Dubbo Weekender 13.12.2014 by Panscott Media

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DUBBO WEEKENDER 13.12.2014

FROM THE EDITOR

CONTENTS Jen FEATURED THIS WEEK

Cowley Don’t get smart with me

I 10 21

The care crusader

Red, white and blue

Tom Chesson

Hats off

From Broome to the Big Apple for this talented milliner.

Yvonne McMaster on her mission at this week’s Saving Life 2015 Campaign Launch

Yvette Aubusson-Foley tells how she’s permeated by American ways

Put up or shut up: pollies hold the power on high prices

REGULARS 4 Tony Webber 6 Natalie Holmes 8 Sally Bryant 15 What I Do Know You’ll also love... 28 Hear See Do Etc. 30 Play: Puzzles & Stars Front cover image Steve Cowley

CONTACTS & CREDITS | Email feedback@dubboweekender.com.au | Online www.dubboweekender.com.au | www.twitter.com/DubboWeekender | www.facebook.com/WeekenderDubbo Published by Panscott Media Pty Ltd ABN 94 080 152 021 Managing Director Tim Pankhurst Editor Jen Cowley News Editor Natalie Holmes Photography Kaitlyn Rennie, Alexandra Meyer, Steve Cowley Design Sarah Head, Hayley Ferris Reception Leanne Ryan General disclaimer: The publisher accepts no responsibility for letters, notices and other material contributed for publication. The submitter accepts full responsibility for material, warrants that it is accurate, and indemnifies the publisher against any claim or action. All advertisers, including those placing display, classified or advertorial material, warrant that such material is true and accurate and meets all applicable laws and indemnifies the publisher against all liabilities that may arise from the publication of such material. Whilst every care is taken in preparing this publication, we cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The editor, Jen Cowley, accepts responsibility for election comment. Articles contain information of a general nature – readers should always seek professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances. Corrections and comments: Panscott Media has a policy of correcting mistakes promptly. If you have a complaint about published material, contact us in writing. If the matter remains unresolved, you may wish to contact the Australian Press Council. © Copyright 2014 Panscott Media Pty Ltd. Copyright in all material – including editorial, photographs and advertising material – is held by Panscott Media Pty Ltd or its providers and must not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the Publisher.

t’s bad enough when you finally work out that your children are smarter than you, but you know things are getting pretty grim when household appliances start boasting a higher IQ than those paying the power bills. My car’s over-inflated notion of its own intelligence has long been a bugbear. If it’s so smart, why does it keep telling me to put a seatbelt on my handbag? (Granted, the thing weighs more than the anchor chain from the Queen Mary, but still. Hey, car – it’s a handbag, you imbecile.) And I’ll concede intellectual defeat only once my GPS can tell me there’s a member of the constabulary waiting around the corner with a radar gun and a fine the size of a small African country’s GDP (settle down – it’s a joke, Joyce… sort of). But a recent stint in a house with unfamiliar appliances made me question exactly what the definition of “smart” is when it comes to household technology. Just between thee and me – while the washing machine isn’t listening – isn’t “smart” technology supposed to make life easier? Shouldn’t said appliance push MY buttons instead of the other way ‘round? This particular breed of “smart” gizmoery is a bit of a bitch when it comes to its regular cycle (and on this I’ll admit to a modicum of affinity). Forgot that one single sock? “Tough luck, lady. You’ll have to wait until the next load. No exceptions – sorry, rules are rules.” Nothing short of a crowbar will prise that door open once you’ve pressed “go”. Turning it off only works if you wait half an hour before turning it back on again – in which time you might as well just hand wash the bloody sock. It’s infuriating. I’ve tried tricking the thing into opening the door – walking away with studied nonchalance then quickly grabbing for the handle when I think it’s not looking. No dice. Apparently, bellowing obscenities in its direction won’t work either. And no, the irony of a grown woman standing in front of a washing machine screaming “moron” at it isn’t entirely lost on me. The washing machine is in cahoots with its mate, the stove-top, the sole purpose of which seems to be to take what little culinary credibility I have left and burn it to a crisp. It takes it upon itself to determine its own temperature – suddenly turning off midstir fry when it thinks it’s too hot, and blazing to volcanic whenever it just happens to feel like it. And like its comrade in the laundry, there’s no fooling it. So it’s salad all ‘round.

My children roll their eyes each time I ask for help with the TV’s three #*#*&@# remote *#@*&# controls, which collectively require an honours degree in electrical engineering to simply change channels, let alone operate the surround sound or DVD player. “Let’s just go through this. Just. One. More. Time…” comes the exasperated sigh from two people who can credit me with their ability to use the toilet and tie their shoelaces. And don’t get me started on the supposedly “smart” technology that is auto-correct – which left me with some serious explaining to do after its decision to post a Facebook message praising my “previous” husband. Thanks a lot, auto-correct – I meant “precious”. I’ve had it to the back teeth with your shirt. It’s only going to get worse. Deep in the bowels of global manufacturing companies, there are tech heads beavering away on developing appliances so “smart” I fear I’ll be rendered completely obsolete – or at the very least, driven screaming ‘round the bend. One company has reportedly developed a range of appliances you can “chat” with via text. Just what I need – a dishwasher that answers back. And apparently, Samsung has figured out how to get a fridge to send you an email to let you know you’ve left the door open. Handy when you’re sitting at your work desk half an hour away, sending an email that says words to the effect of “If you’re so smart, shut your own door.” As we speak, the marketing tools are working on fridges that can tell you the calorie count of foods you select (information you’ll ignore anyway); washing machines that will text you when the load is finished (how about texting when it’s hung the washing on the line, smart-alec?) and internet-connected appliances that “talk” to each other (I don’t even want to think about what a vacuum cleaner bent on revenge might be capable of). When R&D can come up with a range of white-goods that can teach The Oracle to put his washing IN the laundry basket or that can cook my dinner, bring me coffee and port and one of those perfectly chilled Tim Tams before rubbing my feet – then, maybe, we’ll talk. In the meantime, an oven that rolls its eyes when I walk into the room? Great. I already get that for free from the offspring. And a fridge that says, “Hey chubs – back away from the brie”? Kill me now.

“ One company has reportedly developed a range of appliances you can “chat” with via text. Just what I need – a dishwasher that answers back.

Would you be happy to pay $2 for your weekly copy of Dubbo Weekender? Please turn to page 13 for more about this question. DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Tony Webber

>> Tony Webber is a Dubbo resident and former journalist.

CIA torture report soon to be forgotten if not forgiven A

uthor Peter Carey’s latest book is entitled “Amnesia.” The dust cover blurb says it: “...brings together the world of cyber hackers and radicals with the denied history of the United States, the CIA, and its relationship with its friend and client, Australia.” The title refers to Australia’s convenient mental misplacing of the worst aspects of this close relationship and our willingness to gloss over it in the interests of the alliance. We have the opportunity to put Carey’s theory to the test with the release of the CIA report into torture. In short our major military ally, and the nation we look to for everything from culture, foreign policy, economic ideology – everything except climate change, really – has revealed a systematic and sanctioned level of widespread torture that would do the Nazis proud. To paraphrase Carey: what level of outrage and disgust, relationship rethink or diplomatic umbrage on our part should accompany such a plunge into an immoral abyss on their part? Will the descent into barbarism of our closest ally, and the unspo-

ken suspicion that our personnel would have walked close enough to the flames to at least have felt the heat, receive the same coverage as a dead cricketer, for example? Will the same introspection and emotion accompany this appalling revelation? Regrettably you and I both know the answer. Iraq is already gone from the national consciousness and debate. No inquiry, no memorials, no marches, no restitution. In short time the amnesia will be complete. This is an age where growing surveillance of citizens across the world is underwritten by assurances that, yes, there would be a risk if governments were not the kind of upstanding, ethical organisations they are. That’s our safeguard: we’re good guys so don’t worry about it. Wednesday’s SMH report included references in the report to people being drowned to the “point of death,” with medical staff on hand to revive them if needed. At one point, Khalid Sheik Mohammad was water-boarded 65 times between the afternoon of March 12, 2003 and the morning

