DANGER OF THE ‘CASHED-UP BOOMER’ STEREOTYPE
‘I’m a widowed, sometimes lonely 80-year-old in the early stages of dementia – and also, apparently, a repository of untapped wealth.’ ROSS FITZGERALD writes on realities of elder abuse.
NEWS / Telstra Tower Project BRIEFLY
Snapping the tower from every suburb
By Elizabeth KOVACS
Michael Bennett reckons he’s discovered the focal point and connecting image of the bush capital – Telstra Tower atop Black Mountain.
“I slowly figured out that I was seeing [the Telstra Tower] over and over again, especially from Banks,” says Michael.
“That amazed me so much that I thought, ‘if I can see it from Banks, I can see it from just about anywhere’, and so I started taking photos of the tower.”
Michael’s curiosity stemmed from a map of Canberra.
Despite living here since the age of two, he realised there were many sub urbs that he just hadn’t seen.
“I’d lived in a few, done some learning in a few, gone to church services and bi ble studies, and had friends in several,” he says.
And that’s where Michael’s Black Mountain project began.
Over six months, he has photographed the Telstra Tower from 115 suburbs and has his sights set on four more.
“I think for a lot of us, when we’re coming home from the coast, the tower is how we know we are back home,” says Michael.
INDEX
Festive lanterns on parade
“[This project] has definitely made me look at what I’m seeing in a new light,” says Michael.
“Everywhere I go, I look for [the tower] and think to myself, I’ve gone there and I’ve taken a photo from there.”
Coming towards the end of this venture, Michael now hopes that his website can serve as a guide around Canberra.
“I think there are distinctive things
around that are worth looking at in Canberra and surrounds,” he says.
In the six months Michael has been out and about, he’s spotted no less than four Tardises, almost stepped on an Eastern Brown snake on a hill and has seen countless pieces of “incredible artwork” scattered around the city.
What had initially started as a personal project has taken off online with
Since 1993: Volume 31, Number: 6
General manager: Tracey Avery, tracey@citynews.com.au
Senior advertising account executive: David Cusack, 0435 380656
Advertising account executive: Damien Klemke, 0439 139001
Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au
Journalist: Elizabeth Kovacs, elizabeth@citynews.com.au
Arts editor: Helen Musa, helen@citynews.com.au
Production manager: Janet Ewen
Distribution manager: Penny McCarroll
many Canberrans recommending spots for him to see the tower from.
Michael is left with Chisholm, Gowrie, Oxley and Greenway to photograph and is now looking to the public for help to capture a shot of the tower.
Michael’s progress can be followed on his website at 124viewsofblackmountain.wordpress.com
The Australia China Friendship Society is hosting the annual, free Lantern Festival at the Beijing Garden, Flynn Drive, Yarralumla, 6.15pm-8.30pm, on Saturday, February 15.
There will be performances of Chinese music, dancing, and martial arts, with a lantern parade at the end. Bring your own lantern or buy one there.
Trivia night with a sky-high
theme
Zonta Club of Canberra Breakfast is holding a Sky High Trivia Night at the Canberra Bowling Club, 25 Hobart Avenue, Forrest, from 6pm on February 21 to raise funds for scholarships for girls and women in the ACT community. Tickets are $55 through Humanitix.
First beanies of winter?
Beanies, scarves, children’s jumpers and cardigans will be for sale at the Bold Bandannas fundraising stall at the Harmonie German Club, Narrabundah, 9am-1pm, March 2. The group raises funds for cancer research.
Send community event notices to editor@citynews.com.au
Danger of the ‘cashed-up boomer’ stereotype
“I’m a widowed, sometimes lonely 80-year-old in the early stages of dementia – and also, apparently, a repository of untapped wealth. Many of my elderly friends are being badly mistreated by their children,” writes ROSS FITZGERALD.
My principal preoccupation this year is elder abuse.
As a widowed, sometimes lonely 80-year-old in the early stages of dementia, I am one of the vulnerable old who are open to the possibility of personal abuse and financial exploitation.
After the death in January 2020 of my beloved wife and friend of 45 years, the artist, actor and model Lyndal Moor, I have lived alone in Greystoke, an 1898 terrace house in south Sydney.
I am lonely especially because our only child, Emerald, my granddaughter Ava, 8, and grandson River, 3, who reside in Los Angeles can only come to visit me once a year, for a fortnight.
But unlike many old Australians, I am lucky to have a loyal network of support, in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, and in the wider community.
My current concern about elder abuse is fundamentally because many of my elderly friends have been, or are being, badly mistreated by their chil-
dren. I am also deeply concerned that, in Australia, many old people are being exploited by a number of government agencies and private organisations.
This elder abuse applies to banks and telcos, and especially to often foreign-owned “retirement villages” and nursing homes. The way that these facilities are run is often predatory. The need for their reformation is urgent.
Underlying, and seemingly justifying, much elderly exploitation and abuse is an often unfounded but persistent attitude that older people are a repository of untapped wealth.
Over the past few decades, the phrase “cashed-up baby boomers” has been widely bandied about, but this is a misconception.
In reality, given that compulsory superannuation contributions only came about in the 1990s, many Australians born in the postwar period do not have enough super to see them through their retirements; some have almost none.
An expectation of inheritance can be a disincentive for people to make their own way, and produce their
own wealth.
Nevertheless, their super funds are eyed enviously. Those eyes are also cast on their homes which have exponentially risen in value over the past few decades – not because of anything they have done but due to massive inflation in the Australian housing market. Many commentators have in effect blamed retirees for selfishly clinging to the homes they spent 20 years paying off and not downsizing to a flat, or a retirement village.
Paradoxically, if substantial numbers of older people did put their houses on the market, prices would fall, which none of the people who bought homes more recently want. On the other hand, the government is anxious to keep as many old people in their own homes as long as possible to avoid overloading the aged care system.
In contrast, the aged care industry
would prefer old people to sell their homes so they can use the proceeds to cover the cost of extremely expensive bonds for their care.
Thus, the elderly are caught in a tug of war between opposing forces, all, in different ways, either trying to get their hands on our savings, superannuation or homes.
The federal government has implemented various policies and practices to minimise pension payments to the elderly. These include means-testing pensions based on a partner’s income, deeming investments as income-producing even when no actual income is received, and factoring in unrealised capital gains on investments.
At the domestic level, there are all too many cases of children and grandchildren, sometimes very unsubtly, pressuring elderly relatives into “lending” them money; underwriting and guaranteeing loans; even putting their homes up as collateral for investments and borrowing.
Whatever the baby boomers have accumulated, they did so in their own lifetimes. Most did not inherit very much from their parents who lived through two world wars and the Great Depression.
The stereotype of the “cashed-up baby boomers” has dangerous consequences.
Although elder abuse does not currently apply to me, it is well and truly
time for the elderly to join forces, and fight back.
At the moment, my Queenslandbased buddy Ian McFadyen and I are working on a new satirical novel for release this year.
Chalk and Cheese is about two 80-year-old former radio stars, who hated each other, but who end up in the same nursing home.
As was the case with our Grafton Everest political satires, my current collaboration with McFadyen involves us talking about our book for two hours every day for at least a year. As well as providing a respite from solitude, to me this is a source of considerable enjoyment.
Elder abuse is rife in Australia, and sadly the problem is getting worse.
As a policeman friend, Andy, said to me: “Families can be so cruel to their elders. I’ve seen it in over 43 years as a cop. Funny how things change when there’s the waft of an imminent inheritance. It’s unconscionable conduct that borders on moral turpitude.”
In contrast to most Asian countries, where elders are revered and treated with great respect, in Australia we are so often discarded and our views ignored.
Ross Fitzgerald is Emeritus Professor of History and Politics at Griffith University.
Valentines Day Gift Vouchers
Ultraformer
Ross Fitzgerald with the late actor Barry Humphries in Sydney in 2019.
A second opinion on hearing loss – you need professional advice, not a sales pitch
A woman came into my clinic for a consultation about her hearing aids, telling me her hearing aids were 4 years old and she had never found them to be of much help. She said the salesperson quoted her $14,000 for a pair of hearing aids, however, the monthly special of 20% discount meant they cost her $11,200. So, she ‘only’ paid $11,200 for hearing aids that did not help her. Sadly, I hear this all too often.
Here are some things to do to avoid this type of problem:
1. Visit your GP. If you or someone you know has a problem with their hearing, visiting your GP to check for wax in the ears, and to get advice is a starting point.
2. Qualifications. Always check the qualifications of the person you are dealing with. A person without professional qualifications has no business advising you about your hearing. They need to belong to a professional association with a Code of Conduct, so you know they are acting in your best interests, not their own.
years. If you are not sure about their advice, then seek a second opinion. The wrong hearing aids can be an expensive waste and could lead you to stop wearing them. You should always have a trial of hearing aids to ensure that they are right for you.
6 Pensioners and eligible DVA card holders often have entitlement to free services. If you are covered by a government concession, then let the clinician know (even though your clinician should ask). Eligible clients may obtain free hearing tests, consultations, and free hearing aids (referred to as fully subsidized hearing aids).
“A person without professional qualifications has no business advising you about your hearing. They need to belong to a professional association with a Code of Conduct, so you know they are acting in your best interests, not their own.”
– Dr Vass
These hearing aids are appropriate for many people, however if you have great difficulty hearing in background noise (for example a restaurant), then you may want to consider partially subsidized hearing aids. This is when the government pays a certain amount, and you pay for additional features and benefits. Your decision should be based on the following:
you are dealing with a qualified clinician, then they belong to a professional association. The best contact is an independent complaints body referred to as Ethics Review Committee. You can email ethics@auderc.org.au and view the website www.auderc.org.au. You can make an anonymous complaint and your complaint will be handled in a confidential and professional manner. If you are in the ACT, contact the ACT Human Rights Commission email human rights@act.gov au and the website www.hrc.act.gov.au
3. Independent advice. You should get independent, professional advice.
4. There are a wide range of hearing aids out there. Finding the right hearing aids for your communication needs can be challenging. Hearing aids vary in price and performance. Bluetooth® connectivity and rechargeable hearing aids are available on most hearing aids, along with apps that allow you to control your hearing aids from your mobile device. Be aware that just because a hearing aid is more expensive, that doesn’t mean they are the best hearing aid for you.
