky somewhere.

and many others wander around the lake every week solving the world’s problems (struggling just now) and I marvel at them.

They give of their time, their energy, their passion, for so many causes and concerns. Whenever my brain’s lifelong chronic shortage of Ritalin leads to a new-fangled project or requires workhorses for an old one, they are there.

I can always rely on them. Jeev, I need you to mentor yet another young person. Tim, can you see the eardrum of every kid in Canberra on your only free weekend this year. Walter,

can you hold the world on your shoulders for a month while I do important stuff like lay in this lonely-looking hammock. No doubt your buddies are the same.

Notice anything about these guys? Aside from wearing faces that only a mother could love and the kind of unfortunate personal odour that evokes memories of brimstone (kindness prevents me talking teeth here) – they are all men, all of a certain age, of a certain socioeconomic bracket, of a certain postcode.

My mate Kerrie is the most generous person, and although she ain’t Karl Marx, she understands so well “to everyone what they need, from everyone what they can give”. Not so much as the basis for an extraordinary revolution and the odd pogrom, but because the very nature of volunteering, charity and giving to community is predicated on a person’s ability to do so. I try to do stuff for my communities because I’m still trying so hard to impress mum and dad, and just because they’ve been gone 15 years

now I cannot be sure they’re not watching me from the sky somewhere during the commercial breaks on Permanent John Wayne and Other Lesser Cowboys TV (assuming dad’s in Heaven).

It took me too many years to realise that young people, people struggling and juggling mortgages and families and health and work and so many other challenges – for them to even turn up to a meeting to contribute their view, often in a shy and quiet way, maybe on Zoom while doing chores – had given more than I had, that day or ever.

Kindness comes from understanding and, maybe 20 years late, I’ve figured out that some of the greatest contributions to our community come not from entitled big, old, white men like me, but from the gifts of a couple of hours here and there, from those who do not have a minute to spare, but give anyway.

Antonio Di Dio is a local GP, medical leader and nerd. There is more of his Kindness on citynews.com.au

Have you been a victim of burglary in Canberra?

$550 Target Hardening Suppor t Offer for victim of Burglar y Households

300 REBATES AVAILABLE

Find out if you are eligible for a $550 rebate to install additional security to your home.

The $550 rebate offer for additional home security can include the purchase and/or installation of security screens, locks, lights, security cameras and more.

To apply or find out more

Go to: www.nhwa.com.au/TargetHardening

Email: admin@nhwa.com.au

Phone: 0428 377 901

Scan the QR Code

The $550 Target Hardening Offer is a Neighbourhood Watch Australasia initiative supporting victim of crime households to help prevent repeat burglaries. APPLY BEFORE 31 MAY 2024

Nation’s worst performer with no end in sight

The ACT is unique in not having posted a single surplus, for more than a decade, including in the period before the pandemic, when other states were recording surpluses.

Notably in the years before 2012-13, the ACT’s operating budget performance was invariably better than the state average.

However, since 2012-13 the ACT has attained a reputation as a laggard, the worst performing jurisdiction in Australia, a status that persisted through the pandemic years, and is also currently reflected in the forward estimates.

Unfortunately, there has been in recent public discussion about the state of the ACT finances some misunderstandings about the nature of the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s (CGC) assessments when recommending distribution of the GST pool among states and territories.

The Commission’s methodology and data are heavily contested and scrutinised by all states. Its assessments are more transparent than other resource

“Since 2012-13 the ACT has attained a reputation as a laggard, the worst performing jurisdiction in Australia, a status that is currently reflected in the forward estimates.” More ACT budget revelations from

JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED.

distribution processes such as annual budgets, in relation to which cabinet deliberations are confidential.

The CGC methodology has received criticism from some for being too complex, and from others for not considering the finer differences in individual states’ circumstances. However, it is generally accepted that the Commission has got the balance right.

It is not unusual, however, for the CGC to be blamed for a state’s financial woes – eg that the Commission does not adequately compensate for a particular circumstance unique to that jurisdiction, or that it takes away too much of its hardearned money to give to others less deserving.

While politically convenient and popular, such arguments do not stand the test of data and scrutiny and invariably have

no merit.

ACT Treasurer, Andrew Barr has been claiming recently that the ACT’s current fiscal imbalance was made worse because it could not tax the Commonwealth and that GST revenue did not fix the problem. Mr Barr was also urging the Commonwealth to increase its infrastructure investment because its debt is projected to be half that of the states.

If Mr Barr seriously thinks that the ACT is not appropriately compensated for its inability to tax Commonwealth activity then surely he would have directed the ACT Treasury to present all relevant evidence to that effect to the Commission to consider in its periodic methodology reviews.

We would, therefore, urge Mr Barr to release any submission he has made to the CGC to that effect together with the

Commission’s response, most pertinently, the basis on which the Commission might have rejected his submission.

Mr Barr could also, of course, ask the federal treasurer to direct that the ACT’s grievance with the Commission’s methodology be addressed.

Indeed, this path was adopted by WA when, due to its strong own source revenues from mining, its relativity dropped and the Commonwealth Government intervened and directed the Commission to place a “floor” on the relativity for WA.

This was accompanied by an undertaking that no other state or territory would be worse off with the Commonwealth providing the funds that otherwise would have been available. In 2023-24, “no worse-off” payments amounted to $4.9 billion, which in effect is the benefit WA received.

If WA’s Labor government could secure such an outcome from the then Liberal federal government, surely Mr Barr would be in a much better position to secure compensation from the Commonwealth for its presence in the territory, if he genuinely believes that the ACT is being disadvantaged because it cannot tax the Commonwealth.

Claims of being “shortchanged” in GST distribution may resonate with a poorly informed media, however, they appear to be a diversion from the real budgetary problems that we have previously

highlighted.

In relation to other payments to states and territories, the Terms of Reference from the Federal Treasurer to the CGC dispel any notion of special treatment, and instruct the Commission to include all payments including Specific Purpose Payments and payments under health, housing and homelessness, and education agreements in its assessments, recognising that these provide budget support for standard state services.

This means that even if a state is able to secure more funding through an agreement with the Commonwealth, the amount in excess of its fair share, as assessed by the Commission, would be distributed away to others.

By way of example, in the 2023 Update, the ACT (along with some other states) received a greater share of the national infrastructure investment programs (rail, national roads network) and national health reform funding.

Consequently, the ACT’s GST payment was reduced by $31 million. It is therefore reasonable to ask if and when Mr Barr, or indeed any government, claims to have secured a special deal, whether the funding is to be excluded from CGC equalisation, and if not, then what would be the decrease in the share of GST?

The Commonwealth Government has an important leadership role in setting national priorities across and within policy areas, in consultation

with states. It can also drive and facilitate reform that states may not otherwise pursue.

For program delivery, and particularly for infrastructure investment, the Commonwealth can enforce a rigour, discipline and consistency to project development, procurement and delivery that states may, because of localised vested interests, be inclined to ignore.

This could include setting requirements for robust business cases, minimum benefit to cost ratios (or hurdle rates) before projects can be funded, and open and transparent procurement processes.

We note, for example, that Infrastructure Australia’s prioritisation and assessment of projects was, traditionally, reasonably robust.

However, we fear that is no longer the case. For example, in supporting the light rail project in the ACT it has signed off a project for which, (a) the ACT government has refused to release the business case, (b) the ACT auditorgeneral has found serious problems with the project’s benefits and costs, and (c) a secret, behind-closed-doors, single-select procurement of $577 million has been undertaken.

Ironically, the ACT government can point to the Commonwealth funding as the business case in itself.

Chart 1: Net Operating Balance – ACT and Weighted Average of All States

A summary of operating budget results over the period 2012-13 to 2018-19.

Webinar teaches healthcare rights

The Healthcare Consumers’ Association is hosting a free, “empowering” webinar that promises to teach participants how to advocate for themselves and their loved ones by discovering their rights as a consumer and gaining the confidence to steer their own healthcare journey. It starts on Zoom at 6pm on May 2. Register via the “events” tab at hcca.org.au

Jam for money!

The Bold Bandannas are having a fundraising stall for cancer research selling preserves within Ziggy’s shop at the Fyshwick Markets on Saturday, 8am-4pm, April 20.

Learning from a Legatee

Legatee Judy Mack is the guest speaker at the next dinner meeting of the Tuggeranong Evening VIEW Club at the Town Centre Vikings Club, Greenway, from 6.30pm on April 24. Guests and interested ladies welcome. RSVP to tuggeven@gmail.com

Documentary screening

The Australia China Friendship Society is hosting a screening of the 2015 documentary The Dalfram Dispute 1938, about dockworkers at Port Kembla refusing to load pig iron destined for Japan, believing it would be used to make bombs and bullets against China. At the Southern Cross Club, Jamison, 7.30pm, May 1. Donation is $2 at the door. Visitors welcome.

PLANNING / State of the Environment Report

Why we need to resist an urban growth boundary

Last month’s ACT State of the Environment Report 2023 argued for a concerted focus on infill development and consequently recommended for the legislation of “an urban growth boundary to contain urban expansion and achieve a compact, liveable and efficiently designed Canberra.”