“ If experience is any guide, Australia will set about putting these atrocities out of its collective consciousness immediately.

of March 13. Detainees were forced to stand on broken limbs for hours, kept in complete darkness, deprived of sleep for up to 180 hours, sometimes with their arms shackled above their heads. The report mentions mock executions, Russian roulette. One prisoner died of hypothermia caused in part by being hosed down and forced to sit on a bare concrete floor half naked. After reviewing six million agency documents, investigators said they could find no example of unique, lifesaving intelligence gleaned from this torture. Between the lines it looks like a culture of the worst sadism bloomed: innocent or not, to obtain information or not, for strategic purpose or otherwise. It might explain the reckless impunity with which guards mistreated detainees at Abu Ghraib, perhaps knowing they were destined to face far worse once they were handed to CIA torturers. As the report states: “The CIA deployed officers who had histories of personal, ethical and professional problems of a serious nature including histories of violence and abusive treatment

of others and should have called into question their employment with the United States government, let alone their suitability to participated in a sensitive CIA covert program.” Torture used to distinguish the criminal regimes of history, from the rest of the garden variety rogues’ gallery. Now President Barack Obama issues a statement that says in part: “No nation is perfect,” having told media in August that “those folks... are real patriots.” George W Bush agreed: “These are patriots. Whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country it is way off base. “To the point of death.” If experience is any guide, Australia will set about putting these atrocities out of its collective consciousness immediately. They will not elicit an official response beyond regretful media sound grabs, and from next week will likely never be heard of again. And before long our forgetting will be complete: again. feedback@dubboweekender.com.au

We would like to wish all our loyal and valued customers a safe and happy Christmas break. MusicPlay & MusicMakers

Fun intro to music classes for kids Free Come and Try Sessions Tuesday 16 December 2-3yrs: 9.30am 4-5yrs: 10.30am 5-6yrs: 4.00pm Register for your free session now! Enrolments for 2015 now open

Macquarie Conservatorium Cnr Darling & Bultje Sts Dubbo info@macqcon.org.au • 02 6884 6686

We are moving!

Like us on Facebook Dubbo Weekender has a facebook page where you can keep up to date with the latest news and publications. Visit facebook.com/ WeekenderDubbo

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

In January 2015 Adors will be relocating just down the road to 31 Douglas Mawson Drive to assist in servicing our customers better. See you there, Julie & Murray Fraser Same great people, same great service and range

adors party hire

Phone: 6882 9333 31 Douglas Mawson Road, Dubbo info@adors.com.au • www.adors.com.au

Shh...Orana Mall is open longer FOR ALL OF SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS! Specialties Thursday

18th Dec

8.30am – 9.00pm

8.00am – 12.00 Midnight

7.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 9.00pm

Friday

19th Dec

8.30am – 6.00pm

8.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 9.00pm

Saturday

20th Dec

8.30am – 5.30pm

8.00am – 8.00pm

7.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 9.00pm

Sunday

21st Dec

9.00am – 5.00pm

8.00am – 8.00pm

7.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 9.00pm

Monday

22nd Dec

8.30am – 6.00pm

8.00am – 12 Midnight

7.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 11.00pm

Tuesday

23rd Dec

8.30am – 9.00pm

8.00am – 10.00pm

7.00am – 10.00pm

Wednesday 24th Dec

8.30am – 5.30pm

7.00am – 6.00pm

7.00am – 10.00pm

25th Dec

CLOSED

Boxing Day 26th Dec

CLOSED

Christmas

Have your photo taken with Santa! Mon – Wed

10am – 1.30pm & 2.30pm – 4.30pm

Thursday

10am – 1.30pm & 2.30pm – 7.00pm

Fri & Sat

10am – 1.30pm & 2.30pm – 4.30pm

Sunday

10am – 2.00pm

Get creative & decorate your very own Christmas cookie! Thursday 3pm – 6pm 11th & 18th Dec Friday 10am – 2pm 12th & 19th Dec Saturday 10am – 1pm 13th & 20th Dec Tuesday 3pm – 6pm 23rd Dec

GIFT WRAPPING IN CENTRE NOW

WIN 1 of 2 Ford Fiestas when you shop at Orana Mall this Christmas! LTPS/14/08762. For full terms and conditions visit www.oranamall.com.au

13.12.2014 THE DAY IN HISTORY: In 1642, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand. In 2000, the US Supreme Court halted the Florida presidential vote recount, in effect giving the presidency to Republican George W. Bush more than a month after the balloting. In 2003, a bearded and apparently disoriented Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi president, was captured by US troops in a small underground hideout southeast of his hometown of Tikrit, ending an eight-month manhunt. In 2011, Mario Monti, an economist and former EU commissioner, became Italy’s prime minister, succeeding Silvio Berlusconi who resigned amid a deepening economic crisis. BIRTHDAYS: Those born on this date include clergyman Phillips Brooks, who wrote the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, in 1835; former US Secretary of State George Shultz in 1920 (age 94); comedian/actor/dancer Dick Van Dyke in 1925 (age 89); actor Christopher Plummer in 1929 (age 85); rock singer Ted Nugent in 1948 (age 66); actors Steve Buscemi in 1957 (age 57), and Jamie Foxx in 1967 (age 47); Australian singer/ songwriter Anthony Callea in 1982 (age 32); and singer Taylor Swift in 1989 (age 25).

14.12.2014 THE DAY IN HISTORY: In 1287, more than 50,000 people died in a flood caused by the collapse of the Zuider Zee dike in the Netherlands. In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole. In 1968, a referendum in Tasmania gave the go-ahead for Wrest Point casino. In 1972, Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan entered the lunar lander – the last man to walk on the moon in the Apollo program. IN 1987, Allan Border became the highest run-scorer in Australian cricket with doublecentury against New Zealand in Adelaide. In 1995, the signing of a peace treaty at a ceremony in Paris officially ended a four-year civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2006, the official British police investigation into the 1997 death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash concluded that it was an accident and no conspiracy or foul play was involved. BIRTHDAYS: Those born on this date include French astrologer and prophet Nostradamus in 1503; horror novelist Shirley Jackson in 1916; former federal Labor leader Kim Beazley in 1948 (age 66); Australian rock musician Cliff Williams of AC/ DC in 1949 (age 65); New Zealand-born Australian actress Rebecca Gibney in 1964 (age 50); Australian actress, singer, and model Sophie Monk in 1979 (age 35). JUST A THOUGHT: “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” – clergymanauthor Roy L. Smith

NEWS ANALYSIS

Seven Days

BY NATALIE HOLMES Dubbo Weekender News Editor

Crashes put focus on truck safety T

wo early morning crashes involving trucks in the local area last Saturday morning have brought truck safety into focus ahead of the upcoming Christmas break. The first of the two crashes occurred at 6.15am when a west-bound semi-trailer slammed into a home on the Mitchell Highway at Geurie. A local family was left shaken but unhurt after the truck hurtled through two bedrooms and the lounge room after destroying the family’s above ground swimming pool. With the occupants of the house still asleep at the time, the crash provided a loud and explosive wake-up call for residents. The site was quickly occupied by police, SES and other emergency services and a fire which ignited was partly extinguished by water from the swimming pool, while the 35-year-old Sydney truck driver was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. A second accident occurred at 8.45am the same day on the Newell Highway near the Troy Bridge Road. A northbound vehicle had been pulled over for a short time before attempting to merge back into the traffic. A truck also travelling towards Gilgandra struck the vehicle, with the impact enough to push it off the roadway and into an embankment. Traffic was blocked in both directions for a short time while one person was taken to hospital, and later released.