5. Just as hearing aids vary in performance, clinicians may also vary in performance due to training, experience, and skills. Make sure that you are comfortable and confident in their advice. You are likely to be with this clinician for the life of your new hearing aids, typically 4 to 5
(a) Can you afford the more expensive hearing aids? Don’t go into financial stress if you can’t afford them. (b) Are you clear on the free vs partially subsidized features & benefits? Never believe someone who tells you the free hearings are not good or of poor performance, this is simply not true. (c) If you try the partially subsidized hearing aids and are not happy, then return them. Do not keep hearing aids because you think the failure is yours or that you will improve over time. If the hearing aids are not working for you in the trial period, then they will not work for you in a year or two.
7. If you have a complaint, then seek help. Your clinician should be able to help you through most of your needs. Sometimes, a problem may be beyond the expertise of even the best clinician. However, if you have a complaint there are things you can do. If
COVER STORY / ACT deep in debt and deficit
‘Last year interest costs were $380 million. This year, they will increase to $507 million and reach $864 million in 2028.’
ACT budget shock: How Barr broke the bank
‘Net debt has reached $9.044 billion. That is more than $19,000 for every Canberran – young and old, working or not, and even children.’ JON STANHOPE and KHALID AHMED believe another credit downgrade for the ACT is highly likely.
The 2024-25 Budget Review released last week shows that the operating budget is in deep deficit and we believe a further downgrade in the ACT’s credit rating is highly likely.
That is if the government does not make the “tough decisions” Treasurer Chris Steele has foreshadowed.
Any such “tough decisions” would, of course, have been unnecessary if the government had exhibited the necessary discipline and the structural issues bedevilling the ACT budget over more than a decade, had been addressed.
The review shows the net operating balance is forecast at $1.228 billion for the current year. This is a blowout of $374 million against the original budget forecast of $855 million deficit. But we should sympathise with those for whom the budget update was a surprise and a shock.
There was, for example, Chris Steel, the newly minted Treasurer but no stranger to public finances, who was confronted in November by a major and completely random budget blowout.
Rachel Stephen-Smith, the Health Minister, was shocked to discover, again after the election, that there has been, in the blink of an eye a major, totally unanticipated increase in demand for health services resulting in a massive cost blowout of more than $200 million.
Shane Rattenbury, a minister until October, deduced, for the first time, that Canberra is a two-speed city and demanded that those doing it toughest should be protected.
Then, in a light-bulb moment, the mainstream electronic and print media cottoned on that there is both a deficit and a debt, each of which is really, really big.
Among the commentary on the reporting, some Canberrans pondered how could it be that they were not told about the true budget position before the election but were clearly consoled by the realisation that the fact they were kept in the dark couldn’t possibly have been deliberate.
However, we have reserved our sympathy for the poor maligned ACT public service.
Table 1: Changes in revenue, expenditure and net operating balance 2024-25 Budget to Budget Review
The government’s posturing on the dire state of the ACT finances seems designed to have us believe that those responsible for anticipating, planning and forecasting activity and costs, namely public servants, are either so inept, lazy or dumb that they either didn’t do it, or alternatively didn’t bother to brief the chief minister the treasurer or the cabinet that the budget was stuffed.
We could say “we told you so”, but for all our sakes it is a pity that we have not been proved to be wrong.
Table 1 summarises the aggregate revenue, expenditure and net operating balance in the ACT 2024-25 Budget and the Budget Review. It also details the changes from the original budget.
The net operating balance (NOB) has changed from a deficit of $855 million in the original budget to a deficit of $1.228 billion in the budget review, a blowout of $373 million.
The ministers’ commentary and subsequent mainstream media reporting has, in the main, attributed the blowout to health demand and costs.
However, the 2024-25 Budget Review reveals a revenue shortfall of $169 million and an expenditure increase of $204 million against the original budget estimates, contributing 45 per cent and 55 per cent respectively to the $373 million deterioration in the NOB.
The budgeting strategy clearly has been to keep the health budget on a drip feed with the inevitable cost blowouts funded through supplementary appropriations, as was the case last year, and again this year. This is then presented as a virtue and evidence of the government’s commitment to health care.
All jurisdictions have challenges relating to the growing cost of health care. The method of cost control being employed by the ACT government is, however, cynical, devoid of imagination and causes avoidable pain and anxiety for both those in need of health services and those on the front line who provide it.
Table 2 provides a summary of changes in the operating budget in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 Budget Reviews. It reveals a pattern in ACT budgets of overestimating revenue and underestimating expenses in the original budget, followed by some
Source: 2024-25 Budget Paper no. 3, and 2024-25 Budget Review. Notes: A (+)ve sign indicates an increase and a (-)ve sign indicates a decrease in revenue and/or expenditure. Growth rates are from the base of 2023-24 Audited Outcome.
corrections in the review. The focus then turns to the next year’s budget, with the previous years’ blowouts an irrelevance, a thing of the past.
Debt is spiralling, growing at a rate of 15 per cent a year. It is forecast to increase by $3.8 billion by the next election in 2028, reaching $12.8 billion.
Just this budget update has increased the debt on every Canberran – young and old, working or not, and even children – by more than $1000, and now exceeds $19,000 each. Does that matter?
It will, of course, need to be paid, with interest, through higher taxes, and ultimately through higher prices for just about everything, and those doing it tough will be hit relatively harder, as this government’s record demonstrates.
Naturally, interest costs are in spiral as well. Last year (2023-24) interest costs were $380 million (about $1.4 million a day). This year, they will increase to $507 million, and reach $864 million (more than $2 million a day) in 2028.
The Budget Review forecasts a deficit in operating cash, which means the ACT will be borrowing to pay the interest on past debt, and then some more.
Market borrowings are now forecast to increase by almost $2 billion in 202425 compared to the previous year.
In our commentary on the 2024-25 Budget, we said: “The anticipated increase in revenues and control on expenses reflected in this budget’s forecasts are simply not credible.”
This begs the question whether the updated forecasts are any more credible? Table 1 shows that total revenue is forecast to increase by 11.4 per cent in 2025-26 over the current year. In our opinion that is highly unlikely.
The ACT has not posted a surplus since 2011-12. The string of 13 deficits (including the forecast for 2024-25) is the longest for any jurisdiction and a treasurer. Every other jurisdiction has posted multiple surpluses over this period.
A return to surplus was forecast in every budget, and never achieved.
As a result, service delivery performance is among the worst in the country, with the worst wait times in hospital emergency departments, long waits for elective surgery,
flexibility of some of the larger states, or the revenue bases such as agriculture, mining or manufacturing.
The financial framework of the federation ensures that the ACT, along with others, has capacity to deliver average levels of service taking into account their respective circumstances.
The presence of the Commonwealth government and its associated activity provides a level of economic stability. In fact, when the national economy has a shock, the increase in federal government spending benefits the territory, as was the case during the GFC and COVID-19. The converse is also true, which means there is little room for lazy financial management or poor policy choices.
In fact, “good times” require discipline so that unsustainable expenditures are not baked into the budget.
more than two years’ wait for public housing, the highest recidivism rates, and poorly maintained infrastructure including uninhabitable schools and police stations.
Ironically, the budget and service delivery problems are not related to lower revenue raising because the ACT is the highest taxing jurisdiction among states and territories, whether measured against its taxing capacity by the Commonwealth Grants Commission, or as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Added to that, over the past decade, taxation has grown at the highest rate in the country, year on year.
The ACT’s relatively higher taxation has social and economic consequences.
For example, business investment and investment in dwellings has been suppressed below the long-run average. Household consumption, generally the engine room of the economy, has been suppressed and rental affordability is the worst in the country, with the highest proportion of people with low income paying more than 50 per cent in rent.
Disadvantaged and vulnerable people and groups have been affected more, with relatively poor access to and trust in services.
Where have we come from?
The deterioration in ACT’s finances and service delivery has been just over the last 12 years since 2012-13, after Andrew Barr took over as Treasurer.
In 2011-12, the budget was in surplus on the nationally agreed (and tougher) measure. It had been in surplus in the two prior years as well.
At that time the Territory had a negative net debt, meaning there was more cash in the bank than was owed.
Per capita taxation was below average and taxation against its assessed capacity was about average as reported by the ABS and the Grants Commission respectively.
Service delivery performance was better than average, and among the best in some cases.
What has gone wrong?
Financial management generally requires discipline, but that is even more important for a jurisdiction like the ACT that doesn’t have the
The causes of the precarious financial position and its service delivery are:
• Poor fiscal discipline where expenditure growth has not been controlled, and the relatively easier path of increasing taxes had been adopted.
• Lack of prioritisation of key services such as health, education and public housing. More than a thousand public housing dwellings were sold with the proceeds directed to light rail. The health infrastructure plan and recurrent funding formula were abandoned in 2016, resulting in cuts in real terms to health, and a shortfall in hospital beds in the order of 200.
• Waste, mismanagement and absence of accountability. Failure of the $77 million IT project, or the digital records project in health, or the complexity thinking project in CIT, or the procurement relating to Campbell Primary School show not only waste but also absence of accountability for mismanagement. They are symptomatic of a culture where there is no accountability.
However, are encouraged by Mr Rattenbury’s declaration that the Greens “will not support cuts to services that are supporting those who need them most in our community”.
This would include, of course, both hospital care and public housing, that as we have repeatedly noted, were savagely cut and sold, respectively, in order to fund light rail.
Mr Rattenbury went on to say that “Labor cannot punish those on the lowest income in our city just to try and balance the books.”
He is, of course, as responsible for the woeful condition of those “books” as Labor. Only now, he may have to realise that budgets are about choices, and he will have to stand up and be counted for those choices in the bright light of the Legislative Assembly, rather than hide behind the veil of cabinet confidentiality.
He may wish to begin by pondering what cuts to vital services could have been avoided but for stage 2a’s $577 million spent on a 1.7 km tram journey.
Jon Stanhope is a former chief minister of the ACT and Dr Khalid Ahmed a former senior ACT Treasury official.
Table 2: Changes in Operating Budget; 2023-24 and 2024-25 Budget Reviews
We assist you with:
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS HELP MAKE YOUR EVERY DAY TASKS EASIER
Planning and design of custom builds or modification to your home
Workplace modifications to make working easier, efficient and less painful
Car modifications and driving assessments - if you have been told you need this Applications to the NDIS and other schemes e.g Housing and Disability Support Pensions
We work closely with our team of physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, art therapy and dietetics at Build a Better Me: Arthritis, Pain Support & ME/CFS ACT to provide you with the best support possible!
You do not need to have any particular condition to utilise our services, just a desire to ‘Build a Better You’.
CLASSES & OFFICE: 170 Haydon Drive, Bruce
NEWS FEATURE / electric vehicles
How electric cars could drive down power bills
It’s been sold as the technology that could turn your electric car into a money spinner, but experts say vehicle-to-grid could be much more than a side hustle, reports JENNIFER DUDLEY-NICHOLSON.