Urban expansion has long been recognised as a threat to areas of high conservation value. The ACT’s two most threatened ecological communities (natural grasslands and box-gum woodlands) are required to be protected under both federal and ACT existing environment laws.

The report notes possible future urban areas are subject to independent statutory environmental and development assessment processes designed to avoid and minimise environmental impacts and that sustainability principles are increasingly being incorporated in new developments to improve their liveability and to reduce the environmental impacts.

These measures include retaining habitat trees, enhancing active travel routes, establishing mandatory energy efficiency requirements for new buildings and implementing water sensitive urban design principles to manage stormwater runoff.

Until investigations demonstrate its merits, any attempt to introduce an urban growth boundary should be resisted. Like light rail, it could be an inadequate and simplistic response to complex issues.

However, the Commissioner argues the protections in place are insufficient to eliminate significant negative impacts on areas of high conservation value outside of reserves. They include the loss of habitat, disturbance of ecological communities, tree loss, increased urban edge effects, and increased sedimentation and erosion.

Furthermore, she has concerns about the potential environmental impacts of development within the Western Edge Investigation Area (approximately 9800 hectares in across Belconnen, Stromlo, Tuggeranong, and Weston Creek) identified in the 2018 ACT Planning Strategy.

But is the introduction of an urban growth boundary (UGB) an appropriate response?

Infill will be central to planning strategies because of the environmental, travel and infrastructure benefits it provides. Before an UGB can be considered several fundamental issues – impacts on the region (the ACT is not an island), housing choice and affordability and on the environmental quality in established areas – need investigation.

Increased housing costs are a consequence of taxation policies and inadequate housing supply. Timely and meaningful action on taxation is unlikely given the difficult politics.

The undersupply of detached dwellings in the ACT, arising from the current 70 per cent infill policy, has contributed to increasing prices and the growing price differential between separate houses and higherdensity dwellings.

An UGB would further encourage the transfer demand for detached dwellings to surrounding NSW. The level of car use in such subdivisions is high, as they have poorer public transport than subdivisions in the ACT. It also implicitly assumes the environmental damage from increased land development in the region is lower than greenfields development in the ACT.

An UGB also assumes most new dwellings required to accommodate the city’s growth can be supplied through redevelopment.

While the demand for higherdensity dwellings is growing from increased numbers of single and

couple households, reduced housing affordability and the increased concentration of employment services in inner areas, a strong preference remains, especially from households with children, for detached dwellings.

Most infill dwellings developed have been apartments. Few mediumdensity dwellings, attractive to a wide range of households, have been constructed. Those constructed have been unaffordable to those in housing need. Too often redevelopments are of poor quality (loss of tree cover, poor solar access, parking blight and traffic congestion).

The shortfall in affordable housing is partly a product of the failure of the public housing supply to keep pace with population growth. The supply of public housing dwellings declined from 10,956 in 2012 to 10,827 in 2023, while the population increased by more than 90,000.

Rather than the arbitrary imposition of an UGB, a regional development strategy should be prepared in conjunction with NSW governments to determine the most appropriate pattern of development.

It would evaluate the merits of alternative distributions of popula-

tion and employment including scenarios with varying levels of infill and greenfields development.

The assessments would include environmental impact, infrastructure cost, housing preferences and housing affordability.

They would assess strategies to further reduce the impacts of greenfield subdivisions and redevelopments on the environment; to improve apartment design; into the feasibility of development in areas such as Kowen (a pine forest) and west Murrumbidgee; the potential to extend water supply and bus services to the region and investigate measures to improve the quality of greenfields development including tree retention, reduced site coverage the dispersal of employment and improved transport connections.

Until investigations demonstrate its merits, any attempt to introduce an UGB should be resisted. Like light rail, it could be an inadequate and simplistic response to complex issues.

Mike Quirk is a former NCDC and ACT govern ment planner.

Returning to the office would unravel the benefits

Working from home is producing economic benefits that returnto-office rules would quash, writes

More of us have been in paid work this past year than ever before. A big part of that is because more of us have been able to work from home than ever before.

The proportion of Australians in paid work climbed above 64 per cent in May last year, and has stayed there since. At the same time, unemploy ment has hovered around a halfcentury low of 4 per cent.

In April last year, female unemployment fell to what is almost certainly an all-time low of 3.3 per cent.

It’s working from home – actually, working from anywhere – that has been the game-changer, as the most enduring change to the way we work to have come out of the pandemic.

The jump in working from home

Before the pandemic, in 2019, the share of the workforce who usually work at least partly from home was 25 per cent. Three years on in 2022, it was 36 per cent.

These numbers from the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey show there’s also been a shift in who’s working from home.

Before the pandemic, a greater share

of men than women worked from home. Now it’s a greater share of women.

Among both women and men, the biggest jump has been among parents with young children.

The proportion of mothers with children under five working at least partly from home has leapt from 31 per cent to 43 per cent.

The working-from-home rate for fathers with children under five has jumped from 29 per cent to 39 per cent.

Which workers, which jobs?

Before the pandemic, managers and professionals were the workers most likely to work from home. They still are, with up to 60 per cent dialling in from the home office for at least part of their work week.

For all mechanical repairs

But it’s clerical and administrative workers – occupations that are about three-quarters female – who had the biggest jump in working from home. Their pre-pandemic rate of 18 per cent has soared to 42 per cent.

In terms of industries, finance and insurance led the pack before the pandemic and still do, with rates doubling to 85 per cent.

Working from home is now also the norm in information media and telecommunications (74 per cent) and public administration and safety (72 per cent).

In the traditionally male industry of construction, women’s workingfrom-home rates have soared from 34 per cent to 45 per cent.

It’s well above the men’s rate of 24

per cent, which is largely unchanged.

While this reflects the different types of jobs that men and women do in construction, it also suggests working from home is a way to boost women’s involvement, even in this industry.

More workers, better-matched

The benefit of working from home for the economy has been fewer obstacles getting in the way of matching jobseekers to employers. Distance and location are no longer the dealbreakers they were.

Better job-matching means less unemployment, and the heightened prospect of finding a good job match encourages jobseekers who in earlier times might have given up.

In finance and insurance – the

industry with the biggest and fastest-growing rate of working from home – the proportion of jobs that were vacant fell from 2.5 per cent before the pandemic to just 1.7 per cent by the end of 2023.

Making workers return to the office for jobs that can be effectively done from home would unravel the economic benefits that have been achieved.

Fewer people, especially women and parents with young children, would put themselves forward for work. The pool of skills that employers are looking for would shrink.

And job-matching in the labour market becomes less efficient.

The result would be more Australians unemployed, and more Australians dropping out of the paid workforce, than if we had continued to embrace working from home.

Working from home still comes with challenges. Workers who are less visible in the office are more likely to be overlooked.

But it has a wider economic benefit we have a chance to hold on to.

The extraordinary transformation of our labour market means it shouldn’t be seen as a “favour” to workers, but as a favour to us all.

Leonora Risse, associate professor in economics, University of Canberra. Republished from The Conversation.

under five working at least partly from home has leapt from 31 per cent to 43 per cent. Photo: Andrea Piacquadio

LETTERS

Salivating at the chance to fine the veterans?

As Anzac Day approaches and with it comes the likelihood that hundreds of visitors to the War Memorial ceremonies will be vainly seeking adequate parking spots for aged veterans and their families.

No doubt the ACT government’s rhinestone cowboys will again be eagerly salivating the opportunity to be comfortably seated behind tinted windows in their air-conditioned, camera-equipped steeds to enhance the coffers of its chronically impecunious treasury at the expense of citizens paying homage to those who did something worthwhile for their country.

It is, in effect, an exercise of what in 1990s US was referred to as anarchotyranny, where local governments, avoiding or unable to achieve primary law-enforcement functions aimed at curbing major crime, devised minor misdemeanours that raise revenue and create a veneer that bureaucrats perform a useful role.

By extension, otherwise innocent and law-abiding drivers are now deemed easier to penalise for minor, yet fiscally lucrative, offences than devoting personnel to pre-emptive and consequential tasks protecting persons and property from serious criminal mayhem.

John Murray, Fadden

Thank you, Lisa and the Brumbies

A quick shout out to the hospitality team of the ACT Brumbies, in particular Lisa Smith.

I bought a corporate box for the game against the arch rivals, the Waratahs, and when asked what name I would like on the box, I explained it was purchased in memory of my husband Ross, who sadly is no longer with us.

He had been a staunch Brumbies supporter and, in fact, we had a corporate box for many years. To this I thought no more.

However, at the game to my absolute surprise Lisa appeared mid-game and presented me with a signed jersey – needless to say, I shed a few tears at the generosity. Just another great thing the Brumbies team does behind the scenes. Thank you, again.

Rosie Maclaine, via email

Is ‘spaghettification’ to blame?