International Day of People with Disability The International Day of People with Disability was marked with events at National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) trial sites, including Dubbo. National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) chief executive David Bowen said the day was a great chance to discuss the scheme. “It is a terrific opportunity to ask questions and meet the people tasked with the grassroots roll-out of the scheme,” he said. The theme this year was Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology. “The theme focuses on the role of technology as a way to break down barriers for people with disability and how devices are becoming faster, cheaper and more accessible,” Bowen said.

ernment and Emergency Management Australia as a whole. “Stuart has been with the NSW Police Force for 41 years and I have been lucky enough to know him for 20 plus years as a colleague and as a friend,” Grant said. Davies has now retired.

es will mean the Medicare rebate for common consultations will be reduced by $5 only for non-concessional patients over the age of 16. The Government will not impose a copayment on GP services provided to pensioners, Commonwealth concession card holders, all children under 16, veterans funded through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, attendances at residential aged care facilities and pathology and diagnostic imaging services. Incentives paid to doctors to encourage them to bulk bill concession cardholders and children under the age of 16 will also remain. Some doctors may continue to bulk-bill their non-concessional patients; others may seek to recoup some or all of the $5 rebate reduction. Doctors will be under no obligation to charge the co-payment and this decision will be entirely at their discretion.

Elephants’ new home nearing completion

Troy Grant presents Stuart Davies with his service award this week. Photo: supplied

Changes to proposed Medicare co-payment scheme The Federal Government is set to make changes to the proposed Medicare co-payment scheme. Parkes MP Mark Coulton said the chang-

The Taj Mahal of elephant enclosures is nearing completion, with staff at Taronga Western Plains Zoo (TWPZ) getting excited about the new facility. It’s taken 12 months for the $4.3 million project to be constructed with the new three-stall elephant barn and two new paddocks spanning 7500sqm. The barn has been constructed from a thermal mass concrete, automated louvers to allow for cross ventilation as well as hydronic solar under floor heating to heat sand beds. The two new paddocks feature deep swimming pools and shade shelters along with raised feeding stations. TWPZ general manager Matthew Fuller

Dubbo Award for Davies Dubbo MP and former police officer Troy Grant presented Stuart Davies with a Dubbo Electorate Award this week. “Putting it simply, Stuart is the optimum man in his industry at the peak of his profession in a field that has many fine Emergency and Disaster Management operatives. “In the Emergency Management field Stuart has mastered all the elements of planning, preparedness, response, rescue and recovery, he has a deep and visionary understanding of the world and particularly the west. “He is highly valued by not only the NSWPF, but NSW Fire and Rescue the NSW RFS, NSW Ambulance, NSW SES, NSW VRA and Rescue Squad, Local Gov-

TWPZ general manager Matthew Fuller and project manager Matthew Green check out the new elephant enclosure at the facility. The project has cost the zoo $4.3m. Photo: supplied

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

The Nyngan Solar Plant Community Consultation Committee toured the AGL Energy project site on Saturday. Photo: supplied

said the zoo’s two existing elephant barns were also upgraded with a new heating system as part of the redevelopment. The facility has been designed for the long-term needs of the herd and to be able to house different configurations of elephants. Four new elephants will arrive from Taronga Zoo in Sydney in March 2015.

Additional alcohol-free zones for city Dubbo City Council’s Finance and Policy Committee has recommended establishment of alcohol-free zones around Dubbo Apex Club’s Caltex Park and Dubbo Showground in a bid to further strengthen police powers for management of the consumption of alcohol outside venues during major events. Finance and Policy Committee chair John Walkom said local police have supported the move. “With crowds of between 5000 and 10,000 attending events such as music festivals, football matches and the Dubbo Show, establishing alcohol-free zones will assist police with crowd control,” Walkom said. “The police have previously indicated that alcohol-free zones are an effective tool in dealing with anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.” Council will decide on the proposal on Monday, December 15.

Tour for solar plant committee Despite recent issues relating to staffing at the Nyngan Solar Plant, its Community Consultation Committee toured the AGL Energy project site on Saturday to get a first-hand update on the progress of construction at what will be Australia’s largest solar plant. All 138,000 posts for the photovoltaic (PV) modules and almost one quarter of the 1.4 million solar PV modules are now in place. The project is set for completion in mid-2015.

Fires under control at Narromine

Double homicide in Cobar

Two bushfires are under control in the Narromine district, but representatives of the NSW Rural Fire Service have urged the public not to be complacent when it comes to stormy weather and the likelihood of fire. A grassfire at Raeburn Lane was swiftly brought under control while another at Burroway Rd, Gin Gin has made light of 374 hectares of grassland. The fire began during recent stormy weather and continued to burn despite rainfall. NSW Rural Fire Service Orana superintendent Lyndon Wieland reminded residents that rainfall did not necessarily eliminate the risk of fire. “Yes we’ve had some showers of rain, and some areas have had up to 20mm and a little bit more at different times, but it’s just like the washing on the line, it’ll dry out in a few hours – the dry vegetation – and it’ll be just as volatile again.”

Glassings and armed robbery Police have expressed concerns about alcohol-related violence following three separate glassing incidents across the state. One of the incidents occurred at an Orange hotel, where two men, aged 39 and 42, were treated by ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital with cuts to the face and hand respectively. Two other men, aged 20 and 22, became aggressive and assaulted police responding to the incident. They were arrested and taken to Orange Police Station. The other glassings occurred in Deniliquin and Unanderra. Meanwhile, an aggravated break and enter also occurred at an Orange home, with a young couple and their two children accosted by two men, one armed with a firearm who attempted to enter their home through the front door. A window was smashed and cash taken by the armed robbers during the incident.

Police charged a 46-year-old man with the murders of two people killed in Cobar this week. It is believed that the man was known to the 71-year-old male and 69-year-old female murder victims. Friends and neighbours are being counselled following the trauma.

Man charged with firearms offences A man has been charged with firearms offences in Bathurst after police from the Chifley Local Area Command responded to reports that he was allegedly holding a rifle outside a house on Seymour Street. The 76-year-old man was arrested and taken to Bathurst Base Hospital under police guard. He was later charged with unauthorised possession of a firearm and firing a firearm in or near a public place. Also in Bathurst, the search was on for prison escapees Matthew Hayne, and Eli Heigh, both 18, who were last seen at the Oberon Correctional Facility on Monday. Seven people were also injured in a head-on collision which occurred on the Mitchell Highway near Evans Plains Rd, Bathurst on Tuesday.

Bottle shop robbery Police have released CCTV images of two people following theft of alcohol from a Dubbo bottle shop. Both are described as females of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander appearance, and aged 16 to 18 years. One of the people depicted in the CCTV images was wearing a blue singlet and denim shorts; the other was wearing a pink singlet top and denim shorts. Anyone with information that might assist investigators is asked to contact Dubbo Police Station or Crime Stoppers. Police have also appealed for information relating to an armed robbery that occurred at a Warren Hotel on September 28. The robber threatened the 40-year-old employee with a shotgun.

Your feedback welcome – online + hard copy DUBBO WEEKENDER encourages online readers (via www. dubboweekender.com.au) to comment as a selection may be published each week. Email addresses must be supplied for verification purposes only, not publication, and destructive personal or offensive comments will not be published online or in hard copy. Dubbo Weekender supports constructive debate and opinion. Letters to the editor are welcome via email feedback@dubboweekender.com.au, fax 6885 4434, or post to 89 Wingewarra Street Dubbo NSW 2830. Letters should generally be 250 words or less, and may be edited for space, clarity or legal reasons. To be considered for publication, letters should include the writer’s name and daytime contact details.