If your next car could put the brakes on your power and petrol bills, would you let it?
That’s the promise of vehicle-to-grid technology that has long been tipped for launch in Australia and was finally approved for use in homes and with the national grid late in 2024.
Only two car brands are ready to use the technology so far, but more options are tipped to launch within months.
The innovation could change the way people look at vehicles, say automotive experts who also warn it has been sold to consumers in the wrong way and could be more attractive than they expect.
Vehicle-to-grid technology, also known as V2G, is designed to connect an electric car to the electricity grid using a bi-directional charger. With this equipment, compatible vehicles can draw energy from solar panels or the electricity network to charge during the day but they can also feed energy back into the grid or power a household when needed.
A V2G study conducted for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency found with the right settings, electric vehicle owners could earn as much as $12,000 a year by selling energy back to the grid.
However, not everyone agrees that this is the right way to sell electric car owners on the technology and that includes Jet Charge chief executive Tim Washington who has been pursu-
ing the technology for more than three years.
While it is possible to turn a car’s battery into a money spinner using V2G technology, he says most Australians will use it to power their own homes and significantly cut their power bills.
“For the vast majority of people, the message should be ‘you can spend no money on electricity’ rather than ‘you can have a side-hustle’,” he said.
“The main goal is to bring down transport and energy costs for people as much as possible… and there is the opportunity to not only make transportation fuel free but to make household electricity free if you have a big enough solar system.”
Jet Charge has provided bi-directional chargers from Europe to test V2G technology in the only state where it was allowed until recently, SA, as well as for a pilot in Canberra.
But the laws around the technology changed in November when Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced a standard for bi-directional chargers that would be overseen by the Clean Energy Council.
The first Australia-ready V2G chargers using standard, CCS type 2 connections should be approved and ready for use in the second half of the year, Mr Washington says, and while they may trigger a trickle of sales, that would quickly turn into “a massive flood”.
“People will start thinking about their vehicles as both transport and energy assets, and
What happens next?
A look behind the curtains at a funeral home operations centre
Have you ever been curious about the care provided to a loved one after their passing?
We invite you to join the ACT InvoCare team, at our Mortuary Open Night.
The event will feature a guided tour of our support centre facilities, offering insight into our compassionate services.
26 March at 5.30pm – RSVPs are essential
Interested? Please contact Cassandra via email: actoperations@invocare.com.au
sales will gravitate towards vehicles that are capable of being used as… batteries for your home,” he said.
“Within the next five to eight years, people’s perceptions of what a vehicle is will start changing, especially if they have access to off-street parking.”
Electric car makers could invest in the technology to boost sales, which remained flat in several countries during 2024 and fell in Australia at the start of 2025.
Motorists purchased fewer than 4000 electric cars during January, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Electric Vehicle Council, compared to more than 8300 in December.
Vehicle-to-grid technology could be the thing to reverse the trend if consumers see extra value in buying a battery-powered vehicle rather than a hybrid car, V2Grid Australia co-founder Matthew Downie said.
His South Australian company recently collaborated with Mitsubishi to create a bidirectional charger to allow its plug-in hybrid vehicles, the Outlander and Eclipse Cross, to use V2G technology.
Mitsubishi and Nissan are currently the only two vehicle brands able to use V2G technology in Australia as they use the older, CHAdeMO charging standard.
Chargers developed for these vehicles in Australia can be altered to use the new CCS2 standard in future, Mr Downie said, and the company was ready to make them available for other vehicles as soon as they produced compatible models.
“The biggest barrier at the moment is the vehicle (manufacturers) and their appetite to
take it on,” he said.
“The hardware is available, the network’s ready, Minister Bowen made the announcement about every state being able to use the technology, so the one hurdle left is the vehicles.”
Polestar, Renault, BMW, XPENG, Audi, Volkswagen, Cupra, Kia and Ford are among the brands preparing to support V2G technology, which requires hardware built into the vehicle.
Others are likely to join them if the technology proves popular, Mr Downie said, and electric cars from China, where they are holding a national V2G trial, could be among those to drive the trend.
“I personally think a lot of the Chinese brands will be frontrunners in this space and the most proactive,” he said.
“Tesla could also be a company that pops out of nowhere and that would be a big gamechanger.”
Having V2G technology standardised in Australia is a major accomplishment, Swinburne University future urban mobility professor Hussein Dia says, but widespread adoption could be “messy” due to its hardware requirements.
To accelerate its adoption, he says, the government should make V2G technology a mandatory requirement for all electric vehicles sold into Australia in future.
“We should make an effort to say from 2026 all new vehicles should enable this, and all new chargers,” Prof Hussein said.
“If we look forward and say we need to make this happen, it will work.”
Technology that connects an electric car to the power grid could change how people see the vehicles.
Photo: V2Grid Australia/Mitsubishi
Have our indies got the guts and doggedness?
“Let us hope that our Emerson and Carrick have Lambie’s guts and doggedness to bring light to places in our Canberra where those in power intend the darkness to hide their serious shortcomings.” HUGH SELBY writes in praise of the power of independent politicians.
Whether or not you agree with the actions of the political independents, be grateful that they actively consult with constituents, examine the evidence and pursue issues with a doggedness that is refreshing.
If you think this is gilding the lily then have a look at the webpages of, for example, senators David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie and, from the Lower House, teal Zoe Daniel.
Closer to home, local independent MLA Tom Emerson has called this week for the development and delivery of a co-ordinated ACT Food Relief Action Plan. His webpage, too, shows the breadth of the issues that he is pursuing. And if you live in the Woden area and you want to take the kids for a nearby outdoor swim then Fiona Carrick is probably your only hope. Of course, it doesn’t matter if you are happy to replace outdoor fun in a 50-metre pool with an indoor, 25-metre one that will have those kids
wanting to go home quickly.
Despite their small and shrinking memberships, the big three political parties have enviable funding sources. Hence, we should be grateful that a few of Australia’s richest were generous to the independent candidates before the last federal election. Be hopeful that they will do so again. Countering spin costs money.
In November 2022 the Guardian Australia reported that, “the six successful teal independent candidates [at the last federal election] were backed by $10.2m of political donations.
“The Australian Electoral Commission disclosures reveal Atlassian founder Scott Farquhar was the biggest donor to the Climate 200 funding body, giving $1.5m, followed by fellow co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ climate campaigning entity, Boundless Earth, which gave $1.18m”.
You know her, don’t you? How many of the other 11 senators from Tasmania can you name?
Ten years ago a 15-year-old teenage girl Eden Westbook went out at night from her family home in St Helens in Tasmania. The following morning she was found dead, hanging from a tree in a public park that fronts on to the main road.
that possibility is not fanciful or remote.
The response of the police and legal system in Tasmania to this problem is to delay, to deny, to hinder, and to hide –at all of which they are experts.
Particularly damning has been the refusal of the Coroner’s Court to release the autopsy photos to an independent pathologist.
That pathologist has aptly said that it beggars belief that they have not been released.
If those photos supported the official line then it’s commonsense that they would have been released.
Lehrmann v Network 10 proceedings in 2023 and 2024.
What our politicians say in parliament and what documents are tendered there provides the media, large and small, with the opportunity to report safely upon those matters. This is known as the qualified privilege defence.
Both in the ACT and in Tasmania the usual political “defence” to allegations is to ignore them. When something more is required the preferred route is to obfuscate. If that fails then attack the messenger. Given the speed of the news cycle (community interest rarely outlasts 24 hours) this is very effective.
Senator Lambie’s three-time attack on the mishandling of how and why Ms Westbrook died is a telling example of the need for dogged repetition. She won’t stop at three.
Recently, I called for an inquiry into our prison. As usual, nothing from the government, or the opposition, or the Greens. To say anything may bring accountability, perish that thought.
Page Horizontal - 145mm H x260mm W.pdf 1 31/01/2025 10:02:18 am
In the search for role models let’s review the actions on one matter by that noisy, persistent, in-your-face Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie.
The investigation into her death, such as it was, was a good example of what not to do. “Suicide” was good enough, so the police, forensics, and the coronial system signed off on that quick smart.
The family, damn them, thought otherwise. They are sure she was murdered and inquiries have shown
Senator Lambie’s three speeches (February 4, November 19 and July 2) can be found in Hansard online. What she says is more than a little troubling: keeping the lid on it may not work much longer for the Tasmanian police, courts, and the government.
An effective way to keep the lid on problems is for those likely to be exposed by adverse publicity to threaten defamation litigation.
The defence of truth is notoriously expensive to run: remember the
Let us hope that our Emerson and Carrick have Lambie’s guts and doggedness to bring light to places in our Canberra where those in power intend the darkness to hide their serious shortcomings.
Hugh Selby, a former barrister, is the CityNews legal affairs commentator.
ACT independents Thomas Emerson, Fiona Carrick.
Advance Australia… before it’s
What kind of country do we want to be, asks JENNY STEWART. “Are we satisfied with being a consumerist society, or would we prefer to be a leading middle power with a distinctive presence in the arts, science, technology and innovation?
In 1999, then Opposition Leader Kim Beazley gave an excellent budget-in-reply speech in which he attacked the Howard government for its lack of any sense of where the country was going.
Australia, he said, needed investment in education, in research and development and in sensible industry policy.
Now, almost 30 years later, the Albanese government, through its Future Made in Australia program, has at least had a go at tackling the industry policy bit.
But for an even longer period, there has been so little active government involvement in science, technology and industry, that it’s difficult for any government to find a credible way forward.
Backing comparative advantage has served Australia well. Massive mining operations have generated exports, provided governments with tax revenues and given modernising economies in Asia access to relatively
cheap raw materials and energy to turn into every conceivable manufactured good.
The result has been prosperity, and an economy that, for a developed country, is unlike any other. Added to resources and agriculture, we have services exports in tourism and education and a booming construction sector.
But there is a downside. At just over 5 per cent of GDP, the manufacturing base has reached a tipping point and will soon reach the point of no return.
A lack of interest in science and technology has led to lost opportunities, declining skills and a falling rate of business research and development, as more and more products are imported.
Does this matter? This is a question that can’t really be answered unless we address another: what kind of country do we want to be? Are we satisfied with being essentially a consumerist society, or would we prefer to be a leading middle power with a distinctive presence in the arts, science, technology and innovation?
The second pathway is possible,
contract. Our best people will continue to go overseas, because the jobs they want to do are not here. Industries that add value to Australian resources will continue to go offshore.
There will be surprising shortfalls of goods (such as hospital saline) where we think – surely, we could do that here? Industries that are wellestablished and efficient will reduce production in Australia because it is easier to switch to imports which, in turn, become progressively more expensive. We continue to be in denial about this.
with industry.