I recently learned a new word, from Brad Tucker, astrophysicist and cosmologist: “spaghettification”.

It describes what happens when planets and even stars get captured and torn apart by voracious black holes and only bits are spat out.

I’m wondering if this universal phenomenon might explain the apparently irrational activities of the ACT government, where good intentions are sucked into a mindless political vortex and only shreds are left?

Richard Johnston, Kingston

Why Sam doesn’t pass the pub test

The G-G-in-waiting Sam Mostyn, although undoubtedly eminently well qualified for the role, does not pass the “pub test “; she has far too many associations with Labor, as a former staffer, a senior policy adviser to Paul Keating, and also to Labor Ministers Bob Collins and Michael Lee.

The appointment has all the characteristics of “jobs for the boys and girls”, which is practised by both major parties.

Appointments of this ilk should be made on a bi-partisan basis to have any credibility and impartiality.

Ms Mostyn should “do the right thing” and recuse herself to avoid any perceived conflict of interest.

Mario Stivala, Belconnen

Did the commissioner get it wrong?

In 2021, the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment contracted the CSIRO and the universities of Sydney and NSW to estimate the ACT’s total carbon footprint.

They estimated the 2018 carbon footprint at 13.8 million tonnes (including 5.2 tonnes of emissions from electricity generation) or 34.7 tonnes per capita.

That was more than four times the world’s average per-capita emissions. Only two countries were higher.

The ACT government’s 100 per cent

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renewable electricity target reduced our annual carbon footprint by about 15 per cent from 2020.

On March 21, the commissioner released the 2023 State of the Environment Report. The report includes the earth-shattering claim that “the total carbon footprint was approximately 4.65 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) in 2021–22”.

That figure implies that the ACT slashed its carbon footprint by two-thirds in only four years. Global warming would cease to be a threat if the rest of the world were to do that.

But the commissioner is unable to explain how that figure was calculated.

Did the ACT slash its carbon footprint, or did the commissioner make a mistake?

Leon Arundell, Downer

False stories against Israel are common

Noel Baxendell (Letters, CN April 4) claims IDF personnel have complete immunity for any actions they take in uniform. This is untrue. IDF personnel can be investigated, charged and punished, including imprisonment, for wrongdoing committed in uniform, and this happens regularly. There was a bill proposed to end such accountability, but it did not get beyond preliminary stages.

Baxendell then recounts allegations about Israeli troops massacring civilians in the Shadia Abu Ghazala school in Gaza, say-

ing Israel never responded to the allegations. In fact, the IDF said the claims were deceitful and lacked any truth or foundation. There was a battle between Israeli soldiers and terrorists who were hiding in the school and storing weapons there, in breach of international law.

Incidentally, the school is named after a Palestinian terrorist who was killed when a bomb she was preparing exploded, just one example of the pervasive incitement of Gaza’s children.

Sadly, false atrocity stories against Israel are common. One other recent example, publicised on Al Jazeera, was a claim Israeli soldiers were systematically raping Palestinian women. Al Jazeera was forced to withdraw the report when the so-called witness admitted she had made it all up to help the national cause.

Athol Morris, via email

Dominance can often be short on wisdom

Columnist Michael Moore is quite right. The very term “parliament” means the place where things are talked about. Of course, the body that has formed government needs to have its plans talked about.

A lot of mistakes have been “rammed through” on the numbers, and we have lived to regret the consequences. The dominance of one party has often been short on wisdom. Let’s see what happens in Tasmania.

Stewart Bath, Isabella Plains

Time to stop the name calling

Nuclear proponents (Letters, CN April 11) persist in using misleading information in promoting their views.

First, it’s going to take a long time before our present laws banning nuclear could be changed – even if we reach universal agreement. Only then could we start assembling a workforce capable of designing and building the installations and necessary infrastructure (this was confirmed by the CEO of Alinta Energy at the National Press Club).

And where do we locate the nuclear plants? How many of the proponents would leap at the chance of having one next door, thus creating further long delays? There may be “plenty of flat, stable land” (as if that fixes everything).

A plentiful supply of water is more important and that implies building near the sea, also implying sites close to large population areas in proximity to consumers. Further, citing the present Lucas Heights reactor is, in order of relative magnitude, totally irrelevant.

Equally irrelevant to Australia are the projections of future nuclear expansions announced at COP28. These will occur (if they all get off the ground) in mainly the northern hemisphere where there is a wellestablished nuclear industry, unlike in Australia.

But most of all, there is the economic reality to consider. The clear evidence from the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) through their annual GenCost analyses is that, well into the future, nuclear for Australia will be around twice as expensive as non-renewables.

We are the sunniest continent on earth which also gives solar an economic investment advantage.

Because we are starting late, and still dragging our feet, the Alinta CEO predicted our electricity costs will continue to rise. But, as GenCost keeps saying, a large-scale switch to nuclear will cost much more.

It’s not “anti-nuclear” hysteria as claimed; it’s social, economic and engineering realities and, above all, a distinct advantage for Australia in relation to solar availability. So let’s stop the name calling and cheap political swipes and get on with what reason suggests we need to do.

Eric Hunter, Cook

Barr’s vision for Canberra ‘confused and blurred’

Mr Barr, reminiscent of Arthur Daley from Minder, is again spruiking light rail. His pitch, a great city needs light rail not buses.

He is diverting attention from the dodgy 2012 decision to build light rail. It was made despite advice a busway from Gungahlin to Civic would provide similar benefits to light rail and half the cost.

Great cities have citywide fast and reliable public transport; excellent hospital and education systems; high quality sport, recreation and cultural facilities; affordable housing; adequate land supply and sufficient public housing.

Great cities develop from the guidance of competent and visionary leaders who determine priorities after careful consideration of the relative merits of projects.

Unfortunately, Mr Barr’s vision is confused and blurred, and his legacy diminished, by his obsession with the unsound development of a shiny red tram.

Mike Quirk, Garran

The concerned citizens are still here

Re John Lawrence’s letter (“Where have concerned citizens’ gone?”, CN March 21).

I don’t agree that Aboriginals are repressed, excluded and not all are disadvantaged. There are a lot of Aboriginals that have made a success of their lives. They are in politics, sport, medical, entertainment, broadcasters and education at universities.

The concerned citizens are still here. It is of concern to most Australians of what many Aboriginals have to contend with. But the referendum was not the answer and the way it was promoted was most of the reason it was defeated.

However there is no reason things cannot change. It just needs politicians, the 3000 Aboriginal corporations and the NIAA to organise themselves to do something.

WHIMSY / newspaper headings

Stolen painting found by tree… and more howlers

“It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.” – Jerry Seinfeld

Anyone who writes for the newspapers knows that the heading they’ve provided will probably not survive through to the final publication.

Headings are an important responsibility of sub-editors, who may or may not have read and understood what the author has provided. Frustratingly, a sub-editor’s heading may send the reader off in a completely wrong direction – or misrepresent the article that follows. However, it should be acknowledged that they work under extreme time pressures and can be tired from working odd hours and may not see the ambiguity of what they’ve written. So it’s understandable if they sometimes get it wrong (you’re too kind, Clive – ed). I’ve been looking for examples of amusing headings and headlines from international newspapers, and here are a few:

• Homeless Man Under House Arrest

• Hospitals Resort to Hiring Doctors

• Man Competent Enough to be Declared Insane

• Include Your Children When Baking Cookies

• Murderer Says Detective Ruined His Reputation

• County To Pay $250,000 to Advertise Lack of Funds

Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop, Find Weapons

• Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say

• Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

• Drunks Gets Nine Months in Violin Case

• Iraqi Head Seeks Arms

• Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

• Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

• British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands

• Teacher Strikes Idle Kids

• Clinton Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead

• Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told

• Miners Refuse to Work After Death

• Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

• Stolen Painting Found by Tree

• If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last a While Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

• Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge

• New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

• Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

• Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

• Lawyer Says Client Is Not That Guilty.

• Alzheimer’s Centre Prepares For An

Gas Cloud Clears Out Taco Bell.

• The Boston Globe ran a story on the Ford/Volvo deal titled: “Have You Driven a Fjord Lately?”

• Legislator Wants Tougher Death Penalty

• Man Jumps off 2nd Street Bridge. Neither Jumper nor Body Found

• After Detour To California Shuttle Returns To Earth

• Fried Chicken Cooked In Microwave Wins Trip

• Woman Improving After Fatal Crash

• Properly Drafted Will Reduces Anxiety After Death

• Study Reveals Those Without Insurance Die More Often

• Experts Increase Probability of Big Quake in California

• Man Found Dead In Cemetery

• Gunfire In Sarajevo Threatens Ceasefire

• Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge

Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy

• Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire

• British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply

• Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees

• New Vaccine May Contain Rabies

• Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing

• Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing

• Man Steals Clock, Faces Time

• Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff

• Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni

• Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board

• Hospitals Sued by Seven Foot Doctors

• Marijuana Issue Sent To A Joint Committee

• Messiah Climaxes In Chorus Of Hallelujahs

• Married Priests In Catholic Church A Long Time Coming

• Governor Chiles Offers Rare Opportunity To Goose Hunters

• Would She Climb To The Top Of Mr. Everest Again? Absolutely!