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Sally Bryant

Weekender regular Sally Bryant was born with her nose in a book and if no book is available, she finds herself reading Cornflakes packets, road signs and instruction manuals for microwaves. All that information has to go somewhere...

emember last week I was talking about the Big Move? Hard to believe it was only a week ago to be honest, it feels more like a couple of millennia. I’ve only been sleeping in my spectacularly comfortable bed in my spectacularly light and airy bedroom for about a week and I feel as though I’ve lived there forever. I climb into my bunkydoodles each evening and hug myself in glee at how lovely my life is here at the top. My bedroom has windows on two sides and the windows look out on the most spectacular views, ever-changing as the light changes through the day and as the weather

shifts and the winds swing around. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a room in the house that doesn’t have a lovely view; if it’s not a vista of canola stubble with a backdrop of the high hills of Wellington, then it’s a kurrajong and the washing line flanked by my tree-lined drive. I’m on acreage now, you know. I’m on a hill. I have come up in the world, in very real terms. The house still looks like a bomb’s gone off in and around it, but little by little things are finding their own place. It’s quite remarkable how I’ve found myself walking through the house and pieces of furniture are just making up their own minds

where they are most comfortable. It’s like they’ve come home – they just nestle in there and smile. And up there, on my lofty hill-top perch, I get the early strands of light as the sun starts to think about coming over the horizon. And, because I put the rather nasty curtains and the pretty uninspiring blinds into the ‘yukky cupboard’, if there’s a glimmer of light in the sky then it’s in my bedroom. The yukky cupboard was the inspiration of a couple of friends of mine who rented a cottage in Ireland from the family of an elderly lady who had moved to live in sheltered accommodation. The house was full of bits and bobs of hers that obviously had enormous sentimental attachment for her but which were really, to be blunt, the kiss of death. They didn’t want to be disrespectful, but they couldn’t live with the stuff. So they ever so gently packaged it all up and put it away very carefully so it could be resurrected when their tenure was over. And thus, I now have myself a yukky cupboard. But to be honest about the early morning experience, I’m probably already half awake by the time the fingers of light reach through my windows to tickle me. Because I have some Willy Wagtails in my garden trees, and we know what early risers they are. And so I lie there, in the dark reaches of the morning, listening to them give cheek to each other and I know that soon enough it will be light enough for me to find my way to the kitchen without turning on a light. I have a new regime in the new house. I no longer read in bed, I now read on my sofa in the sitting room. I no longer lie in bed at night and consult social media, I do that all before I go to bed. And I’m enjoying the discipline of not allowing myself to bring these sorts of complications to my little bedroom eyrie. There’s a simplicity in a bedroom that is all about the bed and not about bedside tables laden with books and newspapers, or groaning under the weight of phones and tablet devices. There’s not even a bedside lamp. I pride myself on my new aestheticism. Actually, to come down to it, it’s a whole lot more practical than that. I have casement windows and as a result of my pretty casement windows, I have no gauze screens on my windows. And I have had to make a conscious decision to avoid any activity in my bedroom that could result in

“

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There’s a simplicity in a bedroom that is all about the bed and not about bedside tables laden with books and newspapers, or groaning under the weight of phones and tablet devices.

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

me attracting light-seeking insects which would then wriggle and scrabble over me all night. I can avoid the dreaded mozzie by keeping my fan going all night, and the theory is that if the bugs don’t get summoned from four valleys away by the siren call of the lights, then they can go and plague some other unfortunate. I made a singular error last night, in that I was working late on a story, sitting up at the kitchen table with my laptop going. When I decided to pull the pin, I (thought I) closed the laptop and wandered off to bed. But this morning when I got up to finish the job (before first light) I found I’d not completely close the laptop and the gentle blue glow of the screen had summoned cohort of the dreaded Rutherglen bugs. And, there they were this morning, writhing and cavorting on my computer. The bastards. That will not happen again. I’ll be altering my MO about late night work. I was a more than a bit disconcerted on discovering I had no insect screens, but the wonderful soul who has been sent by serendipity to help me get my house in order, she has given me a whole new perspective on the issue. I was fretting about the likelihood of a house full of blowies. “Sally,” she said. “You’re worried about flies in the house. “But why do you think they’re called flies? If you open all the windows, they’ll fly into the house and then, guess what? They fly out the other side. “That’s why they’re called flies.” That’s the great thing about coming up in the world, it gives you a new perspective.

IMAGE: Michael Jardine

In my book... I’ve come up in the world

BY NATALIE BRAMBLE

OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Watercooler An art hole in one While most of us verbally bemoan our lack of appreciation for certain pieces of art, one man recently took his disdain to the extreme by punching a hole clean through a very, very expensive piece of work. A work – valued at a jaw-dropping eight million pounds – painted by art “master” Claude Monet no less! Gasp! I. Am. Not. Kidding. Goodness knows why he decided that destroying the painting was the best way to show his lack of appreciation, but he’ll have six years sitting in a jail cell to contemplate that question. Thankfully, experts have been able to restore the painting and I’m sure the gallery now has alerts at the front door to ensure he never darkens the doorstep again (despite the fact he’s banned from entering any space that displays paintings).

production company is pleased with the response and the fans are even happier given we’ve all been waiting for the Mad Max sequel, oh, only since 1985. The Mad Max franchise will soon have another generation of fans and no doubt, tourism in Broken Hill (where much movies has been shot) will be in full swing. Me? I’m still trying to work out what this Tweet means: “The trailer is bug

All of a-Twitter over Max The world is abuzz with excitement with the trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road released on Thursday morning and by all accounts everyone is loving it. It’s amusing to watch Twitter going crazy when there’s something that grabs everyone’s attention – it’s impossible to keep up with the comments. By the time you’ve finished laughing over one post, another 200 or so Tweets laughi have come in. It’s a safe bet the

Management consultant Natalie Bramble is as well known around the traps for her tireless community efforts and business acumen as for her unique and ready laugh. And you’d be surprised what she picks up around the ‘watercooler’ while she’s traversing this wide brown land in the name of work...

nuts...” What is that? I get “bad ass” and concur but “bug nuts”? Hmm... Mad Max: Fury Road is due for release in May 2015.

Time for the Person of the Year The most eagerly (for some) awaited annual announcement has been made. Time magazine has selected its 2014 Person of the Year and its... the Ebola medics who have risked their lives treating patients struck with the deadly disease. I’m not for a minute suggesting they’re not deserving, but I would just suggest perhaps Time should consider a change from “Person” to Group/Event/Activity/ Concept/Couple and/or Person of the Year... given this isn’t the first time the renowned publication has stepped outside the box for this accolade. Remember in 1982 when they give it to the personal computer? No, I didn’t either.

What a dame Love her or not (and I am sooo in the love camp!) Dame Judi Dench has a long career in theatre, film and screen and this week celebrated a very big personal milestone as she reached her 80th birthday. Her most notable (scratch that... famous) work has been in recent films like

James Bond and the grand dame of entertainment doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. Watch this space.

The bare facts of life under Taliban rule Let’s go back to the 60s and 70s – to a world of free liberation, mini skirts and long hair everywhere. Yes, even in the metro areas of Afghanistan, where women had a choice to wear anything from miniskirts to burqas. Then for a period of five years from 1996 the women of that troubled nation had no choice under Taliban rule but to cover up and could have been whipped for simply exposing their ankles. And today there are still severe penalties in place to make sure women cover up. You won’t have seen scantily clad women roaming the streets of Kabul... until recently. Thousands in the city have been talking about (nay, outraged according to reports) the woman who walked around the capital wearing – quel horreur – a knee-length dress, showing off her pins and her face. A protest perhaps? There are enough YouTube videos showing women doing other shocking things... like driving. Isn’t it interesting how human interpretation of religion and cultural boundaries rule communities, cities and countries?

Photo: Kennedy Miller Productions

Call now to order your free range Christmas ham! You could buy a ham from the supermarket this year. Or you could buy a ham from Dubbo’s Extraordinary Pork. From pigs that have been outdoors all their lives. We grow free range Berkshire pigs, just 30kms from Dubbo. The ham doesn’t look like supermarket ham. And it certainly doesn’t taste like it. It’s called extraordinary for a reason.