We need a vocational sector that restores its connection with Australian business and skills. We need a high school system that works much better than our existing one. Too many kids are coming through with skills, particularly in maths and science, that are below par.
but after many years of neglect, doing anything sensible about it makes it a difficult problem. Inaction will mean more of the same: jobs for tradies, baristas and healthcare workers but not much depth.
There is an even more fundamental issue, and that is that we are not used to thinking independently about our place in the world. What does this mean?
It means we are conditioned to rely on others, particularly the US, at a time when we cannot be sure our interests coincide.
So what to do? It would help if there were some acknowledgment from both parties that we have a problem. We can continue to ignore it, and see our country’s options begin steadily to
Professional, fun tuition in Ballroom Dancing
• PRIVATE DANCING
LESSONS
– Individuals or Groups
– Perfect for Wedding Parties BY APPOINTMENT
• KIDS MEDAL CLASSES
Thursdays from 5pm
• ADULT BEGINNER
CLASSES
Wednesdays from 7pm
• SOCIAL DANCING
Mondays 7pm - 9:30pm
Perhaps if we intone the phrase “global supply chains” often enough, we can ignore the costs of an economy that for too long has relied on the ingenuity of others to solve our problems for us.
So, what to do? The first step is to acknowledge that the manufacturing and related industries we still have, are doing a good job. We should listen to what they are telling us.
The next area to consider is the university sector. As any academic (as distinct from university administrators) will tell you, the last 20 years have been disastrous and have produced an overblown tertiary sector that no longer knows what it is doing.
We don’t need more international students, we need better research, less-pressured and higher quality tuition, and more productive links
We should promote our values more firmly. Unlike China, which beyond its obsession with power, has little to offer, Australia has a good story to tell: we do not impose ourselves on countries we are trying to help. We do not set out to corrupt their elites.
If we take ourselves seriously as an independent, middle power, that perception has implications for all that we do. You can’t turn science, technology and industry policy on and off. It takes time and patience to build networks, to change the culture, to enlarge the perspective.
It would be good if both major parties acknowledged that all is not well and that we need to do better. An economy that relies on resource exports for its income and population growth for its economic vitality is an economy that has run out of ideas.
Dr Jenny Stewart is Honorary Professor of Public Policy in the School of Business, UNSW Canberra. This is an edited version. The full version is at ciynews.com.au
“Inaction will mean more of the same: jobs for tradies, baristas and healthcare workers but not much depth.”
Photo: Gera Cejas
WHIMSY / What noise annoys an oyster? (Part 2)
Things that irritate, like what was your name?
Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much. –Oscar Wilde
For those who came in late, in my last Whimsy column I looked at what annoyed or irritated people most in the areas of driving and phone and internet.
As I had too much contributed material for one column this is the balance – looking at social and behavioural habits that grate.
Social and behavioural
• People who say “haitch” instead of “aitch” for “h”. (Possibly “haitchers” are annoyed by “aitchers”, too.)
• Exercisers who don’t wipe down gym equipment after use.
• Readers who leave the newspaper inside out or remove parts of it before others have read it.
Corporate euphemisms – as with “staff”, commonly referred to now as “store colleagues”, “team members” etcetera.
People who “reach out” to have a “conversation” (ie, make contact for a discussion).
Receptionists who ask, “What was your name?”
Poker machines – for their irritating noise, garish appearance, and impact on vulnerable people. Wokeism – particularly the amending of old books and removal of statues to cater for the “sensitivities” of a modern audience.
• Inconsistent airport securityscreening practices, including the questionable need for belt removal.
• Aircraft passengers who fill the overhead lockers with oversize carry-on bags and cases.
• Sale prices ending in 9 eg, $4999.99 instead of $5000.
• Obese people who overflow into adjoining aircraft and theatre seats.
• Tradespeople who give you a fourhour (or more) window for arrival.
• Nose rings that look like nasal drips.
• Diners who eat with their mouths open and pick their teeth with their fingers.
• People who don’t pick up their dog’s poo – or do pick it up, then leave the poo bag.
• Joggers who run with their dog on a lead, leaving a trail of dog poo behind them.
• Litterers in general – particularly when bins are nearby.
• Residents at units who don’t sort their rubbish and recycling into the their shout, and fellow diners who don’t offer to contribute to a meal bill.
• Incessant dog barking, particularly when it comes from neighbouring properties.
• Queue jumpers in general.
• Cheating in sport – as by Steve Smith, David Warner, Lance Armstrong, Ben Johnson, Diego Maradona etcetera.
• Poor sportsmanship eg, Greg Chappell and the 1981 underarm bowling incident.
• People who wear reflective sunglasses when talking to you; ACT police officers being prime
worst offenders).
• Hypocritical “Acknowledgement of Country” tokenism of the kind: “I’d like to begin today by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet …” (The land usually having been “developed” and inaccessible to the traditional owners.)
• Radio DJs who prefer to listen to themselves talking and play too little music.
• Inconsiderate people who don’t clean up after themselves.
• Excessive and repetitive advertising on TV, radio, and on paid-for TV streaming services.
Failure to call out those who exploit gender for their own purposes and the use of gender suffixes (him/ her/they). Similarly for children who claim to identify as animals or celebrities.
• Horse and dog racing – for its cruelty to animals.
• Fluctuating petrol prices, particularly when they peak during holiday periods.
• Flies and mossies.
• Compulsory service charges, irrespective of the standard of service.
• Excessive cover charges for BYO wine per bottle.
• Manic gum chewing, as by Marnus Labuschagne and Sir Alex Ferguson (who is estimated to have gone through at least 3000 packets of chewing gum while managing Manchester United).
• Misuse of the term “antisemitism” for political purposes.
• “Influencers” for their negative influence on teens and tween-agers. It seems there’s much in the modern world that people find annoying!
Clive Wiliams is a Canberra commentator.
up-to-date
Hubert
Home from beautiful Brisbane to a vista of weeds
Recently I was in Brisbane and was awestruck by the beautification of city footpaths.
Everywhere I went there were masses of low-maintenance plantings along footpaths and common areas.
The public lawns were like carefully manicured carpets and so inviting just to go and sit!
Unfortunately, I came home to a vista of weeds sprouting from concrete and poorly mown grasses in Canberra’s many public parks.
Come now, Mr Barr, do I need to remind you Canberra is our national capital? It needs a good makeover!
Valerie Scott, via email
But why do we lead in locking up Aboriginals?
Columnist Jon Stanhope often writes about the Aboriginals in the ACT being locked up more than anyone else. It would be helpful if we were told why we lead the way in locking up Aboriginals.
Is it because they commit more crimes, because they get caught more often, because the courts are tougher in the ACT on Aboriginals, because the courts are tougher in general? I do not believe they are just picking on Aboriginals, so what is the reason? Until we know this, how are we expected to fix the problem?
This being said, we have seen on the news that there are a lot of Aboriginal kids committing crimes in NT and Queensland and keep getting out on bail. Maybe this is why the figures are higher in the ACT, they are not getting bail as much?
must have dropped off only a few minutes earlier. I removed my boot and poured out what must have been about 150ml of blood. Luckily, there was no subsequent infection.
On another occasion, one of my Papua New Guinean assistants complained of a sore eye. On inspecting his eye, I noticed a leech, less than a centimetre long, attached to the eye.
We had been walking through dense undergrowth, and the leech was apparently lurking on a leaf of a bush or sapling about 1.5 metres above ground. As the assistant brushed by, an opportunist leech latched on to the most vulnerable and tastiest target it could detect: a human eye.
Vi Evans via email
Here’s one parasite we don’t need
Euan Ritchie’s article “Why we need parasites as much as they need us” (CN, February 6) mentions the leeches that bring feelings ranging from disgust to terror in those to whom they become attached.
This reminds me of my time as a field geologist in Papua New Guinea between 1968 and 1972.
On one occasion, after wading along creeks and trudging through damp undergrowth, I noticed a strange squelching sound coming from my right-side boot.
On looking down, I saw a trickle of blood running from just below my knee then under my ankle gaiter. An engorged leech
I immediately thought of a solution to a perilous situation. Gently holding the tail end of the leech, while repeatedly dousing it with the saline solution in my medical kit, it finally released its hold. Fortunately there was no bleeding from (or in) the eye. There is at least one parasite that is definitely not needed by humans!
Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin
Why have rates risen 100 per cent?
Julian and Karna O’Dea, of Aranda, wanted to know why their rates had risen 100 per cent (Letters, January 30). Rates have risen because the proportion of the elected representatives which determines what happens, has said they need more money to pay for what that negotiated dictatorship
Perhaps too much bother for some, but it could be empowering for those who are genuinely interested in how the public purse is distributed.
Lawrie Nock, Sutton
Three flags at the same time is nonsensical
I agree with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton that flying three flags at the same time is nonsensical, one national flag is sufficient and, whether we like it or not, that is the Australian flag, which has been in use since 1901.
The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander flags were only recognised in 1995. They have only been displayed together with the Australian flag mainly at special events since the Albanese government was elected in 2022, which I believe was done for purely crass political reasons and nothing else.
says the people need.
In a market economy, one might expect that the amount charged for a service would relate to the service provided. In the case of some charges such as income tax and rates, it doesn’t.
The rates charged on properties in Aranda and elsewhere might be different if the actual cost of the services provided had to be the basis for the amounts charged. The additional expenses which the elected representatives say need to be recovered from the community, if collected under a democratic or even market economy model, should be different. Fee for service is not uncommon throughout our society – it just doesn’t arise in taxing matters.
Additional revenue-raising in a democratic model might be handled by providing the people making the payments with an opportunity to direct where their payments should go.
There would not seem to be any basis in such a model for ratepayers in Red Hill making any greater payments for the government services they receive, than property owners in the outer suburbs of Tuggeranong, Belconnen or Gungahlin.
A schedule of the areas of proposed government expenditure, if provided to ratepayers with their rates notices, might deliver a different set of expenditure priorities from what currently emerges.
A similar concept applied to personal income tax payments might also deliver a different and more directly democratic set of indicators for the taxing agency.
Less than a handful of other countries worldwide display more than one flag simultaneously. It has nothing to do with divisiveness, racism and intolerance as we are led to believe. It’s
There is something you can do if you really care.
Fit an electronic Shu Roo device to your vehicle to deter wild animals that come to road verges for the green pick, particularly at dawn or dusk, by projecting high-frequency, non-audible sound.
Don’t bother with the cheap “whistle” variety, which only works at speed.
Prevention is better than punitive police methods or costly government programs.