• Thanks To President Clinton, Staff Sgt. Fruer Now Has a Son

• Starr Aghast at First Lady Sex Position

• Police Found Pot Plants Were Cannabis

• Organ Festival Ends in Smashing Climax

• Rose Petroleum Jelly Keeps Idle Tools Rust-free

• Textron Inc. Makes Offer To Screw Company Stockholders

As Mark Twain once opined: “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.”

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist.

Come out today and see us at Pialligo!

Phone: 02 6257 6666

5A Beltana Road, Pialligo, ACT www.coolcountrynatives.com.au

Airline headings include... “Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say” or “Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told”. Photo: Flickr

ALL ABOUT TUGGERANONG

Customer service warms district’s ‘cold plains’

Tuggeranong, one of the original 18 districts in the ACT, was derived from the Ngunnawal expression “Togranong”, which roughly translates to “cold plains.”

While it’s named after “cold plains”, the businesses in the region bring plenty of warmth to the community through their customer service and expertise. In this feature CityNews speaks to some of the businesses that are delivering a variety of professional services to the people of Tuggeranong.

GREENWAY KAMBAH

Mobility services on the southside

Open Mobility opened in Tuggeranong early last year, to service the community in southern Canberra, says Kim Nelson, Belconnen and Tuggeranong showroom manager.

Pharmacy with the community at heart

Angela Miller, owner and pharmacist at Terry White Chemmart Kambah says while she only took over the pharmacy at the end of last year, she already feels a strong sense of community.

“It’s a very friendly area and I like working in this area because there are other services, lots of other small businesses.

“It sort of has that country town, friendly feel.”

Angela says she has been working as a pharmacist for nearly 30 years.

“My husband and I used to have a country pharmacy for 18 years and then we moved to Canberra, and then the opportunity arose to go into this business” she says.

“We love doing what we do.”

Angela says it’s a relatively small team, with some staff having been there before she and her husband took over, along with new staff they have hired recently.

“I’m very interested in the health sector and looking after patients and trying to provide health solutions for patients is a joy to do,” says Angela.

“We love being part of a community, and getting to know customers and building that relationship, and then helping them with their health journeys.”

Terry White Chemmart Kambah, 1/9 Jenke Circuit, Kambah. Call 6162 1004 or visit Terry White Chemmart Kambah on Facebook.

Kambah

“Customers have been very pleased to have the shop in Tuggeranong, offering easy parking in the main shopping area” she says.

“At Open Mobility, we aim to give 100 per cent, A+ customer service, every day.

“We provide expert advice to assist everybody with their needs, to find the best, most suitable products.

“Open Mobility also offers free delivery and install, as well as a five per cent price match,” she says.

The autumn sale catalogue is now available in store or online with great savings on a range of products, says Kim, including iCare beds and a range of iCare bedding, and 10 per cent off all bedding accessories.

“Open Mobility are assistive technology specialists and authorised DVA equipment providers,” says Kim.

equipment and a wide range of brands including Afikim, Canterbury Concepts, Kcare, Invacare, Karma, Merits, Otto Bock and Pride.

“We also have stores in Belconnen, Goulburn, Wagga Wagga, Griffith NSW and Dubbo.”

Open Mobility, 310 Anketell Street, Greenway. Call 6108 3899, or visit openmobility.com.au

ALL ABOUT TUGGERANONG

GREENWAY GREENWAY

Boost confidence and self-esteem through dance Accessible care for all medical needs

Renee

Mandanici-

Baldwin, owner and director of Dance Edge, says Dance Edge is more than a dance school, it is a hub where passion for dance and performance arts is nurtured.

Dance Edge offers a broad spectrum of programs for students aged two years and above, says Renee, all under the guidance of VET and degree-qualified educators.

“At Dance Edge, we set ourselves apart by committing wholeheartedly to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all our students and their families,” says Renee.

“The unregulated nature of the dance industry in Australia presents unique challenges, particularly in maintaining consistent standards of safety and professionalism.

“However, Dance Edge rises to the challenge by actively promoting and maintaining rigorous safety standards.”

Renee says Dance Edge is a member of the Dance Arts Alliance.

“This affiliation is more than a badge; it’s a promise to uphold the highest standards of child

safety and ethical practices in dance education,” she says.

Dance offers children a blend of physical, mental, and emotional benefits, says Renee.

“It’s not just an art form but a holistic activity that nurtures the overall development of all children,” she says.

Renee says this creative expression is linked to emotional development, as dance offers a constructive outlet for emotions and can boost confidence and self-esteem.

“Enrol for classes in term two and quote ‘City News’ to receive a 10 per cent discount,” says Renee.

Dance Edge, 12 Joseland Street, Greenway. Call 0499 998 049 or visit danceedge.com.au

Driven by a love for dance and dedicated to child safety, we prioritise safe dance practices in every step of your child’s dance journey

Principal GPs Dr Senthil Kumaar and Dr Sam Balogun started the Greenway Medical Centre in 2019, with the idea of providing quality healthcare for all says, Senthil.

“We offered bulk billing for all patients during the covid pandemic, which allowed patients to access telehealth without any restrictions and also it helped us to provide our services to a large number of patients,” he says.

Senthil says they still offer a mixed-billing model, with an affordable low gap fee and bulk billing for children and concession and health card holders, without compromising the quality of care.

Senthil says he and Sam offer a full range of services with special services including skin-cancer checks, dermatology, iron-infusion clinics, implanon insertion and removal, and mirena insertion and removal.

He says the clinic is open 7am-6pm, Monday to Friday and 8am-3pm on Saturday and Sunday.

“We take pride in our responsibility to look after our patients’ health and strive to achieve the best outcome for them,” says Senthil.

“Our success is reflected in our large patient database which continues to expand.

“We are also in the process of expanding our services by offering dental services and radiology services,” he says.

Greenway Medical Centre, Unit 6, 175 Anketell Street, Greenway. Call 6100 9956 or visit greenwaymedicalcentre.com.au

Principal GP Dr Senthil Kumaar of Greenway Medical Centre.

GREENWAY

“From the beginning, Alpha Continental Deli was focused on providing European products to the people of Tuggeranong and beyond,” says Judyta.

“We offer mostly eastern European goods including deli products from Polish, German, Croatian and Australian butchers.

“We sell frozen dumplings, pastizzis, burek, breads, prepared meals and cakes, as well as a wide range of sweets, teas, spices and jars full of healthy and delicious salads, preserves and relishes.”

Judyta says what is most important is that customers of Alpha Continental Deli feel like they are at home.

“They enter the shop and they are in a different

dimension, many of them go back to their childhood memories or they say it is like in their own country, the real European shop. For many others it is a learning adventure or a sentimental moment,” she says.

“I love my job now. I am still learning and gradually expanding the range of products in our shop with a huge help from our devoted customers who always ask for something new.

“We welcome everyone in our shop with joy, and love talking to our customers. Everyone is invited to come and have a look, try our products and become a regular customer.”

Alpha Continental Deli, Shop 11, 150-180 Soward Way, Greenway. Call 6170 2230, or visit Alpha Continental Deli on Facebook.

FOR YOUR EUROPEAN DELI FIX!

‘We specialise in European smallgoods and continental groceries’

Monday to Friday 10am-5pm

Every second Saturday 11am-2.30pm (pay day weeks)

Closed on Sundays

www.alphacontinentaldeli.com

Shop 11, Homeworld, Soward Way, Greenway | (02) 6170 2230

Find us on Facebook

Alpha Continental Deli in Greenway opened in 2019, but Judyta Malkus became the new owner in February 2022.

ALL ABOUT TUGGERANONG

WANNIASSA & CALWELL

Fish, chips, burgers and customer friends

“Everyone likes fish and chips,” says William Zhan, owner of Willy’s Fish & Burgers.

“Serving the community and having them come to us all the time, and seeing how they leave with happy faces or come and greet us, it is a great feeling.

“There is a feeling that our customers are not just customers any more, we have started becoming family and friends.”

During the covid years when his customers were struggling, William says he made sure to not put his prices up because he wanted to make sure everyone could still eat fish and chips.

“I had customers come back to us and ask us if we were okay and why we had not taken our prices up, and I said: ‘I know it is tough right now… This is how I want to serve our com munity, because we are family and friends and we will go through this tough time together’.”

William says he is very attentive to quality, hand picking every single item of product that is served to customers.

“All of our fish is 100 per cent NZ hake and barramundi,” he says. “My goal is to let our customers have the best quality in our shop.”

Willy’s Fish & Burgers is open seven days a week, 8am-9pm.

Willy’s Fish & Burgers, Erindale Shopping Centre, 68 Comrie Street, Wanniassa. Call 6231 9303. Calwell Shopping Centre, 1 Webber Crescent, Calwell. Call 6291 0250.

Hodgkinson Real Estate director Quinten Hodgkinson.