Free delivery in Dubbo! www.extraordinarypork.com.au • orders@extraordinarypork.com.au • Phone: 02 6888 5665 DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

PROFILE

Hats

off

From Broome to the Big Apple for talented milliner It’s a long way from the beaches of Broome to the catwalks of New York, but Felicity Brown – former central west girl and rising star of millinery fashion – is taking it all in her stride as industry heavy-weights take their hats off to her bespoke creations. Weekender caught up with her on a flying visit “home” to Dubbo after her appearance at New York’s famed Fashion Week. WORDS Jen Cowley PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Cowley

t’s 4pm in New York on the sixth day of the city’s famed Spring/Summer Fashion Week. Lining the catwalk of the prestigious Helen Mills Event Space is a poker-faced cohort of well-connected, well-heeled influential fashionistas and industry insiders – pens, cameras and judgements poised for the kind of warp-speed unveiling that can be either triumph or tragedy for a fledgling designer. They’re straight-faced and concentrating. But back-stage, there’s a young milliner from down-under whose smile – Harbour Bridge wide on the worst of days – is about to split her head clean in two. It’s her first time at the renowned event – in fact, it’s the first runway show she’s had outside her Aussie home town – and she’s a bundle of nervous, near-panic-stricken energy. Eight minutes and 20 astonishingly spectacular hats later she takes her “runway bow” to thunderous applause – and open-mouthed industry heavy-weights all asking the same question: Where on earth did this girl come from?

elicity Brown – “Flic” to her mates – is about as Australian as a girl can get. Although she’s called the beautiful WA Kimberley town of Broome home for the best part of the past two decades, her roots are firmly

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

PROFILE

planted in central western NSW soil. “I’m sort of bi-coastal,” she hoots. “Is that allowed?” She’s the quintessential girl-next-door – wholesomely pretty, infectiously affable and with the kind of megawatt grin that’s the hallmark of both compassion and a mile-wide mischievous streak. Brown has taken a detour to visit “home” at Dubbo en route back to “home” in Broome following the triumphant unveiling in New York of her Treasures from the Dust collection of bespoke headpieces. Old friends have gathered, like moths to a flame, to help toast the up-and-coming milliner’s success, whose one-off creations have long been the best kept secret in Australian fashion. But with the success of the New York show, the word is well and truly out. That Brown’s hats wound up on the runway in the Big Apple is the result of “pure arse”, she laughs. Last year, the no-nonsense country girl – whose day job is with the WA Department of Agriculture and Food – lobbed in The Big Apple on spec, thinking she could “just rock up” to see some of the famed week’s events. Not so, apparently. Tickets are like the proverbial hen’s teeth, and it was a combination of serendipity and the generosity of a New York hotel concierge that snagged her a seat at one of the shows. Star struck and “ridiculously excited”, Brown blogged about the experience, and it was from that humble foray into social media that an invitation came, “virtually out of the blue” she says, to show her wares at this year’s event. It was a dream come true that still has the impossibly upbeat country girl pinching herself to think her love of hats – the affair with which began during a stint as a governess, literally “out the back ‘o’ Bourke” – could take her from the Aussie bush to the runways of the world’s most prestigious fashion event.

rown grew up on the land near Mudgee and spent time following school in Sydney doing a range of jobs that took her from dusty outback stations to the halls of federal parliament, before hitting the road that would eventually take her to beautiful Broome which “accidentally” became home. “I arrived in Broome – I just kinda drove here. I didn’t intend to stay. But ten days turned into 20 years. Opportunities kept presenting themselves,” she says. “Each time I went to leave, another amazing opportunity would come up, and you’d be a fool to knock back opportunities, wouldn’t you? So I just kept staying. And staying. And now, I guess, yeah – it’s home. “But it’s funny – I still say I’m heading “home” when I come back to Dubbo. My heart and my friends will always be here. Those beautiful, precious old mates – that’s what makes it home.” The “whole hats thing” began initially, she says, because of living remotely. “As you know, the races are always the highlight of the social calendar in the country – particularly in remote regional areas. And when you live remotely, particularly on the big stations, you work right up until the last minute before a social event, which is mostly the races.

“And it’s fine for the blokes. They just grab their town hats, town boots and town Wranglers and off they go. But for the girls, it’s a bit disappointing when you don’t have a hat to wear – because races equals hats, don’t they?” Brown, sporting a mane of untamed blonde hair and looking relaxed and comfortably chic in jeans and shirt as she chats incessantly from the lounge of her friend’s living room, says her parallel career began, like much of her life’s adventures so far, quite by default. “I just used to alter everyone’s existing hats for them. And everyone had a hat of some description – it might have been a daggy old hat from the chemist’s, but it doesn’t matter – I used to tart them up. I’d sew stuff on, and alter the shape, and add stuff. That’s how it started.” Her creative reputation followed her across the country to Broome. “Women just kept sending me their hats – and I started thinking, you know, I actually really love doing this. So I thought, well, maybe I should do a course. But the only courses available in millinery were in Melbourne, and I wasn’t about to re-locate to the city. So I went to a local book store and the lady there sourced some beautiful books that taught me the basic techniques of millinery. So I’m pretty much self-taught.”

ats by Felicity – the current incarnation of her millinery business – are not your average, off-the-rack fascinators. They’re nothing short of extraordinary, and each piece is lovingly crafted and as unique as the story behind each one. “I collect unusual bits and pieces for my hats – including lots of feathers. I don’t have to do much myself these days, because half the country collects stuff for me and sends it over! People send me feathers all the time – I get them from Dubbo, from Victoria, from outback stations. Aboriginal communities send me bits and pieces, stockmen collect feathers for me... everyone! “So I clean and preen them and photograph them and put them up on the website, so people get to “meet” the feathers and come along on the journey as I create the piece. Every piece has its own name and its own little story.” With her home base as Broome, the undisputed capital of pearl production in the southern hemisphere, Brown is able to use some of the stunning south sea pearls for which the town is famous. So they’re not just hats – they’re art? “Exactly – it’s wearable art. “I only ever make one of a kind. Although I did once make hats for twins – but one was black and white, the other was white and black!” Asking how long it takes to make a Hats by Felicity creation is like asking “how long is a piece of string? “Some of those pieces for New York Fashion Week took me literally weeks to make. Other times, I’ll get in the zone and it can happen in hours.”

ith the success of September’s gig at New York Fashion Week tucked under her belt, it’s a fair bet life for this part-time milliner is about to get a whole lot busier. She’s developed what she says is “an amazing

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

“ People send me feathers all the time – I get them from Dubbo, from Victoria, from outback stations. Aboriginal communities send me bits and pieces, stockmen collect feathers for me... everyone!

From Broome to the Big Apple - Felicity Brown takes a New York runway bow. Photos: Supplied/ Kevin Mock

Our plans for Dubbo Weekender in 2015 We want to give you even more of what you’ve enjoyed for the past four years, but to do that, we need your help. Would you be happy to pay $2 for your weekly copy of Dubbo Weekender?

Felicity’s hats on the catwalk at the New York Spring/ Summer Fashion Week. Photos: Supplied/Kevin Mock

“ I couldn’t ever possibly charge what they’re actually worth. I do it for the love of it. That’s I guess pretty much how I’ve lived my life.

Dear Readers, Since our first edition in 2010, Dubbo Weekender has built its reputation as a quality news magazine, and from the beginning we’ve been providing this to you for free. You’ve been able to pick up your weekly Weekender for free solely thanks to our advertisers. We think it’s now time for Dubbo Weekender to take its next big step. When we return next year after the holiday break, we’d like to start charging a cover price of $2 for Dubbo Weekender. Our plan is to make it available for sale from newsagencies and other places where you can buy newspapers and magazines. We’re also planning to make it available by subscription. Much of the feedback we’ve had over the past couple of years is that you truly value what we do. In fact it’s quite common for people to say to us, “Dubbo Weekender is so good I’d pay for it.” All being well, our 2015 plans also include making Weekender bigger and better. At a time when many paid newspapers around Australia are shrinking, we feel a real sense of responsibility to continue to increase and improve our coverage of our region’s news, issues and people. We also feel there’s real opportunity for this locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-produced news magazine to become even more valuable to our community. But to do that we believe we should introduce a cover price. We don’t believe everyone who currently picks up a copy will be completely happy, but we do truly believe that enough of you do value what we do enough to pay $2 for a whole Weekender of great reading. Before we make a final decision we would appreciate hearing from you. Would you be happy to pay $2 for your weekly copy of Dubbo Weekender? Email us with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or a more detailed comment, or call our office on 6885 4433 and give us your opinion. Warm regards, The Dubbo Weekender team

email feedback@ dubboweekender.com.au Call 6885 4433 Post a letter to Dubbo Weekender, 89 Wingewarra St, Dubbo NSW 2830