Shu Roos also deter camels and prevent
vehicle damage. They really work. Anthony Horden, Jamison Centre
In the world of government, blunder on
We are in a ditch and it’s impossible to conclude otherwise when you seriously review the economic performance of our ACT government and are confronted with the mess of crippling debt, loss of our AAA credit rating and last-gasp exploitation of battered rate/tax payers.
In the real world when an organization is lurching this way there are serious consequences – the entity is expected to consult a registered liquidator, an appropriately qualified insolvency accountant or lawyer for financial advice about its situation as soon as it suspects strife is on the horizon.
In the artificial world of government though, one just needs to keep blundering on sticking it in the neck to defenseless rate/tax payers. Happy Days are here again, wonderful Hare-Clark!
John Lawrence, via email
Brilliant Hudson would have opted for nuclear
I noticed recently, via a short biography of Sir William Hudson (1896–1978) by Eric Sparke that last August was the 75th anniversary of his appointment as commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority.
Hudson was a brilliant engineer who is credited through his 18 years of leadership of the Authority with the successful construction of the biggest engineering project ever undertaken in Australia.
It is worth noting that Hudson was largely given the freedom of private enterprise, without political interference to undertake his task. If he were in charge of the transitioning of our electricity system today, I am sure that without evidence of a large cost imbalance he would have chosen the nuclear option for one reason – simplicity.
Hudson would have avoided the complexities of an expansive transmission network, accepted the advantages of implicit synchronism and security of a system with large turbine generators and the smaller number of generator complexes, and avoided the problem of replacing and recycling batteries, solar panels and wind turbines with their relatively short life cycle.
road kill.
John L Smith, Farrer
dose of dorin
& CHILD
Supporting mums from pregnancy to schooling
From birth to school, a parent’s job is one of the most fulfilling experiences, but it can also come with stresses and strains.
In this feature we focus on businesses and services dedicated to supporting mums through pregnancy, birth, babies, children and beyond.
With more than 25 years of experience in women’s and children’s health and as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2008, medical director of The Mother Hub Dr Sarah Bombell says she’s always been passionate about providing the best care for families.
“At The Mother Hub, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for families seeking multidisciplinary healthcare,” says Dr Bombell.
“Our strength lies in the collaborative approach of our team, where each clinician brings a unique skillset to the table.
“By working together, we provide comprehensive support that empowers families to make informed decisions and achieve the best possible outcomes for their health and well-being.”
Dr Bombell says it’s a privilege to guide someone through their journey to motherhood and being privy to witnessing their growth and transformation.
“Running The Mother Hub [has this] incredible sense of fulfillment that comes from helping women and families thrive,” she says.
Offering a collaborative, safe and compassionate environment where families receive tailored care from a team of professionals, Dr Bombell says they are dedicated to supporting families in overcoming feeding challenges and providing wholistic care during pregnancy and early parenthood.
Dr Bombell says they have 12 clinicians in their service and are frequently shown by clients how
so grateful to be a part of such an amazing team.”
The Mother Hub,114 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan NSW. Call 6196 6722 or visit themotherhub.com.au
Designed to introduce preschoolers to the fundamentals of 10 different sports, the owner of Ready Steady Go Kids, Leonie Collis, says she hopes that the program can begin a lifelong love of sports and physical exercise for little ones.
“Both of my boys are graduates of the RSGK program and both developed their co-ordination and physical skills, as well as co-operation and listening [skills] during their years in our classes,” says Leonie.
She launched the Canberra chapter of RSGK after she saw a need for a program that offered exposure to varied physical skills, a good work out and a minimal wait
In the program, children are introduced to soccer, tennis, basketball, hockey, golf, AFL, rugby, athletics, cricket and T-ball.
“Each term concludes with a multisport week where we recap some of the main skills of the sports taught during the term,” says Leonie.
Leonie says her favourite part about running RSGK is seeing the big smiles the kids have when they learn a new skill for the first time.
“It’s absolutely the best thing about running this business,” she says.
“I love working with kids of different
program to early learning centres (ELC) around Canberra to allow more children to experience the benefits.
“Ask your ELC to contact us about providing specialist sports and movement sessions each week,” she says.
Ready Steady Go Kids, Palmerston Primary School, Kosciuszko Avenue, Palmerston. Call 1300 766892 or visit readysteadygokids.com.au
Dr Sarah Bombell with babies Flynn and Austin at the Queanbeyan Hospital.
Pregnancy can be a time of immense joy and celebration, says medical director at First Steps Pregnancy Support Dr Sarah Jensen, “yet for some, the same two pink lines can instead trigger great distress, financial pressure and relationship breakdown”.
Finding a gap in the healthcare system for pregnant women in challenging circumstances, Dr Jensen says her experience as a doctor working with pregnant and newly parenting women over 15 years led her to starting up her own clinic.
“I dreamt of starting a clinic that could wholistically address the needs of women throughout their pregnancy and into early parenting, giving hope and a way forward,” she says.
“The resilience and courage they show is inspiring and it’s such a joy to see them slowly grow in confidence and capacity, flourishing as a woman
and a mother.”
“I still have to pinch myself that this long-held dream is a reality!”
Dr Jensen says her vision is to see every pregnant woman be a part of a supportive community where she would “know her value, capability and hope for the future”.
Dr Jensen’s team will join with Com munity Bank to host the Queanbeyan Pramathon at Queanbeyan Park, Lowe Street, on Saturday, May 10.
“This will be a day that celebrates and supports local mums,” she says.
“We also hope to challenge the category of most prams being pushed in one location for the Australian Book of Records.” Register at pramathon.com.au
First Steps Pregnancy Support. 11/251 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan NSW. Contact contact@fsps.org.au or visit fsps.org.au
All-hemp store has gifts for mum Getting a headstart on education
“At South Pacific Hemp we have plenty of gifts for mum, from a unique collection of hemp foods and hemp seed oils to gorgeous balms and skin creams, homewares, bags and accessories, fabrics, pet products and more,” says manager Sue Booth.
Sue says the store also stocks a range of babycare products and clothing for both mums and their bubs.
“Our clothing is designed for wearability and versatility, is breathable, natural and easy to care for,” she says.
breathes excellently, preventing odours, has four times the strength of cotton and it won’t weaken when washed.”
Sue says the store is Canberra’s first all-hemp shop and that the dedicated team welcomes anyone to come and ask about their range of products.
“There’s tea towels, totes, sponges, kitchenware and for the body, there’s shampoos, oils, bath salts and divine creams and much more,” she says.
South Pacific Hemp, 84 Wollongong
Kidstart is celebrat ing its 24th year working with children and owner Kristen O’Connor says it’s a privilege to allow parents and carers to have “all the educational fun with children without having to make the fun, just join in!”
“We are not a childcare centre, but provide classes with opportunities for each child to develop socially, physically, emotionally and intellectually through sequential programs full of fun, structured and stimulating activities,” she
“We bring families together to create relationships and connections within the Canberra community.”
With classes available for children aged five months to five years, Kristen says Kidstart has a program to suit all children before they start school.
“If you want to assist your child to develop a lifelong love of learning, give them the headstart they deserve at Kidstart,” she says.
Operating since 1996, Kristen says Kidstart offers five different
age-based programs.
According to Kristen, it’s a privilege to see the children thrive each day, from rolling over on the floor to learning phonics in their literacy program.
“We’re fortunate to have longserving staff members dedicated to providing the optimum learning environment for all our children at Kidstart.
“There’s a special bond with teaching children, from when they are babies and seeing them grow and develop before heading off to school.
Kidstart Southside Education and Activity Centre, 65 Sternberg Crescent, Wanniassa. Visit kidstart.com.au
Dr Sarah Jensen, second right, with the First Steps Pregnancy Support team.
The team at Kidstart Southside.
The Mother Hub is a specialist pregnancy and breastfeeding clinic in Queanbeyan, run by Medical Director Dr Sarah Bombell and her team of dedicated Women’s Health professionals. We do not provide a general GP service, but see pregnant and breastfeeding women and their babies for feeding related problems up to the age of two years. Our services include pre-pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal care, support with breastfeeding and bottle feeding challenges, tongue tie assessments and release, clinical psychology, paediatric physiotherapy and osteopathy, as well as Women’s Health services including fertility, contraception and menopause care.
Medical
Our GP obstetricians provide pregnancy and postnatal care, and labour care for women birthing at Queanbeyan Hospital. Our Women’s Health GPs provide pregnancy and postnatal care, baby checks, family planning services, office gynaecology and other women’s health services, as well as care of babies up to the age of two years. Our specialist lactation GPs offer tongue tie release.
Midwifery
Our Endorsed Midwives and Lactation Consultants provide midwifery care for women including continuity of antenatal and postnatal care. As IBCLC’s, our lactation consultants provide speciality lactation care. Our midwives all have an extended scope of practice, and Medicare rebates are available for some services.
Allied Health
Our Clinical Psychologist focuses on the needs of women and families as they transition through pregnancy and early parenting.
Our osteopath and physiotherapist provide care for babies with feeding and musculoskeletal concerns, developmental assessments and pre/post tongue tie release exercises.
Our Research Officer manages the collation of data for the various projects Mother Hub is involved in.
MOTHER & CHILD
weeks to five years, centre manager at Harrison Early Childhood Centre, Abbegaile Guanzon, says they
“We are here to support children’s early learning
“Five days a week and 51 weeks a year, the centrements such as the three-year-old initiative program
children.
“We value our partnerships between families, educators and the wider community to benefit the children’s learning and development,” she says.
“We also believe that every child is unique and therefore understand the importance of respecting, supporting and valuing time spent with children to help them flourish as individuals.
“At Harrison, we have a team of experienced and
“At Harrison, we work closely to create a strong sense of being, belonging and becoming for children and their families throughout the whole centre.”
Harrison Early Childhood Centre. 24 Wimmera Street, Harison. Call 6171 8050 or visit northside.asn.au
Winnunga Nimmityjah CEO Julie Tongs.
Harrison Early Childhood Centre.
WINNUNGA NIMMITYJAH ABORIGINAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services (Winnunga) is a multiaccredited Aboriginal community controlled and managed primary health care service located in Narrabundah ACT.
We provide integrated client centric wrap around services, which focuses on the clinical, cultural and spiritual needs of Aboriginal clients, families and the community, including programs for Mums and Bubs.
The Midwifery Program aims to remove barriers that prevent women from accessing maternity care in mainstream services.
The Program maintains strong working relationships with each hospital which allows for seamless transitions of care.