Owner of Willy’s Fish & Burgers, William Zhan.

GREENWAY

Fun way to get fit, socialise and compete

Teaching a range of classic dance styles, Dale’s Ballroom Dancing offers a fun way to get fit, socialise and compete in a friendly environment, says owner Dale Harris.

“I have adult classes on Wednesdays that start at 7pm,” she says.

“The classes will cover Latin, New Vogue and standard dances.

“Junior classes run every Thursday from 5pm.

“Anyone can join. You can just rock up on the night and we can get you caught up. Everyone and anyone is welcome”.

Dale says she loves to welcome anyone to come and learn regardless of age or experience.

“We have people of all ages coming in for the classes,” she says.

“One of the great things about it is the fitness. You don’t realise how much exercise you’re doing, you’re constantly on the move.”

Dale is an expert in many styles of dance includ ing tango, foxtrot, quickstep, Viennese waltz, and cha cha, samba, jive, rumba and paso doble.

With more than 25 years’ experience teaching dance, Dale started dancing at the age of six, when she developed an interest in ballroom dancing.

She’s since received many qualifications in ballroom dancing and is also a championship adjudicator who travels interstate to judge ballroom competitions.

Dale’s Ballroom Dancing, 6/38 Reed Street North, Greenway. Call 0407 066110 or visit dalesballroomdancing.com

Dales Ballroom owner Dale Harris, centre, with daughters Brooke and Grace.

ALL ABOUT TUGGERANONG

GREENWAY GREENWAY

Local MP David Smith says he’s here to help

“I am honoured to represent the people of Bean in the Federal Parliament,” says David Smith MP.

“Bean is Ngunnawal-Ngambri country taking in the southern part of the ACT including Tuggeranong, the Lanyon Valley, Woden, Weston Creek and the Molonglo Valley, as well as Norfolk Island.

“At 1900 square kilometres, it’s the largest electorate in the ACT and is a part of the diverse and complex Murrumbidgee River catchment.”

The electorate of Bean includes some of the most beautiful natural wonders in the ACT, fringed by the Brindabellas and encompassed with the Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla, says David.

Spare parts for any and every car

“Basically, we are a spare parts store for automotives,” says Autobarn Tuggeranong store manager, Wade Simon, “we sell everything from spark plugs through to bull-bars, tow-bars, roof racks.”

“We do also sell some of the hard-to-find bits but generally by order, so we can basically supply anything for any car.”

Wade says they also offer a fitting service for items such as bull-bars, and roof-racks, as well as stereos or other audio components, and dash cams.

Wade has been in the motor industry for more than 20 years, and says cars are something he has always been passionate about.

“To be able to help other people out with those sorts of things has been pretty good,” he says.

“With what we do and the way the market is at the moment, a lot of people can’t afford to service their cars and things like that, so we offer a cheaper alternative by selling the parts to do it.

To celebrate its seventh birthday, Wade says, Autobarn Tuggeranong will have a one-day sale on April 27, with a store-wide 20 per cent discount and a 30 per cent discount for Sony audio equipment.

He says there will also be a sausage sizzle on the day, and the local Torana car club is involved.

“All proceeds that we make from the sausage sizzle will be going towards the Cancer Council,” he says.

Autobarn Tuggeranong, Block 1/310 Anketell Street, Greenway. Call 6214 0600 or visit autobarn.com.au

“The real beauty, though, is in the people that make our community work, from our schools, workplaces, sports clubs, unions and faith organisations to our community councils, voluntary associations and organisations devoted to care and support,” he says.

“The Australian government offers many Australians support for an array of issues, but I know that it can be complex to navigate at the best of times and that’s why my team and I are always ready to assist you with issues whether they are local or national.

“My electorate office is located on Anketell Street in Greenway and has been serving the community for decades.”

Office of David Smith, MP for Bean, 205 Anketell Street, Greenway. Call 6293 1344 or visit davidsmith.org.au

David Smith MP.

WANNIASSA & ISABELLA PLAINS

A welcoming environment for teachers and students

While St Mary MacKillop College has all the advantages a large, co-ed secondary school can provide, principal Michael Lee believes that his teachers are its greatest strength.

Michael says MacKillop places a large focus on the recruitment of staff, because “a school can be no greater than the quality of its teachers”.

“When our students graduate, they com ment that the best thing about MacKillop was their relationships with teachers and the sense of community,” he says.

“Teachers are central to the culture, community, and sense of identity that schools impart to young people and few professions can claim such responsibility.

“Our teachers are passionate, well-quali fied, and believe that students have a right to learn, to be challenged intellectually and to be given opportunities that broaden their experiences and perspectives.”

College captains, Harry Angus and Avari Petersen.

Michael says MacKillop will have a twist to its Open Night on May 6, with special information for prospective employees on top of the usual information that will be available for future students.

College captains Harry Angus and Avari Petersen say visitors to Open Night will find that there’s a lot to like about their school.

“We have amazing people, good teachers, a supportive and welcoming environment, great facilities and we have had so many opportunities here,” they say. experience.”

The ‘go-to’ home renovator

Established in 2015, Canberra-based TradeWise Renovations is quickly becoming the go-to company for home renovations, says owner Angelo Nardi.

The business specialises in all aspects of interior renovations including custom-built kitchens, bathrooms and laundries.

“We also offer a comprehensive design and drafting service,” he says.

With a complete team of qualified tradespeople at their disposal and strong working relationships with some of Canberra’s largest suppliers, Angelo says “there is not much we can’t handle”.

Michael says MacKillop is now accepting enrolments for the 2025 school year.

St Mary MacKillop College, Junior Campus, Mackinnon St, Wanniassa and Senior Campus, Ellerston Avenue, Isabella Plains. For information or to register for enrolment events, call 6209 0100 or visit mackillop.act.edu.au

vision is understood and delivered.

RENOVATION EXCELLENCE

The business is family owned and operated, and has more than 30 years of experience building and renovating in the Canberra area.

Angelo says that TradeWise Renovations prides itself on achieving high-quality results by working collaboratively with clients to ensure their

“We believe our success comes down to three things: excellent service, excellent communication and excellent product,” he says.

“It’s all about the customer experience.”

The business also offers obligation-free quotes. TradeWise Renovations. Call 5112 2969 or visit tradewiserenovations.com

TradeWise Renovations is a familyowned business in Canberra, boasts over 30 years of construction experience. We excel in collaborating with clients to achieve top-notch results, guiding them through every step of the renovation process from design to completion. Our expertise encompasses coordinating trusted tradespeople such as plumbers, electricians, plasterers, painters, tilers, and carpenters.

Plant peril that comes in yellow

Here’s a terrific evergreen groundcover for shady areas of the garden and a great understory plant for trees and shrubs, but you have to keep your wits about you when buying it.

The Spotted Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum) is from the mint family, but beware, buy the wrong variety and you’ll have it for life! The easy way to know if it is invasive or not is do NOT buy the yellow-flowering variety Lamium galeobdolon. The other varieties that have blue/violet or white flowers are a lot more tame.

The silver, heart-shaped, interesting leaves keep the plant attractive when it’s not in flower in the winter. Keeping it in check and deadheading encourages a more compact growth, but this is a plant that wants to sprawl and cover the ground. It’s a perfect plant to cascade over retaining walls and pots, and great for suppressing weeds on slopes or hard-to-access ground.

Despite its common name, it’s not botanically a nettle plant at all and doesn’t possess the sting that nettle plants have.

It transitions well from shade to sun and can tolerate both conditions and is really a tough underrated plant and contrasts well with green foliage and is well suited to any style of garden.

Lamium orvala is an unusual, clump-forming plant that can be cut to the ground annually. It forms a neat clump of heart-shaped leaves in the warmer months. It grows much taller than its counterpart and can get to 60 centimetres with lovely pink/maroon flowers in late winter to early spring.

Lamiums are generally pest resistant if their growing conditions are correct and can be a very low-maintenance, long-lived plant.

A HARDY flowering plant, untroubled by frosts is Aloiampelos striatula. It was formerly known as Aloe striatula, but in the last 10 years taxonomists have moved several aloes to their own genius Aloi Ampelos, which consists of rambling, shrubbery plants with slender leaves such as Ciliaris, which is a yellow-flowering, frost-tender climber and Striatula, which is more shrub-like and grows in Canberra. A tough evergreen, this messy looking shrub will flower from spring to late autumn. Its nectar flowers are highly attractive honey eaters and other native birds. In my garden, these plants survive on rainfall and still flower and grow well. Propagate by pruning the tall stems to keep the growth of the parent plant compact. The

cuttings should be left to dry for a few days so the bottom of the stem can callous over, then potted in a good mix and placed in the shade. Water sparingly so they don’t dry out. Sometimes the spent flower head will have round seeds that can be removed and placed in a paper bag to dry out. When the seed falls into the bag from the seed capsule, they can be sown in a seed-raising mix and, when the temperature is over 20C°, kept moist and out of the cool weather.