How it all began: Dubbo Weekender’s first edition in June 2010

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

PROFILE online following” and while that’s yet to translate into direct sales (although she’s sold half the New York collection), the ever-positive Brown isn’t fazed. In fact, she’s happy to hasten slowly. She’s not quite ready to give up her “day job” just yet, if ever. “I quite like the fact that I have such a good balance – my days are so full and busy with work, I don’t think about the hats until I get home. And then it’s all exciting and new! And because the hats are so consuming, I don’t have the head-space to bring my work home with me at nights or at the weekends – and that’s a luxury so many people don’t have. “Things get crazy in the lead-up to something like Fashion Week, but then time management has always been one of my skills, and I use it to the max!” The collection for Fashion Week comprised 20 hats, selected from a specially designed range with the help of attentive local clients and friends who, while interested in Brown’s creations, were not part of the “entourage” heading state-side with the milliner of the moment. “I didn’t want those who were going with me to see the hats beforehand, so I had two viewing nights and invited people who weren’t going

to the event – I talked everyone through the pieces I was thinking of taking, and threw some in that I wasn’t considering, just to see what people thought. But those who came to the first night weren’t allowed to come to the second – just to make sure no-one had seen the whole collection! And the girls who came with me to New York had not seen ANY of the hats.” Creating and shipping 20 bespoke hats half way ‘round the world, along with a “support crew” of almost the same number, doesn’t come cheaply, and it was a cost Brown had to bear personally. But, such is the nature of this engaging woman, the community of Broome swept in behind her – collecting $15,000 with a surprise fundraising event in support of their rising local star. The Broome Shire Council also sponsored Brown, kicking the can from its tourism fund, largely, she says “because they knew I wouldn’t shut up about Broome the whole way!” That left her with “about $15,000” to raise personally, a debt she’s steadily whittling down. It’s an investment that looks set to pay off and then some, with an invitation to return to New York Fashion Week next year, something for which the always busy Brown is already planning.

“To get that invitation to return is unreal,” she says from her home in Broome. “I’ve been invited to have my own private cocktail event show – so it’s an invitation only thing with VIPs, celebrity, media, buyers, family and friends. But before I can do that, I have to secure some sponsorship. The event I’ve just done cost a bit over $30,000 – and I was SO lucky to have Broome fund just over half that. Next year’s is going to cost even more – and honestly, I just can’t do that by myself when I’m still paying off this year. But I’m not going to miss out! So I’m on the hunt for a sponsor and I’m confident,” she says, laughing. In the meantime, if you’re looking for that winning edge for the next race-day Fashions in the Field gong, a bespoke Hats by Felicity creation is a fine place to start. You’ll need between $200 and $300 for a basic one of these spectacular pieces – complete with its own story and name and it’s not just an outlay in the name of fashion, it’s an investment in art. “The thing is I couldn’t ever possibly charge what they’re actually worth. I do it for the love of it,” she laughs. “That’s I guess pretty much how I’ve lived my life. I’m still as broke as I was when I lived in Dubbo!” 

New Year’s Eve Fireworks Proudly sponsored by Fletcher International Family friendly, glass and alcohol free fireworks display at

9pm on New Year’s Eve at Caltex Park Activities • Carnival amusements • Food vans • Drink stalls • Ice cream • Coffee Gates open at 5pm • Gold coin entry For more details, please contact Peter Judd on 0437 847 263 www.dubbofireworks.com.au • www.facebook.com/DubboFireworks

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

WHAT I DO KNOW

Meryl Usback: Making a difference Family, education and travel are high on Meryl Usback’s list of things she loves but a chance encounter in a Croatian cafe only served to reinforce her desire for care and compassion in the global community. WORDS and PHOTOGRAPHY Natalie Holmes I joined Inner Wheel in 2000 as my four children had completed their higher education and I had time to devote to a service club. The friendship of members of the Inner Wheel Club and the objects of Inner Wheel: to promote true friendship, encourage ideals of personal service and to foster international understanding appealed to me. I’m still amazed that I’m asked “What is Inner Wheel?” on most occasions when I mention Inner Wheel in conversation or that I belong to the Inner Wheel Club of Dubbo and am the president. My explanation is that Inner Wheel is the second largest service club in the world with more than 103,000 members with 3895 clubs across 103 countries. Although members were originally wives of Rotarians – hence the Inner Wheel on the Rotary Badge, it is now a service club in its own right and members (as in Rotary) are invited to join. The first objective of the club, to promote true friendship, is achieved at club level by having monthly dinner meetings with guest speakers. There are also a number of other activities such as morning teas, movie nights and visits to places of interest. The second objective, to encourage ideals of personal service, is achieved by donations to local causes such as Early Intervention and the hearing bus. This year, the club also catered for lunch for the CWA Australasian Conference. The third objective, to foster international understanding, is achieved by sponsoring a student and teacher at the School of St Jude in Tanzania, also by supporting the District International Project as well as communicating with overseas clubs. I’ve been secretary three times as well as president. But it wasn’t until I became international service officer in 2011 that I understood the true meaning of service and the third object of Inner Wheel. I realised that there was a lot more for me to do than our club was doing. I was elected to the Inner Wheel District A50 Executive Committee in 2012 in the position of International Service Chairman. This position inspired me to make a difference in the role. I have continued in this role, a role that I find rewarding and have also accepted the position of District A50 ViceChairman. Inner Wheel District A50 encompasses the Inner Wheel Clubs from Lithgow, Cowra, Oberon, Blayney, Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo. The first District International Project undertaken during my term as international service chairman was the Hamlin

Fistula hospital in Ethiopia. What they are trying to do is improve the maternal care of women in Ethiopia. Every year, thousands of women have fistulas during childbirth which is caused by the pressure of the baby’s head cutting off the blood supply. We are trying to get clubs more involved in doing international service to help with problems such as these which are more prolific in poorer nations. I introduced a Christmas hamper raffle as a way of raising funds in the Dubbo club as well as encouraging members across the district to knit or crotchet rugs for the patients. The District raised over $8000 and 29 rugs were shipped

to Ethiopia. Members are continuing to knit and crochet rugs and baby clothes for the district’s current project, the Barbara May Foundation which is working to ensure that women in developing countries have safe maternal health care during labour. I’ve been very involved in international work since I joined the district and I think outside the square in what I do. I think my dedication stems back to my time as an educator for 40 years and I wanted to make a difference with children. I helped to establish an intensive reading program for the area and really loved that role. I tried to make a difference in everything I did, at all levels.

I’m not going to change the world but I think I’ve made a difference. As a mum and as a teacher, there are so many things happening and it’s important to improve the living standards of children. Since becoming the international service officer, I’ve become more aware of community and of problems in the world, especially those related to women and children - such as kidnapping into the slave trade and access to food and running water, hygiene standards. People should have a right to those things wherever they are in the world. I have always loved to travel and have travelled extensively commencing from when I lived in England for 12 months and continuing to this day. I’m an avid traveller and I have been to places such as Slovakia, China and Russia – I have been to 40 countries altogether. The opportunities have been enhanced as I have a daughter living in Hong Kong and one in England, who is moving to the USA. I just love meeting people and have an interest in international affairs and I have been very fortunate to have been able to do it. During my visit to England this year, I was fortunate to meet members of the Inner Wheel Club of Sheffield, District 127 United Kingdom for coffee where we exchanged information about our clubs and districts as well as banners and tea towels. They were amazed that we travelled over 200 kilometres to meetings! We have since exchanged photos and newsletters. I also had a fantastic adventure while visiting Croatia with my daughter from England as we decided to take a tour to Montenegro and two ancient walled cities at Koto and Budva. While in a restaurant in Budva, I noticed Rotary banners along the top of the wall and asked the waiter who was it that was involved in Rotary. The restaurant owner came to speak with me and brought his brother who was the President of the Rotary Club of Budva. They presented us with the Budva District 2483 Rotary banner and postcards of Budva as well as giving us his business card. I have organised to return a District A50 banner as well as a Dubbo banner. I was also able to extend international friendship when I attended the Australian Inner Wheel Conference in Adelaide in October and had the privilege of meeting the International Inner Wheel president Abha Gupta from Delhi, India. Growing up, my mother used to say, whatever you do, do it well and that’s what I’ve tried to do. To me, these three experiences epitomise the friendship and understanding of Inner Wheel and encourages me to continue to ‘light the path’ to promote it. The Inner Wheel motto for 2014-15 is Light the Path. My aim is to light the path and promote greater understanding of Inner Wheel in the community as well as internationally. I’ve tried, in my roles to promote Inner Wheel, true community spirit, friendship and serving the community as well as taking international understanding to a higher level. The thing that I’ve really loved is that I’ve made really good friendships. Our club is a great friendship club.