Following the birth of baby, the Program provides up to six weeks of postnatal care in the client’s home assisting mothers with feeding, weight monitoring, emotional wellbeing assessments and mother-crafting/health education.
The Midwifery Program has developed strong links with the Australian Family Partnership Program. Both programs work together to provide holistic care for first time Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander mothers, or mothers having an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander baby, in the Canberra region.
The programs complement each other and ensure mothers feel prepared and supported through their pregnancy and early parenting stages, up until the child is two years of age.
The AFPP provides information and education to mothers using a strengths-based approach, which builds individual capacity to identify solutions to problems.
Mothers feel empowered as they learn how to work with their strengths, realise the power of their own actions and gain a greater sense of control over their lives.
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.
CLINIC hours | MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9am-5pm
6284 6222 | 63
The Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) offers information and support to more than 80,000 mothers each year through the free 24/7 Breastfeeding Helpline Service, says Canberra group co-leader, Emily Stait.
“For access to the Helpline, call 1800 686 286.”
Emily says successful breastfeeding can depend on confidence, knowing you can “do it” and having good information.
“We aim to provide information on breastfeeding and support mothers in their journey, making them feel comfortable and safe.”
In Canberra, the ABA team of breastfeeding counsellors, community educators and volunteers organise local events and activities to help mums on their journey.
“The Canberra group is run by local volunteers who are passionate about supporting other mums and families on their individual journey, wherever it may take them,” says Emily.
members together in a safe, judgement-free and inclusive environment.”
This includes playdates at playgrounds around Canberra, where mums can meet others who have “been there”, says Emily.
“We host PlAy-BA playgroups and coffee catch ups in local cafes during school terms in ACT and southern NSW,” she says.
“Meetings and playgroups are run monthly on the northside and weekly from Queanbeyan.”
Emily says they post regular updates on their facebook page.
Australian Breastfeeding Association, 3/70 MacLaurin Crescent, Chifley. Call 6162 2716, visit breastfeeding.asn.au or facebook.com/ABAACTSNSW
★
★
ABOUT QUEANBEYAN
A bevy of interesting businesses across the border
Founded in 1838, Queanbeyan is the flourishing home to many family businesses, designers, artists and everything in between. In this feature we talk to some of Queanbeyan’s thriving businesses about their passion and the town they call home.
people live their best lives with top-quality care.”
Scott says QCity Podiatry offers a comprehensive range of podiatry services that are designed to cater to people of all ages and activity levels. With services including general foot care, treatment for nail and skin conditions, diabetic foot assessments and biomechanical assess-
the Queanbeyan community for years.
“We take pride in being a trusted healthcare provider for individuals and families in the region,” he says.
QCity Podiatry, 3/80 Morisset Street Queanbeyan. Call 6147 1616 or visit canberrapodiatry.com.au
Established in 1980, a father-andson duo have been successfully running Inkline Print & Signs for more than 40 years.
“Having operated in Quean beyan for more than 40 years has provided us with a unique opportunity to foster strong relationships with both the local community and our customers,” says Robert Simpson.
“We are actively involved in local events and initiatives, and we support other local businesses whenever possible.
“This allows us to stay connected to the community’s needs and preferences, which in turn helps us better serve our customers.”
Robert’s son, Daniel, says they are proud to be a part of the Queanbeyan business community and are committed to contributing to its growth and prosperity.
Specialising in a comprehensive range of sign designs, manufacturing and installation services, Daniel says they cover everything from illuminated and three-dimensional signs to vehicle signage, shopfront and real
estate signage, corflutes, stickers, window frosting, A-frames, banners, flags and business cards/flyers.
“Our company’s standout service is, in essence, the service itself!” says Daniel.
According to Robert, the company consistently receives positive feedback regarding the professionalism, accuracy and proactive approach.
“This combination of qualities distinguishes us within our industry,” he says.
Inkline Print & Signs, 94 High Street, Queanbeyan East. Call 6297 1633 or visit signsqueanbeyan.com.au
ELEVATING FOOT CARE WITH INNOVATION & EXPERTISE
• Diabetic foot care
• Corns, callus & warts
• Ingrown toenails
• Common skin conditions
• Posture & gait analysis
• Paediatric foot care
• Foot, lower limb & back pain
• K-laser treatment for fungal toenails
• Custom Orthotics
• Full range of off the shelf orthotics available
• Dance/Ballet Assessments
• Swift Treatment (wart therapy)
www.canberrapodiatry.com.au
• Shockwave Therapy Open Mon – Fri
Insurance & NDIS claims welcome 6147 1616 Suite 3/80 Morisset Street, Queanbeyan
Principal podiatrist Scott O’Ferrell, left, and podiatrist Oscar Skrbinsek.
An unforgettable day at the rodeo
From heart-pounding bull riding to precision barrel racing, the 2025 Patches Asphalt Queanbeyan Rodeo promises an action-packed experience when it returns to the Queanbeyan Showground on Saturday, March 8.
Thousands of spectators are expected to fill the stands to witness some of the best rodeo athletes from around the country compete.
“The event will feature a thrilling line-up, including the adrenaline-fuelled bull-riding competition, where top riders will go head-to-head with some of the sport’s most powerful bulls,” says the president of the
Queanbeyan Rodeo, Mark Mills.
The atmosphere is set to be electric, with the crowd’s energy driving competitors to deliver their best performances. Expect to see incredible displays of skill, determination, and courage as riders aim for high scores from the judges, says Mark.
Tickets via the Queanbeyan Rodeo website at queanbeyanrodeo.com.au
Queanbeyan Rodeo, 8 March. Queanbeyan Showground, visit queanbeyanrodeo.com.au for tickets.
was a hairdresser and I used to help her a lot, and she said to me she thought I would be really good at beauty.
Louise describes herself as a people person, and says she’s more of a giver than a receiver, so she found beauty was her truer calling.
In her business, Louise says she has purchased some of the latest cutting-edge technology and skincare products to make her clients look and feel good.
“My passion is providing treatments with this new
Lousie says she currently has a special introductory offer of four treatments for $100, through to the end of March.
Deziner Beauty also offers facelifts, body contouring, teeth whitening, a skin analyser, as well as waxing, make-up and traditional beauty services.
Deziner Beauty, Shop 16/18 Cassidy’s Arcade, 72 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan. Call 6299 5792 or visit dezinerbeauty.com.au
to supply quality products in the shortest possible lead times, says managing director Neil Thompson.
“The company mantra from day one was ‘quality windows, fast’,” says Neil.
“In January we moved our factory to Waterloo Street, Queanbeyan, to improve efficiencies. This, together with a new display centre in Lowe Street, will give Skyview the opportunity to highlight the large range of products available.”
Neil says part of Skyview’s success is being able to work closely with customers and suppliers to ensure consistency in quality and supply is maintained.
Using dedicated, local people, Neil says all windows and doors are manufactured to Australian standards.
“All our products are manufactured right here in Queanbeyan,” he says.
mixture of local and imported raw materials to ensure cost competitiveness and, unlike the major window companies, all the profits stay right here.
“Skyview is the only window company able to supply any powdercoat colour with no cost premium involved.
“This allows our customers to mix and match colour schemes for their houses without having to stick to the six standard colours our competitors offer.”
Skyview is the only window company to offer the “Texturer” colour range at a standard price. Texturer significantly reduces marks and blemishes on the powder-coat finish.
Skyview Windows, 13-15 Waterloo Street, Queanbeyan. Call 6232 9977 or visit skyview-windows.com.au
• Sports Recovery
• Muscle Cramps & Body Fatigue
• Supports endurance
• Supports circulation
• Anti-Ageing
• Fine Lines & Wrinkles
• Pigmentation
• Skin feels firmer
• Relief of Headaches
• Improves Mood
• Relaxation
• Supports Metabolism
• Supports Sleep
• Supports lymphatic system
Deziner Beauty owner Louise McMahon.
ALL ABOUT QUEANBEYAN
Show strives to find the ‘truth in the goof’
Continuing its impressive run of new musicals, Queanbeyan Players is set to present an unlikely show about a boy who grows up in a bubble, opening on St Valentine’s Day.
Bubble Boy is a 2008 musical with music and lyrics by Cinco Paul and book by Paul and Ken Daurio, and was based on the 2001 Touchstone Pictures’ film of the same name.
It introduces us to Jimmy Livingston, whose conservative, fearful mum is convinced that he has a deathly allergy to germs so raises him in a bubble-room for his own protection and educates him with nothing other than Better Homes and Gardens and the American Christian animated television series, VeggieTales.
“We’re being serious about being un-serious,” director Tijana Kovac says, “I tell the cast that we are finding the truth in the goof.”
Music director, Tara Davidson says that the music is a lot more complex than you’d imagine, with some demanding guitar work in it. As for the subject matter, “it’s crazy, but after lockdown, it feels timely,” she says.
She has engaged a six-piece band, led by Adam Bluhm at the keyboard and while they’ll be creating the sound, Jimmy, played by Rylan Howard will perform on a cardboard cutout guitar designed, like most of the props, to suggest a comic-book style.
Tickets from the Queanbeyan Players website.
Bubble Boy, Belconnen Community Theatre, February 14-23. Visit queanbeyanplayers.com
“We are open to taking on an apprentice for the right applicant.
“Every day at J&B is different and exciting, as no two jobs are ever the same.”
and netball teams, equestrian events, shooting and even motorsports in Braidwood.
J&B Canvas, 14 Shropshire Street, Queanbeyan. Call 6297 4863 or visit jbcanvas.com.au
Rylan Howard as Jimmy rehearsing with a cardboard guitar.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Balanas sisters are doing it for themselves
By Helen MUSA
From singing Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley in a small Latvian town to striding the stages of Berliner Philharmonie, Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall, string sisters Kristina and Margarita Balanas are the perfect exemplars of how hard work pays off in the world of music.
They’ll be at Snow Concert Hall soon after recitals in the Melbourne Recital Hall and the Sydney Opera House on their first Australian visit.
I catch up with violinist Kristina by WhatsApp as she’s passing through Brussels but in fact she, like her siblings, cellist Margarita and electric violinist Robert, is based in London travelling around a lot but especially to Riga, the capital city of their native Latvia.
Busy bees, together with Robert, they founded Balanas Classical, which promotes classical music through novel concerts, projects and charity masterclasses for young musicians.
Although they’ve all continued their
careers in London, Kristina says, their most formative years were in Latvia where the education is very strong. Blessed with brilliant teachers and working very hard when they were little, there was no time for what she calls “silly things – not so much boys,
but more like causing trouble, for instance burning down houses”.
Not much time for that because, unusually for classical music performers, they were all singing in a family rock ‘n’ roll band, “like the Tapp Family,” she agrees,
only with different music – Chuck Berry and Elvis were their role models.