The most common, Aloe vera, is still in the aloe family and can be grown in Canberra. However, it needs to be protected from frost and grows well in pots that can be brought indoors. It will eventually grow into a small mound and make a great medicinal plant to have in the garden.

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au

Jottings…

• Keep brassicas netted against white cabbage moths.

• Get garlic in the ground and plant out in stages.

• Fertilise winter-flowering plants such as daphne and sasanqua camellias.

• Sow and transplant lettuce into the garden.

7 Days - Free phone quote

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Feeling nature’s awe in the Temple of birds

By Helen Musa

Immersion is the name of the game in the arts these days as entrepreneurs, curators and national institutions scramble to attract an often indifferent public looking for something that will knock their socks off.

That’s how it was with Van Gogh Alive in the parliamentary triangle and Connection: Songlines from Australia’s First Peoples at the National Museum.

The National Film And Sound Archive has jumped on board with dramatic moving vision of the red-tailed black cockatoo, galah and sulphur-crested cockatoo rising, falling, shaking and playing with water, seen on huge screens in an audiovisual experience called Temple – “because it’s like a temple of nature. You can feel the awe,” the artists say.

When I caught up with photographic artist Leila Jeffreys and film director Melvin J Montalban, they tell me it was initially shown outdoors near Circular Quay for Vivid in 2022, but had nothing of the feeling of the present show, now remounted in the main hall of the NFSA, but in darkness.

There is a central triptych screen (three,

birds’ environment and we agreed that the violin would be perfect.”

They engaged top violinist Véronique Serret, then Milas went away and started composing.

“Véronique got to play whatever she wanted,” Montalban says.

“In the end, the score is a single violin but layered in many ways, abstracted.”

That too, he believes, sounds better in

“The hardwood floor and the cavernous space amplifies it, whereas outdoors we had to be conscious of the needs of residents.”

Jeffreys stresses that they wanted the work to be immersive so viewers could get right into it and meditate, “so you can really take in every detail of the birds’ movements… the building becomes a kind

According to Jeffreys, they were approached around a year ago by Chris Mercer, head of Programs and Place at the NFSA, who was looking for something quite different to follow the previous show, Australians

She’s the bird expert of the pair, and says: “I’ve been working with birds for 15 years and I’ve got a good understanding of birds, but studio portraits are different, so when you see the movie, you think, oh my god it’s

But Montalban, as their filmmaker, wanted to show people something they hadn’t seen

Slow motion was the answer.

“By filming at 1000 frames a second, incredibly slow motion, you get to say something so magical, but normal too. I think we knew instantly how beautiful it would be,” he says.

Jeffreys consulted the “lovely guys” at the bird sanctuary, Feathered Friends in western Sydney, about how they could work with birds in the studio but it was Montalban who initially thought of the shimmering water mist that features so prominently.

“Melvin took very great care of them to make them comfortable,” Jeffreys says.

“The most exciting thing was discovering how they love to play in the water, to bathe,” says Montalban.

“It was a magical discovery for us, this choice to use mist… they play with it and when it’s filmed it becomes starry fields or snow…you ask, is that water or is it mist?

“And the reflection pool brings in another element. In Sydney they had to have a fence around it.”

Jdeffreys says: “In nature when you see something grand like a waterfall you just get this feeling, and we wanted to try and bring into the artwork that same kind of energy.

“Luckily, if one of us has an idea, we layer on to it, it’s a wonderful experience of dreaming – and we both dream big.”

Temple, National Film and Sound Archive until June 30. Free entry.

Yarralumla Woolshed Open Day

This Saturday 20 April 10am—3pm

208 Cotter Road, Weston

Entry by donation

Come and rediscover the heritage-listed Yarralumla Woolshed with something for everyone!

Shearing demos at 11, 12 and 1pm, performances, displays, food and more. Bring a picnic.

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

Food shines at new farmhouse DINING / Beltana Farm, Pialligo

Newly opened Beltana Farm in Pialligo – set in a picturesque truffle orchard of more than 800 trees – is worth a visit just for the surroundings and to take in the rustic charm of architecture and interior design.

But it’s the food that makes Beltana Farm shine. Farmhouse shared plates are the go, served alongside a carefully selected list of Australian and local wines.

The Beltana dining experience is relaxed, but efficient. It’s easy to simply sit back and savour every moment.

Potato and carrot galette, formed in the shape of a flower. Photos: Wendy Johnson Half-roasted chicken with a special stuffing, saltbush and a tarragon jus.

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Our small dishes included a sensational cauliflower and gruyere croquette, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft and sensual on the inside ($7 each). The creativity continued with charcoal beetroot skewers, sliced not too thin but not too thick. ($9 each) The smokiness of the dish was intriguing, and we loved the myrtle and fresh horseradish.

The use of native ingredients is clever, including the ox tongue featuring lilli pilli and horseradish ($14 each). Don’t let the mention of tongue turn you off. Delicately sliced and skewered, the meat cooked to perfection. It’s soft and packed with flavour.

Beautifully presented is the potato and carrot galette, formed in the shape of a flower and served on top of a generous drizzle of buttermilk and sage ($24).

Our farm-food journey continued with succulent half-roasted chicken ($53) with a special stuffing, saltbush and a gorgeous tarragon jus. It goes unsaid that fresh herbs and other

staff pick from the garden as needed. Also moist was the ‘Nduja swordfish with hazelnuts, raising and crunchy bread crumbs ($32). ‘Ndjuja – a spicy, spreadable pork sausage widely used in Calabria – lifted the dish to another level and added a burst of colour. Equally moist was the smoked lamb rump, accompanied with a smooth, tasty apple sauce and mustard seed ($58).

We applauded the “farm leaves” salad ($16), which looked as vibrant as it tasted. Simple salads are always welcome to help cut through when dining on multiple dishes. This version was created with a verjuice vinaigrette. Beltana Farm offers a tasting menu for $110 a

WINE / chilled red wine

person, which tops off with a truffle ice cream on a stick. The high-quality white chocolate is with a malt caramel.

One wine we thoroughly enjoyed was the Linear Fiano (2023) from Hilltops, a citrus cool climate wine that is lovely and crisp.

The architecture at Beltana Farm is warm but sophisticated with dramatic (but intimate) wood elements, towering glass windows and a two-sided fireplace. Private dining is available.

Accommodation is on-site (a cottage and three yurts). Truffle hunts are held regularly in winter.

Red wine a cold comfort in Japan

We are sitting in the 28th floor bar of the Asakusa View Hotel looking out at a vista of lights that stretch to the horizon, upstaged by the purple and silver lit Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world.

In the distance a fireworks display at Tokyo Disney World provides even more lightshow entertainment.

We’ve come from a dinner of prawns and octopus at a teppanyaki restaurant where, as usual, beer was the chosen drink to accompany Japanese food.

I didn’t feel like any more beer or a flask of sake, so I ordered a nightcap of a glass of red wine in the fancy bar, at an equivalent of a nudge over $18 a glass.

The list offers red wine or white wine and my red wine comes chilled, even in this comparatively upmarket venue. It has been a feature of the tour that whenever we ordered red wine, it came chilled.

It was difficult to get a rationale for this quirk of wine service. Research showed two explanations: first that Japanese people like to drink wine slowly and therefore savour red wine more when it comes to room temperature from being cold.

That explanation doesn’t really make sense. If you are going to drink slowly anyway the initial service temperature shouldn’t matter.

The second explanation is that the favourite red tipple for Japanese is French beaujolais, a red that is frequently served chilled. Hence, because of this love of beaujolais, a lot of people unaccustomed to drinking wine most likely assumed all reds should be served chilled. This phenomenon is said then to have led to restaurants serving all reds cold in response. Again, it’s a long bow but, in my view, more plausible.

I must say that the wine being chilled, and the price per glass, did

slow me down.

The wine served at the Asakusa View Hotel was horrible cold. Malbec does not suit being chilled. It was a 2019 Chateau Lamartine Malbec Cahors and was tannic and big with a backbone of acid. The black fruit notes in the wine only became apparent after warming the glass in my hands for around 10 minutes. The lightshow and a glass of water were enough of a distraction that this process was not annoying.

But this wine was crying out to be accompanied by salty Japanese wagyu that was unfortunately sold out at the teppanyaki restaurant we had visited earlier. Malbec as a varietal that would suit the proteinheavy servings at many of the restaurants we visited seems like a good match. But not cold!

If I went back to Japan, I’d try to get off the beaten tourist track and maybe do a walk, such as the ancient Samurai trail known as the Nakasendo way from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Despite Japan’s population of around 123 million, there are many scenic open spaces and places where you can get far from the crowds of tourists we encountered.

All in all, drinking mostly Japanese beer and sake with food rather than the wine I’d consume back home wasn’t a difficulty. Sake, in particular, cuts through salty, fatty meats or fish and is a drink that leaves a clean taste.

For lovers of red wine though, expect to have to warm your glass to let the wine reach room temperature, which shouldn’t be an issue if you have something as entertaining as the view from the 28th floor of a hotel in Asakusa.