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

ON THE SOAPBOX

Ho, ho, hopelessly short on Christmas spirit I know Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, festivity and endless rounds of parties but the older I get, the harder it is for me to see it as anything but a red hot mess of overspending on underwhelming gifts, stress and (in my case) bad cooking. As a child I remember my mother thundering around the house every December proclaiming loudly how much she “hated Christmas”. English-born, she always struggled with the hot weather in December and would tear around drawing curtains and spraying our (real) Christmas tree with fake snow. I used to think she was the world’s biggest humbug but as I get older and have children of my own, I actually think I’m outdoing her tenfold. At least Mum had a go at sticking to some traditions. She insisted we always have a real “fir” tree. There was plenty of tut-tutting about people who (a) owned fake Christmas trees and (b) put them up weeks before Christmas day. Instead Dad would be sent to cut one down and we’d haul it into the “sitting room” on Christmas Eve, pine needles dropping everywhere, and ram it into a pot of bricks.

Comment by Abigail McLaughlin

Abigail McLaughlin is a journalist and former editor whose credits include some of Australia’s most renowned regional and agricultural publications. She now fits her love of writing in around the responsibilities of parenthood and helping to run a mixed cropping operation in Western NSW.

Mum had no interest in decorating the thing and was happy to let us kids go for our lives (as long as we put an angel on the top and not a Santa Claus). She was usually too busy trying to stick pineapple and glace cherries on a ham or wrap Christmas presents using a 100 metre roll of paper Dad bought at an outlet (and which lasted for our entire childhood). She did put out a nativity scene and she always made a Christmas cake – covered in white icing with a Santa on skis planted on top – and Santa in our house was very generous. All of which

“ I’m hard pressed to even find somewhere to shove the Christmas tree box, let alone go the extra mile with the tinsel. And besides, who’s going to take it all down? ”

now makes me feel quite guilty, because despite growing up promising I’d always make Christmas the most exciting time for my children, I am now the one ranting and raging about it. I did try to do the real Christmas tree thing for a year or two, but when you live where I do it’s hard to find anything green or festive at this time of year. The manky cypress pine growing up the paddock might have the right shape to be a Christmas tree but it doesn’t have that lovely “pine” smell and its needles are out of control. I now own a “dreadful” fake tree which is practically up for half the year because the kids start nagging me about it in November and I can never get around to dismantling it ‘til February. My Christmas cooking is a non-event. I find it so hot and horrible in December the last thing I want to be doing is wrestling huge chunks of ham or trying to make fruitcakes my kids will never eat. My gift buying is even worse. I am reliant on online shopping for most of it. I try to start in November and get into a hopeless mess when I order things and forget about them or fail to process my order and wonder why something hasn’t turned up. We only receive mail here twice a week so the mailbox is generally full. Keeping it all hidden from the kids is a nightmare. I hide stuff and forget it. On Christmas Eve I make a frantic effort to get it all together and realise

Santa is being far more generous to one child than the others. My husband isn’t much help. December is always frantic on the farm. It’s hot, he’s weaning lambs, crutching, fighting bushfires, checking water – everything. He does take Christmas day off the paddock work but uses the downtime to start on a few things I’ve been nagging him to do around the house. Two years ago I had his rellies for Christmas lunch. Five minutes before they turned up he decided to clean the overhead tank out, dumping two tonnes of black mud all over the lawn, and last year we were all having Christmas lunch and waiting to open presents while he was out replacing broken boards on the front verandah. My friends all do things like Advent Calendars, Elves on Shelves, and decorate their mailboxes. I’m hard pressed to even find somewhere to shove the Christmas tree box, let alone go the extra mile with the tinsel. And besides, who’s going to take it all down? And as for those people in town who do the Christmas light thing – you have my greatest respect... but thank goodness I don’t have to compete with you. I drive past with the kids to try to give them a bit of festive spirit on the cheap – but you won’t catch me clawing onto my gutters every December trying to fasten the lights. So to my kids I apologise for being the worst Christmas Mum, and to my own Mum – you really weren’t too bad!

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two by two

Pauline Freeburn and Bev Winters Pauline Freeburn and Bev Winters share a love for learning and people, but through their work as manager and administrative officer respectively for Dubbo-based virtual selective high school, Xsel, this “dynamic duo” has also forged a friendship based on mutual respect, dedication and humour. AS TOLD TO and PHOTOGRAPHY Jen Cowley Pauline Freeburn:

’ve been involved with Xsel – a virtual selective high school – for four years now. It was set up in 2010 for students who are gifted and talented but could not access the kinds of selective schooling option available to students in metropolitan regions. The goal was to establish more challenging course material and enable students to work with like-minded peers in a virtual space – to connect with teachers and other students via the internet. I’m about to retire, and the school – Xsel as we know it – will be transitioning into a larger operation to be known as Aurora College, which will go state wide. Xsel has only operated for students in western NSW. And coinciding with that is my retirement. It’s been exciting to have been involved with Xsel – we consider it a very successful “lighthouse” demonstrating the sorts of learnings and connections that can support students, particularly those who need a more challenging curriculum. It’s about equity – about providing for the needs of an identified group of students at the other end of the spectrum. I have a list of projects as long as your arm for my retirement – and I’m told my fate will be that I’ll wonder how I ever had time to work! I’m looking forward to that. I’m interested in getting back into my art practice – my favourite medium is watercolour, but I’m schooling myself in drawing as well. Bev was already engaged with the program when I arrived – she was the “face” of Xsel at the time, and she’s continued to be a mainstay, a lynch-pin, of the organisation. In all that time,

she’s been the one administration officer we’ve had and she’s been absolutely crucial – and we have a complementary skill-set. She anticipates my moods. She prods me when there’s something I might have forgotten – she’s a very useful aide-dememoire! She can also anticipate the needs of the students and their families, which is a rare quality. And the students are very appreciative of what Bev does for them. I’ve used the word indefatigable is the word I’ve used to describe Bev on more than one occasion – she’s absolutely tireless. I’ve also been known to describe her as Pollyanna – she has the ability to see the good in any individual or situation. And she’s very creative. Give her a task or materials, and within minutes you’ll have something astonishing. I’ll miss her very much, although her tirelessness sometimes makes me feel somewhat inadequate and I’ll look forward to relaxing a little bit more! But that tirelessness has been absolutely essential in her role. I imagine that will be an attribute greatly missed in the “new” version of the school. She’s made me more effective in my job, and she’s made it easier for me. I’ve tried in the past few weeks while Bev has been working part time, to do without her. I anticipated that with some dread – and now that I’m actually living through it, I know there are things I simply cannot do without her. She’s already greatly missed. And that’s the mark of true altruism.