Their parents were largely self-taught but their dad, she says, had a very good musical ear.
Because of their relatively remote location in the small central Latvian town of Dobele during the 1990s, when there was not much material available, they spent a lot of time listening to rock music and writing the lyrics down from cassettes.
“I’m the oldest and we all went to the local music school then moved with our family to Riga, where our parents threw us into all kinds of artistic endeavours – art, dance folk dance; our mum was very much keen about providing an overall education,” she says.
After their basic studies, they went to the Royal Academy of Music in London, “a really fun time,” she says, praising the support the academy gives to anyone who is seriously ambitious or hard working.
“It changed our lives and it is still part of that,” Kristina says. Margarita went on to win a place in the professional diploma course in conducting there, but as Kristina says: “The academy is fantastic with opportunities, but it doesn’t instantly get you work; that’s up to you.”
“What you do afterwards is important or you’ll be in an institution forever.”
Nonetheless, she made the best of friends there, a great support to her as she travels around the world.
All of the siblings pursue solo careers, Margaret as a conductor in Zürich and Kristina a solo violin career, this year with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.
And Robert, who combines his background in classical music with the sound worlds of pop, rock and funk, has won praise from Elton John for his solo violin.
The Balanas Sisters chose Winter and Summer from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons to perform when in Canberra, Kristina says, as they are favourites from among their own arrangements for string duo.
One of the highlights in the second half of the concert will be Latvian composer Pēteris Vask’s Castillo Interior, which commemorates a rare 16th-century woman.
“It’s very moving,” she says, “Vask has heard us play it… he is a very spiritual person, it’s a lot about finding beauty, undamaged by anything.”
When in Sydney, the Balanas Sisters will be playing two Australian compositions, Matthew Hindson’s Always on Time, and Anne Cawrse’s Sanctuary, but they’re not on the program for Canberra.
That, Kristina hastens to assure me, is because they were cramming a lot in – but they will definitely do some Australian compositions for the encore.
The Balanas Sisters, Snow Concert Hall, February 20.
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
String sisters Kristina, left, and Margarita Balanas… their most formative years were in Latvia where, says Kristina, the education is very strong.
STREAMING Lotus is back in a new paradise that turns to hell
Hit comedy-drama The White Lotus is once again taking audiences to paradise before promptly turning it into hell.
This week marks the return of the much-talked-about social satire series, which follows wealthy holiday-goers who have their dream getaway go horribly wrong.
Each season focuses on a new set of guests at one of the luxurious White Lotus resorts that are located in some of the world’s premiere tourist destinations.
Season one was set in Hawaii, while sea son two introduced a new set of characters enjoying the grandeur of Sicily.
However, season three takes things to South-East Asia, with an ostentatiously opulent resort in Thailand.
This time the show is focusing on the wellness, spirituality and healing movement that increasing numbers of people are turning to in order to escape the stresses of everyday life.
But in typical White Lotus fashion, the stay at this resort is sure to be anything but healing.
Among the guests this time are a rich sugar daddy and his much younger girlfriend whom he pays for companionship, three long-time friends on the ultimate girls’ trip trying to recapture the peak of their youth, and a father taking his family on a mega holiday in a bid to distract from his imminent bankruptcy.
Like season one and two before it, this is
bound to be a cringe-inducing experience that’s impossible to look away from. As each episode plays out you can feel the tension in the strings that connect these peculiar characters tighten to a point where it feels like they will snap at any second. When it finally does end up in catastrophe, the results are as funny as they are uncomfortable.
As bizarre as these characters can get, there are certainly pieces of them that audiences will recognise from their own lives, whether it’s people they’ve observed on holiday, at work, a neighbour, even perhaps in themselves.
This is what makes The White Lotus so addictive. The social satire is amongst the sharpest out there. Previously, I’ve described the show as something akin to a human zoo, our laptop, phone or TV screens caging in these intriguing creatures as they frolic around their five-star accommodation.
Show creator Mike White reckons the first two seasons were only “rehearsals” for what he’s delivering this third time round. It drops on Binge February 17.
QUIETLY releasing on Netflix over the new year is an underrated documentary about
one of the world’s most famous DJ’s.
Avicii: I’m Tim tells the fascinating and tragic story of the record-breaking songwriter who died at only 28 years old.
For those who aren’t into the electronic dance music genre that Avicii pioneered, the story of this young artist is still one that may deeply resonate.
Avicii, or as he is much less known as,
Tim Bergling was born into a normal, quiet upbringing in Sweden.
He started producing music in his teens and his genius was quickly noticed. Bergling was already touring the world with sold-out shows before he was 20.
Over the next few years his influence on the music world was extraordinary, selling more than five million albums and working with some of the world’s biggest artists including Coldplay, Madonna, Lenny Kravitz and Beyonce, to name just a few.
But despite his incredible success, there was an internal battle he hid from those
In news that shocked the world, Bergling was only 28 when he was found dead in Oman as a result of self harm.
I’m Tim offers a look at a naturally quiet soul who wanted to share his music with the world as loudly as he could.
The documentary not only tries to better understand what he was going through, but how it would go on to affect his friends, fans and family.
More importantly is the examination of his meteoric influence on the international music scene. An underrated gem in Netflix’s doco catalogue.
The White Lotus, season three… This time the show is focusing on wellness, spirituality and healing that will be anything but.
Avicii: I’m Tim tells the fascinating and tragic story of the record-breaking songwriter who died at only 28 years old.
WINE
No numbers to figure out a fave
I bit the bullet and finally bought an up-to-date version of the Halliday Wine Companion.
I paid $42 at Paperchain in Manuka. In part, my motivation was that in the weeks before the 2025 Companion going to print mid-2024, James Halliday at 85 announced his retirement.
He has been an icon of the Australian wine industry with his first overview of Australian wine, entitled The Australian Wine Compen dium, being published in 1985 and since then an annual review of the industry has been published.
He has had an extraordinary career having written and co-authored more than 40 books on wine over the past 25 years. He was a lawyer turned wine writer, judge and winemaker; he founded the Hunter Valley’s Brokenwood and Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley (both of which remain five-star-rated wineries in the latest guide).
I often use the guide to check the status of a new winery that I haven’t heard of before and if I like a wine from a particular winemaker I check the guide for their details.
The only problem I have with the current book and all of its predecessor volumes is that a winery’s rating is based on how many wines of a high point score it produces, with a five red star rating being a winery that is “outstanding” because it is “regularly producing wines of exemplary quality
and typicity.” It will also have “at least two wines rated at 95 points or above, and has had a 5-star rating for the previous three years.”
I dislike numeric scores being attached to wines. Wine journalist Patrick Dussert-Gerber in a recent article on the wine site Vinodiversity in fact summed up my own feelings about points systems: “(T)he whole idea of putting numbers
to define quality is absurd. Numbers imply hard objective data. In fact wine assessment is mainly I said something similar in 2017 when I wrote that the experience of wine is circumstantial and individual. The enjoyment of wine is, obvious faults aside, a matter of taste in the literal and
It is a pity that a person would buy wines just based on someone else’s rating. That phenomenon is, perhaps, discouraging people to learn from buying and tasting in accordance with their own preferences built from a unique history. As with so much of life, what you like as a matter of personal taste matters more than what
I also note that with the greatest respect to Halliday and his co-writers, the points system used whilst expressed as a 100-point system is
Again, as Dussert-Gerber indicates: “In fact, Halliday’s system is NOT a 100-point scale. Some writers use a system that rates wines from 50 to 100. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wine score less than 80. I assume that some of the judges do score wines less than 80, but they are probably so faulty as to be undrinkable at that level. It is hard to imagine a wine which scored 67 being any more palatable than one that scored 57. So it’s really a 20-point scale, from 80 to 100.”
So, while I now have a shiny new wine guide to grace my bookshelf, I will still rely on my own judgment when it comes to rating wines and discussing them in these columns.
A mathematician sees three people go into a building. Later she sees four people leave. When she is asked how many people are in the building she replies: “Well, if one person enters the house it’ll be empty.”
ARTS IN THE CITY ‘Mind-bending’ show of light and sound
Audiovisual artist Robin Fox has created Constellations, billed as “a mind-bending intersection of light and sound”, to be shown at the National Film and Sound Archive for Enlighten Beyond. February 27-May 4.
Legendary local nature artist Sharon Field is offering the chance to see her world-famous scrolls. Field is more than 1000 days into her monumental commitment to 3000 days of drawing of plants and animals at risk of being lost to climate change. The scrolls have been seen across the globe, with public viewings in New York, Pittsburgh, Boston, London, Lyon, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and Singapore. At Belconnen Arts Centre, until March 23.
Opera Australia has announced that CEO Fiona Allan will leave the beleaguered flagship company to “pursue new opportunities” after three years. OA’s chief operating officer Simon Militano has been appointed acting CEO.
Art Song Canberra’s first concert for the year will feature soprano Jane Sheldon, joined at the piano by artistic director of Sydney Chamber Opera Jack Symonds, performing music by Fauré’s song cycle La Chanson d’Ève (The Song of Eve),
along with music by Poulenc, Pascal Dusapin and Sheldon herself. Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, February 16.
The arts enterprise, You Are Here, will celebrate its 15th birthday by developing a Cahoots Manual that will make its useful residency model accessible to all artists and producers. Also, coming up is Gala(h) and Art Market at Dissent café in City West on March 1. Organisers are
artworks for the auction and ideas, contact youareherecanberra.com.au
Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics series celebrates Valentine’s weekend with Folk Melodies, which include Haydn’s Dumky Trio. Albert Hall, February 16.
James Halliday… an icon of the Australian wine industry, he has written and coauthored more than 40 books on wine over the past 25 years.
Constellations… NFSA, February 27-May 4.
Photo: Bryony Jackson
Herb plant that puts on a show
The fast-growing annual Amaranth caudatus is a new herb plant I’m trying this year.
It’s coming into flower now and its vibrant colour and branched inflorescence is really putting on a show.
It’s easy to grow, but must be direct sown in spring next year for a summer display.
Amaranthus can be ornamental or edible. If using them ornamentally in the garden, the colour deepens throughout summer. It makes a terrific cut flower. It’s also popular in dried flower arrangements.
The most common variety is red but having looked at a few new seed catalogues, there are yellow flowering Amaranthus with wonderful names such as Hot Biscuit and common names as Love Lies Bleeding. Amaranth in the kitchen is a seed not a grain and, when cooked, it can have a porridge consistency. It can be eaten raw or cooked.
Amaranth likes to grow with corn and plants of the Solanaceae family such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants.