STREAMING

Disgraced duke’s interview turns into new drama

“I EXPECTED a train wreck. That was a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion level bad.”

That’s how Royal Central, a news website that covers all things to do with monarchy, described the BBC’s explosive 2019 interview with Prince Andrew.

In it, journalist Emily Maitlis grilled the third child of Queen Elizabeth about his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the allegations that he himself had abused one of the victims.

Prince Andrew denied any wrongdoing, but the interview still spelled disaster for the Duke of York.

In the aftermath, many charities associated with the prince were quick to distance themselves from him.

The flames from this wreck of an interview spread so quickly they threatened to leave the entire Royal Family burned, leading Prince Andrew to step away from his public duties.

It was an absolute bombshell for the BBC at the time and now its been turned into a new film streaming on Netflix.

It’s called Scoop and it stars X-Files star Gillian Anderson as Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew.

It’s perhaps no surprise that this film also comes from one of the directors of The Crown, Netflix’s smash-hit series that tracked the reign of Elizabeth II and which also starred Anderson as Margaret Thatcher.

Sam McAlister, the BBC producer who helped secure the infamous interview. While the outcome of this behind the scenes filmic account is known, it doesn’t negate the fact that Scoop still makes for a compelling watch, especially during its final, climactic act.

some big differences of opinion. McAlister herself has admitted that while many parts of Scoop are accurate, some moments required creative liberties to keep the story moving. For the disgraced Prince himself, it certainly will not help his already destroyed reputation.

The Crown may have ended only last year but it seems the appetite for royal drama certainly hasn’t. The monarchy’s PR team

ARTS IN THE CITY

Caught in a funding Catch 22

Principal photography has started for Craig Alexander’s feature film Snatchers, created, shot and to be produced entirely within Canberra. Alas, his team tell us they were “disappointed though not surprised” to learn they’d missed out on the most recent round of funding from Screen Canberra, of which Alexander says: “Funding bodies need you to prove yourself before they can risk the funds and to prove yourself you need to create work. It’s a Catch 22.”

Melbourne’s coolest Afro-Cuban band Ausecuma Beats will be at Ainslie Arts Centre on April 26.

Mindful of the need to practice their art in the context of world theatre, Joe Woodward and Daramalan Theatre Company are presenting Festival of Performance, a program of short films and nine one-act plays by Eugene Ionesco, Edward Albee and Anton Chekhov, as well as new works by students and staff.

Daramalan College, Dickson April 27-May 11.

Canberra-raised artist and digital producer, Sophie PenkethmanYoung, has a new work, Robot// Dog, commissioned by Verge Gallery at Sydney University. It’s her third digital performance-lecture and picks up on the current public interest in man’s best friend, looking at “programmed beings”, such as canines and their AI siblings. Screening online at verge-gallery.net until September 5

The 11th Australian Catholic University Prize for Poetry, worth a total of $18,000, is calling for new poems on the theme of faith, inspired by Helen Keller’s words: “Faith is the

strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light”. Entries by July 2 to acu.edu.au

Countertenor Toby Cole will join Apeiron Baroque and an all-Canberra band of strings and harpsichord to present Shipwrecked, stormy vocal works by Baroque composers Ariosti, Vivaldi, Handel and Hasse. Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, April 21.

Former Canberran Paul Morgan, author of The Pelagius Book and Turner’s Paintbox, both, has a new World War II novel, The Winter Palace, published by Penguin, which deals with the abductions and forcible transportation of children to Nazi Germany. He’ll launch the book at Paperchain, Manuka, on April 24.

week, one of Netflix’s biggest shows is coming

“Working with local businesses in Bowral to

create a fan experience like no other, Netflix will marry one of Australia’s most beautiful small towns with the romance and beauty of the Ton,” says the Southern Highlands Tourism website.

People in Bowral will also be given exclusive early access to the first episode of the new season that will be screened in the local cinema.

For those who aren’t on board with Bridgerton, consider it this generation’s version of a Jane Austin novel.

It follows eight close-knit siblings of the prestigious Bridgerton family and their witty ways of navigating the 19th century marriage market.

The show is a major hit for Netflix. When season two came out in 2022, subscribers worldwide watched 193 million hours of Bridgerton in its first two days of streaming, making it the most successful opening weekend for an English language TV series in Netflix’s history.

With that kind of popularity its a huge boost for Bowral, a town with an old-world charm that’s seemingly caught Netflix’s eye indeed, the company no doubt seeing it as a chance to generate hype amongst Bridgerton’s massive Aussie audience.

Gillian Anderson as reporter Emily Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew in “Scoop”.

Afro-Cuban band Ausecuma Beats… Ainslie Arts Centre, April 26.

Oceans, trees and an alphabet of climate concern

Three books, two by Australian authors, reaffirm the dramatic impact humanity has had, and continues to have, on our fragile environment.

Sydney-based, award-winning writer James Bradley in Deep Water: the World in the Ocean (Hamish Hamilton), combines history, science, nature and environmental writing, to explore the deepest recesses of our natural world. Bradley writes: “All life on Earth is inextricably connected to the deep”.

More than three billion people derive their livelihood from “deep water”, a term Bradley uses to describe the world’s oceans, which cover more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. Arthur C Clarke once wrote that it was “inappropriate to call this planet ‘Earth’ when clearly it is ‘Ocean’ “.

The Pacific, which is larger than all the continents combined, now has in some areas, according to Bradley, more zooplanktonsized plastic than plankton, “meaning animals such as whales and birds are consuming microplastics in large quantities, leading to malnutrition and damage to many organs as the microplastics collect in their tissues”.

It has been estimated there are less than a tenth as many fish in the oceans as there was a century ago. When John Cabot explored the eastern coast of Newfoundland in 1497, the sea was so thick with cod that his ships could hardly move.

However, in the last half century fish stocks have fallen dramatically, victim to the huge

factory fishing ships and overfishing with significant impact on local communities.

Rising temperatures have had dramatic consequences on life in the ocean, disrupting food chains, damaging ecosystems, lowering oxygen levels and leading to increasingly extreme weather, marine heatwaves and coral bleaching.

Even the water itself is changing and growing more acidic, as the increased amount of carbon dioxide it is absorbing alters its chemical composition.

High temperatures and ocean acidification have dramatically affected algal species. The current rate of rise in global average temperature at the poles has seen a dramatic reduction in the Antarctic and Arctic ice sheets and rising sea levels.

Bradley convincingly demonstrates that

“the deep” is intimately entwined with the rest of the planet, which demands a shift in our understanding of the true scale and complexity of our biosphere.

THE ANU’s world-leading expert in forest ecology, David Lindenmayer, covers another endangered natural resource – native forests. He writes in The Forest Wars (Allen and Unwin) that, over the past 40 years, “I have realised that we can’t understand the dynamics of forest by just looking at a single species... We have to understand how entire forest ecosystems work” and “how important forests are to life on earth”.

Lindenmayer documents the destruction of native forests by government corporations and logging industries that, he argues, is making bushfires worse, killing wildlife and

costing taxpayers millions, explicitly for the sake of wood chips for export.

Sir Keith Hancock once wrote that the first settlers in Australia ”hated trees”.

Lindenmayer writes: “Since colonisation, Australians have been frantically logging our native forests as if our lives depended on it. Our lives do depend on the forests – but on keeping them, not destroying them”. Both comments reinforce Ashley Dawson’s argument that colonialism and capitalism are the root causes of the current extinction crisis.

Lindenmayer examines the alliance between state forestry authorities, the timber industry and unions, who often intimidate those who question their actions. Lindenmayer is one of many scientists who have faced physical threats and personal abuse for their views. In Lindenmayer’s case, from the native forest logging industry. Nonetheless, he concludes that he is still “a person of hope”, writing the book “to inform and arm people”, a task in which he succeeds admirably.

PULITZER Prize-winning Elizabeth Kolbert in H is for Hope: Climate Change from A to Z (Ten Speed Press) delivers 26 essays, originally published in The New Yorker, tracing the history and impact of climate change. The essays, arranged A-Z, are beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook.

“A”is for Svante Arrhenius, the 19th century Nobel Prize-winning physicist who first deduced that humans were altering the Earth’s climate through carbon-emitting activities.

Kolbert moves to the present day with the letter B, which she uses to reference climate activist Greta Thunberg’s famous 2021 “blah, blah, blah” speech, which critiqued empty political calls to preserve the planet.

The essays that follow explore many elements of the current global crisis, captured in “U”, the deep uncertainty of the future of climate change.

Kolbert’s concluding “Z”, is for the Colorado River Basin, ground zero for climate change in the US. However, Kolbert, like Lindenmayer, provides some glimmers of hope amongst her cautionary essays on our changing world.

DANCE Joyous leap into Dance Week

at exploring artistic practice, at the

Among their many collaborations, one of the chief ones has been with Canberra cellist Alex Voorhoeve, who has featured in ADP works such as Symbiosis, From the Vault and Strings Attached.

Co-Lab:24 will be seen in private on International Dance Day itself and then in two public perfor-

to talk up Co-Lab:24, two evenings of immersive, interdisciplinary and improvised performance by Alison Plevey’s company, the Australian Dance Party.

Ausdance has commissioned this year’s iteration, with support from Canberra Theatre Centre’s New Works program.

Other Dance Week activities include an open morning tea for local dance studio participants, which will include a talk about the Safe Dance movement, which these days takes in psychological and cultural safety as well as physical care.

But there’s a lot more: it begins with a night of Afro dance at the Passion & Purpose Academy, Harrison Public School, and an adult beginner ballet class with Matthew Shilling at MAKS Ballet Studios in

the Deaf Butterflies, suitable for deaf and hearing impaired, at Belconnen Arts Centre on May 3; the Fabulous Fan-Veil Workshop with Jazida at Gorman Arts Centre on May 4 and the Jam Cabinet’s street-dance platform, Show Us Your Sauce, in Garema Place on May 5.

But without doubt the centrepiece of this year’s Dance Week program is the Co.lab commission – a new creation by the Australian Dance Party.

The title may sound unpromising, but “that’s because that’s exactly what it is,” Plevey tells me.

“It’s instant and it’s collaborative,” she says.

“We’ve been doing Co.lab since 2017… and it has led to some amazing collaborations all aimed

Plevey and ADP member Sara Black will be joined by guest dance artist Melanie Lane, who divides her time between Canberra, where her mother lives, and Melbourne, where, at The Substation, she’s been carrying out similar investigative dance explorations.

Voorhoeve will be playing, along with Art Music Award winner Sia Ahmed, whose song and music Plevey says will create “a different texture of the sound in the space”.

Meantime, visual artist Nicci Haynes, famous for her artworks created simultaneously with music at Richard Johnson’s SoundOut music festivals, will be on stage creating onsite visual art and “an immersive feeling” for the audience.

“How to colour in the picture will be part of the in-the-moment practice that I think is very exciting and very different to witness,” Plevey says.

Co-Lab:24, Courtyard Studio, April 30 and May 1. Dance Week 2024, all around Canberra.

The Forest Wars. Deep Water.

HOROSCOPE PUZZLES

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Mercury has been reversing through your sign, which can cause misunderstandings with other people and lots of self-doubt. Mercury finally moves forwards on Thursday and hopefully you have learned a thing or two over the last few weeks. Your motto for the moment is from birthday great Barbra Streisand: “Doubt can motivate you, so don’t be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.”

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

This week the Sun, Jupiter and Uranus are jumping through your sign, the Full Moon revs up your relationship zone, and Mercury moves forwards. So avoid getting stuck in a static way of thinking and a routine way of behaving. A current situation (or problem) has more flexible options and exciting possibilities than you previously thought. Your motto is from movie star (and birthday great) Barbra Streisand: “I just don’t want to be hampered by my own limitations.”

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

On Thursday, Mercury (your ruling planet) finally moves forwards which will boost your confidence, energy levels, and personal magnetism. But there’s also a tricky Full Moon, so, if you indulge in gossip and make hasty pronouncements, you could end up in a complicated mess. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that you’re not aware of. Smart Twins will do some detective work (and check the facts thoroughly) before they proceed with their plans.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

The Sun, Jupiter and Uranus are visiting your networking zone, and the Full Moon stimulates your friendship zone. So the more you mix and mingle, and the more connections you make, the better the week will be. Looking for employment? It’s time to capitalise on all the contacts you have. From family and friends to colleagues and casual acquaintances. Don’t wait for opportunities to magically appear. Be proactive about following your dreams!

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Prepare for a colourful week, Cats! On Monday, the Sun/Pluto square will amp up your bossy side. Then Tuesday night’s Full Moon falls in your home zone, so be on domestic drama alert. Confiscate all sharp implements and choose your words wisely, as loved ones are liable to make mountains out of molehills. Mercury moves forwards on Thursday which favours travel, education and communication as you socialise with a wide range of cosmopolitan people.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

After nearly three weeks of confusion, chaos, delays and/or dramas, Mercury (your patron planet) finally turns direct on Thursday – yeah! Plus, the Sun, Jupiter, Uranus and the Full Moon activate your travel, education and adventure zones, which encourages you to explore exciting new horizons. The wider your circle of friends and acquaintances, the more influence you will have in the big world outside your door. Being curious and confident are the keys.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

This week the planetary focus is on money and business matters, as Tuesday night’s Full Moon fires up your finance zones. But the lingering Sun/Pluto square could throw a partnership challenge in your direction (perhaps involving jealous behaviour or a power struggle). Your ruling planet, Venus, is visiting your relationship zone (until April 29) and Mercury turns direct on Thursday, so do your best to play the perceptive, diplomatic Libran peacemaker.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Monday starts with the lingering effects of the intense Sun/Pluto square, which could amp up your control-freak tendencies. And then the Full Moon lights up your sign on Tuesday night, which could magnify your compulsive side. You’re determined to win an argument or solve a problem but don’t step on other people’s toes in the process. And don’t get stuck in a stultifying rut. Less confrontation and more cooperation will get you where you want to go.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Mercury is still retrograde until Thursday so there could be a misunderstanding with a child, teenager or friend. Choose your words carefully and look to your trusted circle of loved ones for comfort and support. With the Full Moon stimulating your seclusion zone, you’ll find rest, relaxation, meditation and/or contemplation are essential. As actress (and birthday great) Shirley MacLaine says, “The most profound relationship we will ever have is the one with ourselves.”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

This week you’ll find life’s complicated, partnerships are unpredictable, and the rules are constantly changing as unresolved relationship difficulties or financial issues come back to test you. Maybe you need to simplify your life, cull some of your commitments, or finally give a fair-weather friend the flick? Plus find time to spruce up your living space so Casa Capricorn is more comfortable and beautiful. Fresh flowers and relaxing music are a must!

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Watch out world! This week the Sun squares Pluto (in your sign) and there’s a Full Moon in your career/public/reputation zone. So you need to find appropriate ways to let off steam, and choose challenging projects to channel all your electric energy into. It’s also time to embrace and celebrate your contrary, quirky Aquarian side. As birthday great Barbra Streisand observes: “I am simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy and driven.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Tuesday night’s Full Moon shines a bright spotlight on travel, communication and/or education. And your financial future looks rosier this week, as the planets activate your money zone in positive ways (Mercury moves forwards on Thursday and lucky Venus is visiting until April 29). So – whether you get a pay rise, take on a second job, cash in some investments, organise a garage sale or sell an important asset – it’s time to make hay while the Sun shines! Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore

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4 Which is the sixth planet from the sun? (6)

5 Name a conservative Australian political party. (7)

antiseptics in surgery? (6)

12 What is sometimes seen by the naked eye as a new star? (4)

13 Name the lower part of a gown, coat, or the like, hanging from the waist. (5)

16 Which devices are used in securing doors or their like? (5)

19 What are semitrailers known as? (4)

21 Which part of speech modifies another part of speech? (6)

22 What do we call the rules and customs of medieval knighthood? (8)

23 Which term means “instead of”? (2,4)

24 The strings of which musical instrument are plucked with a plectrum? (8)

25 Name a renowned lubricant. (6)

6 What is a calendar of the days of the year? (7)

7 What, in chemistry, are compounds that are isomeric with one or more other compounds? (7)

13 Name a malignant tumour that attacks the bones. (7)

14 Name a State in the central United States. (7)

15 What is a violation of allegiance to one’s sovereign? (7)

17 Name one of the Wright brothers who are said to have invented the aeroplane. (7)

18 What are the softer, edible parts contained in the shells of nuts? (7)

20 What is an alternative term for a proverb? (6)

WINNUNGA NIMMITYJAH ABORIGINAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Winnunga Nimmityjah AHCS is an Aboriginal community controlled primary health care service operated by the Aboriginal community of the ACT. In Wiradjuri language, Winnunga Nimmityjah means Strong Health. The service logo is the Corroboree Frog which is significant to Aboriginal people in the ACT.

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

Our services include:

• GP and Nursing

• Midwifery

• Immunisations

• Health Checks

• Men’s & Women’s Health

• Hearing Health

• Dental

• Physiotherapy

• Podiatry

• Dietician (Nutrition)

• Counselling

• Diabetes Clinic

• Quit Smoking Services / No More Boondah

• Needle Syringe Program

• Mental Health Support

• Healthy Weight Program

• Healthy Cooking Group

• Mums and Bubs Group / Child Health

• Optometry Service

• Psychology and Psychiatrist

• Community Events

• Groups

Winnunga AHCS is a national leader in accreditation, was one of the first Aboriginal community controlled health services to achieve dual accreditation under RACGP and QIC standards. Winnunga AHCS has been at the forefront of setting a national agenda for quality improvement in Aboriginal community controlled health and continues to advocate locally and nationally for best practice standards in operational and governance areas of Aboriginal health services.

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Ph: 6284 6222 | 63 Boolimba Cres, Narrabundah www.winnunga.org.au