The roots of amaranth plants are also a terrific soil breaker and a cover crop before root vegetables get planted and can be easily added to a
crop-rotation program.
Once the autumn frost arrives, the plants will die. To save seed, cut dried seedheads and place them in a paper bag or envelope and sow in late October, early November or when the soil has warmed to more than 25C.
Direct sow where they will enjoy a hot summer and water when they need it. The flowers will put on a show right through summer and autumn. There is the cousin of A. caudatus and that is A. retroflexus, commonly known as redroot amaranth. It is a weed in our region, so be sure to plant the correct plant each year.
LOTS of summer ground covers are flowering well now and some of the grevilleas, straw flowers and Myoporums in my garden are in full white bloom and look spectacular. They’re popular plants that grow well in our region and survive our frosts. They grow fast and are great to fill a dry spot as well. Myoporum parvifolium is a fine leaf form and does a terrific job at covering the ground and flowering in the heat.
Their flowers are either pink or white, star shaped and a magnet for bees. They need to be planted two metres apart and will cover a large area if required. Keep them watered and ensure the area is weed free and mulched to keep the roots moist. Once established, they will require little care.
They are easy to propagate from stems about
10 centimetres long, stripped of leaves on the lower end of the stem and planted in seedraising mix.
Kept moist, they’ll strike quite easily and if they get growing fast now, they can be ready for planting in autumn, before the cold weather sets in.
FEBRUARY is the hottest month, and very little planting should be added unless there is some extra TLC.
The whole garden will benefit from a foliar feed done in the cool of the day.
A seaweed solution can be used, but also steeped manure and weeds can be an alternative. Deadheading of roses and summer flowers can be done and a trim of citrus trees, if needed. Remove dead, damaged or diseases branches and shorten branches where needed.
Fertilise now and keep watering and they’ll flower and fruit through winter.
jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au
Jottings…
• Keep picking beans to induce more flowering.
• Cut excess foliage from pumpkin vines.
• Summer pruning of stone fruit.
• Propagate lemongrass and tarragon in pots for winter.
Amaranth caudatus… its vibrant colour and branched inflorescence is
putting on a show. Photos: Jackie Warburton Myoporum parvifolium… does a terrific job at covering the ground and flowering in the heat.
HOROSCOPE PUZZLES
By Joanne Madeline Moore
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)
Rams love to rush full speed ahead, but this week’s frustrating stars don’t encourage haste. Your patron planet Mars is still retrograde (until February 24). So, if your actions are blocked or a relationship hits a brick wall, then use it as an opportunity to regroup, replan and re-energise. You thrive on debate and confrontation but pick your battles carefully because (in the short term) you’re unlikely to win. Compromise and a cool head will get you a lot further.
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)
It’s time to review and renew your peer group as the Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune fire up your friendship and networking zones. Be inspired by birthday great, writer Anais Nin: “Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” When it comes to neighbours and local community connections, don’t rush. Meditation, contemplation, rumination and relaxation are favoured.
GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)
This week Jupiter squares your ruling planet, Mercury. So, if you spread gossip or jump to hasty conclusions, you could end up in hot water. And avoid the tendency to take shortcuts, especially at work. A slap-dash attitude will only mean you have to do everything twice. With a more methodical and practical approach, you can accomplish tasks and still have plenty of time to play. With Mars reversing through your money zone, impulse buys are a temptation.
CANCER (June 22 – July 23)
It’s not a good week to initiate ambitious projects that require heaps of energy and buckets of enthusiasm. Mars is reversing through your sign (until next Monday, February 24) so you may feel like a sluggish, unmotivated, cranky Crab! However, it is a suitable time to revise, rehearse and re-imagine. So your motto for the moment is from writer and birthday great, Anais Nin: “There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination …”
LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)
Saturn is transiting through one of your money zones, so look for ways to consolidate your finances and build firm fiscal foundations for the future. Getting sound professional advice is best policy, as you work on manifesting abundance. Inspiration and intuition are taking a short break, but they’ll be back soon. Your motto for the week is from writer and birthday great Anais Nin: “You should not give anybody the power to decide what is right and wrong in your creativity.”
VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)
Partnerships – of the romantic, platonic and business variety – are highlighted, as the planets activate your relationship zone. Jupiter is visiting your career and life direction zones, so self-belief is the key to success and satisfaction. Don’t let annoying disruptions and minor matters rattle you! Keep going on your chosen path, with confidence and determination. Be inspired by birthday great, writer Anais Nin: “Good things happen to those who hustle.”
LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)
It’s not a good week to initiate ambitious professional projects that require plenty of energy, enthusiasm and motivation. Dynamic Mars is reversing through your career zone (until next Monday, February 24) so you may feel like a lazy, lacklustre Libran! However, it is a suitable time to review, revise, rehearse and re-imagine. Venus is transiting through your relationship zone, so make sure you tell loved ones how much they mean to you.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)
On Tuesday the Sun transits into fellow water-sign Pisces, which boosts your creativity, compassion and sensitivity. However, this week much of your time could be consumed by a frustrating problem involving a child, teenager or friend. In order to satisfactorily resolve the situation, you’ll need to be discreet, proactive and patient. If you are going away (locally, interstate or overseas), then take your time and double-check all travel arrangements carefully.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)
Speedy, spontaneous Sagittarius – it’s time to slow down and tread gingerly. Mars is still in retrograde mode until February 24, so avoid being too blasé about a complicated issue (especially involving intimacy, trust, taxes, income, property, possessions or joint finances). With Jupiter (your patron planet) squaring communication planet Mercury on Thursday/Friday, be careful you don’t put your foot firmly in your mouth and end up offending a loved one.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)
Mighty Mars is still reversing through your relationship zone until Monday, February 24, so be extra patient with loved ones. Jupiter blesses professional projects with one proviso … your heart must be in what you are doing. If you’re just going through the motions, it will affect the quality of your work. On Thursday and Friday, don’t jump to conclusions and assume you know what a relative, neighbour or colleague is thinking. You may be way off the mark.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)
Four planets are activating your cash zone. Letting finances take their own course seems tempting but you really do need to keep up to speed with money matters. If you increase your financial literacy then it will pay off handsomely further down the track, as you replace short-term whims with long-term strategies. This week’s positive Venus vibes are fabulous for social media connections and inventive internet endeavours as you talk, text, tweet and post up a storm.
PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)
Courtesy of retro Mars, be extra patient with a child, teenager or friend. On Tuesday, the Sun joins Mercury, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces. So you’ll feel like daydreaming and creating even more than usual as you perform, paint, draw, dance, write, sing songs, play music or take photographs. Be inspired by writer and birthday great Anais Nin: “Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love.”
Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2024
Across
3 What one might do to a male waif? (5,3)
7 Name the bell in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London. (3,3)
8 To have palpitated, is to have done what? (8)
9 Name a Pacific Island State in the USA. (6)
10 What are official government journals? (8)
11 Name the language of Austria. (6)
14 Name an English cookery writer, Isabella Mary ... (6)
17 Which imaginary island, populated by tiny people, is referred to in Gulliver’s Travels? (8)
18 Who composed “White Christmas”, and countless other songs, ... Berlin? (6)
19 To have deprived of clerical status, is to have done what? (8)
20 What is a colloquial term for a cheap restaurant? (6)
21 Which term describes reddish yellow? (8)
1 To be whimsically strange, is to be what? (7)
2 Name the Biblical father of Isaac. (7)
3 Which substance, when injected into animal tissues, will stimulate the production of antibodies? (7)
4 Who is under the friendly patronage of another? (7)
5 What is a place of abode? (7)
6 Name the fourth President of the US, James ... (7)
11 Which Italian physicist built the first astronomical telescope? (7)
12 Name the English explorer and author, Sir Walter ... (7)
13 To be stupid or obstinate, is to be what? (7)
14 Which term suggests that which comes to pass (arch)? (7)
15 To lift up, is to do what? (7)
16 What might we call the first two cricketers batting? (7)
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT
Gardeners looking for growing advice
I want to tell you about two gardeners – Bill and Ben –who both run similar businesses, but with very different results.
Bill was concerned that although he was doing more work and employing more people, he felt he was going backwards financially. So I asked him, when he costs his jobs, does he have an hourly rate? He said “no”. I said I would analyse his figures so that we can determine an appropriate rate.
Bill said he struggled to pay his BAS and couldn't understand why. So I analysed his income and expenses and noticed he had recently put on an additional staff member, but he didn't have sufficient income to warrant it.
So the new gardener's costs were coming out of Bill’s pocket. The only way that he could pay his way was for Bill to get more work.
I suggested increasing his charges, but he told me he had done that twice recently. As his work is all contract and he has the same clients regularly, it can be difficult to increase charges too much.
I suggested that instead of putting on a new staff member, it might be better to put someone on contract part time. Bill agreed to give it a try and also to review his client base to remove some of his unprofitable customers so he has the right number of good clients.
I said: “Perhaps you could suggest to your last employee, who I believe is surplus to requirements, that he take on these surplus clients and set up his own small business to service them”. Bill thought that was a "great idea".
I also recommended that we prepare quarterly accounts so that we can actually see how the business is tracking.”
Fellow gardener Ben has a different approach. With a turnover of a little more than half of Bill’s, he manages this on his own, with only the help of a part-time contractor. His profitability was much better than Bill's, although he had made losses in recent years.
I asked Ben what his hourly rate was. He said – like Bill – he just charged the same as a similar job and didn't really know how he costed jobs. But he did seem to be mainly profitable.
So we started preparing his BAS returns and providing quarterly accounts, which he had not had before.
His clients wanted less visits in winter, which seems reasonably obvious but, of course, that affected Ben's cash flow. So we looked at what other services he could provide in winter when gardening is not so regular and concluded he could do other minor maintenance for his clients.
We also looked at Ben removing some of his non-profitable clients so he could run a more streamlined business. We are currently in the process of doing this.
Ben knows not to put on staff as the costs can be prohibitive and he will continue to use his contractor for additional help.
I also recommended putting up his fees because while he might lose a client or two, in general he may end up better off. I told him about a client who put up his fees by 25 per cent expecting to lose 20 per cent of his business and he only lost 5 per cent.
Bill and Ben run similar businesses yet they have very different profitability. As their accountant, I helped them by suggesting improvements, bit by bit, and providing quarterly accounts so they have an indication of the business quarter by quarter. They both found this very helpful and were grateful for a fresh pair of eyes on their businesses.
If you are concerned about your business profitability contact the expert team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd on 02 6295 2844.
Disclaimer
This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your professional adviser. Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd AFS Lic No. 229892.