Bev Winters:

ur “classroom” is the size of Germany – 385,000 km sq – but our office is smaller than the average

bedroom, so you could say Pauline and I work very closely... and good things happen in small spaces! I do feel very protective and very proud of Xsel. I’ve had a career in administration and finance for more than 30 years, but this is the best job I’ve ever had. It’s some of the most menial work I’ve ever done, but it’s the most rewarding by far. That’s because I’ve had the chance to see kids come into the program as little 11 and 12 year olds, some from as far away as Broken Hill, for the first time away from home, entrusted to the care of us and fellow classmates they’ve not met before – and to see them blossom under the kind of challenges they’d have if they had access to selective schools in Sydney, well, that’s just so rewarding. Being part of that process and seeing those kids mature academically and socially is very special. From my observation, and this is only in layman’s terms, but some especially bright kids aren’t necessarily socially adept. But they get into a cohort of kids of similar ability and they “get” each other, so their social “rawness” isn’t so much of an issue. It’s a very positive environment to work in and be a part of. Pauline inspires me – she’s the most genuinely humble person I’ve ever worked with in a management role. Sometimes that can be a flaw – she doesn’t promote herself or her skills, and yet she’s been key to the success of Xsel. Parents and teachers and kids are absolutely glowing in their praise and regard for her – but she’d never say that herself. She does everything with such good humour and grace – she’s basically watching her school being dismantled in front of her eyes, and she’s just

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

maintained her focus on ensuring it’s as smooth a transition as possible for the students and teachers. Their welfare is always her absolute concern, and with this transition to Aurora, it’s taken a huge toll on her. She’d never mention that to other people, but I see it because I work so closely with her. She is a quiet achiever and she’s happy to promote everyone else’s strengths, sometimes to her own detriment. Pauline has a great sense of humour. I’ve set myself a job – every day, I try to send her out the door with a smile and a laugh, because she has huge pressures in her day. If I can get her to chuckle, even at the most silly of things, then I’m happy. I’ll miss her terribly. I don’t ever presume friendship between management or colleagues – I think you’re very fortunate in working with someone if you can have a professional working relationship and if that extends beyond work to friendship that can present difficulties. But Pauline and I do share interests and we do have what I’d call a friendship. It’s interesting, because Pauline and I did actually meet 10 years ago – long before we worked together. I have a photo of the entire cast and crew from when DATS (Dubbo Theatre Company) did Les Miserables – and in it, there’s Pauline with her hand on my shoulder because she came and helped with makeup. We don’t remember meeting each other then, but isn’t it funny how people come into your life at some point, and then often again later? I very much hope that Pauline will be in my life in the future because I have a huge regard for her and I’ve been lucky to meet her.

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COMMENT

Greed might be good but experience is better

wo words: unpaid work. At the end of this column, parents will love me and kids will loathe me. Unpaid work is an unpopular term among “young” people. Despite the ongoing debate between experience and exploitation, the idea of working for free is a controversial topic making the whole of Gen Y seem like spoiled brats. In a society in which you can barely leave the house without spending fifty bucks, I understand the difficulty in trying to survive (literally and socially) without a stable income, but speaking from experience, the value of unpaid work is priceless. To be frank, it really grinds my gears when my peers complain about the idea of working for free. If you think I’m completely mad and are feeling a little perturbed about the idea of working for zero financial remuneration, here are a few things to remember: An internship/work experience makes you look very keen and dedicated. Internships are a growing trend and an asset highly respected by future employers. To show you are willing to work, on your own terms for your own good, is an impressive trait in a potential employee. Internships are generally for one

Comment by Lydia Pedrana Dubbo born and bred Lydia Pedrana is chasing her dream of a career in the media.

or two days a week, meaning you can afford to get a paid job on the side. In the long run, giving up a few hours a week never hurt anyone. Plus, it’s another reference to add to your CV. They are using you, so you use them back! If you’re anything like me, I spend a lot of my time wondering about where I will end up and cringe whenever I’m asked what I want to do when I “grow up”. For this reason, internships and work experience are good to use as a free pass to the crux of your desired industry. Getting a taste of what the real world is re-

ally like will give you an idea whether or not you are on the right track. While you’re there, ask yourself if you get a kick out of the work. Can you see yourself in a particular position? What would you propose to improve the company’s efficiency? Today we have so many career options – too many in fact – leaving many youngsters confused. Gone are the days where you choose a career and stick with it for life. Now you can be a social media analyst, a serial sperm donor, a holistic crystal healer, an insta-driver or a cryptocurrency trader. Jobs that didn’t exist a decade ago are currently emerging with the new capabilities of technology. An internship can help make a decision. Let it be part of the culling process where you can decide what you may and may not eventually want to do. It’s like a “try before you buy” deal. Treat it as a job interview. Knowing you’re there for free seems to relieve some of the pressure. This can be turned to an advantage through asking more questions, mingling with superiors and proving yourself irreplaceable. Make the company feel like they could never get by without you. More often than not, internships evolve into paid

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positions and showing you’re unique is an almost foolproof way to secure a job. Know when enough is enough. Yes – at times employers will try to take advantage of you. It’s important to recognise when you’re no longer gaining as much as you’re giving. Don’t mull on if you are not getting anything out of it. For as long are you’re learning, feeling challenged, making contacts and have a listing worthwhile to add to your resume – stick with it. Trust me, you will appreciate the pay check tenfold when it comes... Working for free is something you’re expected to do these days. Don’t ever assume that a three-year uni degree or 12 month TAFE diploma automatically qualifies you for a full time, paid job in your desired industry. In fact, practical experience speaks much larger volumes than a flimsy piece of paper. Most of what I have learned has come from learning on the job. My advice to those of my own generation? Stop being greedy and quit expecting you’ll fall on your feet. Instead, get rich in experience. The more work you put in now, the more you will eventually get out.

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DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

ISSUE

Yvonne McMaster was a retired Sydney GP whose personal loss contributed to a crusade to increase palliative care services across the state. She is still on her mission and was a guest speaker at this week’s Saving Life 2015 Campaign Launch in Dubbo. WORDS Natalie Holmes PHOTOGRAPHY Kaitlyn Rennie

hen she first starts to speak, Yvonne McMaster’s tone is that of someone employed in the task of creating a talking book. Her voice is gentle, calm and soothing and it’s apparent to listeners this is someone who is caring and approachable. As she continues to address the group assembled for Dubbo’s Saving Life 2015 Campaign Launch, it becomes clear this is also a woman on a mission; someone who is passionate and determined to instigate change. The Sydney-based former GP turned palliative care advocate retired in 1997, but it wasn’t until many years later and the death of her own mother, that she began to realise the huge gap that existed in health services for patients with long-term and terminal illness. “Since I retired in 1997, I have co-led a support group for people with advanced cancer at the Sydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga. Seeing how poorly they were served by palliative care services in 2011, I learned the funding had been cut for local palliative care services. “This led to a petition to the NSW Government with 24,000 signatures and the restoration of the funding by the new Coalition Government in NSW. “In 2012, I started another campaign to improve palliative care funding and services throughout NSW.” That petition, asking for adequate funding and provision of palliative care services, has so far raised more than 73,000 signatures, at least 1489 of them from Dubbo.

cMaster, who wears yellow (the colour of hope) for her visit to Dubbo, was named in the Queen’s Birthday honour roll this year, receiving an Order of Australia Medal for service to community health. She uses the story of her mother’s journey to connect the audience with the great need that exists in the public health system. “Sadly, there are times when cancer takes hold and doesn’t let go. My own Mum had breast cancer and it was four years before the secondary cancers appeared in her body. “She was lucky that I was a palliative care doctor and while she was having her treatment, I helped her by arranging for an occupational therapist and physiotherapist to assist in her comfort. “Two years after that, when the end came, it was so peaceful and I was with her.” Not everyone is as fortunate as McMaster’s mother. Some people suffer greatly when it comes to the end of their lives, not because there’s a lack of empathy but a shortage in care services in NSW. Apparently, this state needs 30 specialist doctors and 100 specialist palliative care nurses just to match Victoria. Of her mum, McMaster points out, “I miss her but I want everyone to have the same kind of care that she had. “We are all going to die someday, and we should be able to do it well.” McMaster says palliative care should have a broader meaning than it has, allowing for more people to be helped.

“Palliative care shouldn’t just mean that you’re dying. There should be someone there when you have pain and suffering. It’s about how palliative care is identified and provided by a team of people with different skills, not just a

single person. “It’s also about supporting the family and patient at the same time.” In NSW, McMaster believes there’s not enough care resources and the approach can be inappropriate.

“ Sometimes, doctors are slow to refer because they think it shortens a life. But palliative care can actually prolong someone’s life – when they are offered relief, they can actually live better and longer. ”

“Doctors and carers associate palliative care with end-of-life. Sometimes, doctors are slow to refer because they think it shortens a life. But palliative care can actually prolong someone’s life – when they are offered relief, they can actually live better and longer.” The spotlight again shines on the word “shortage”. “Palliative care is wonderful. There’s just not enough of it at home, in base hospitals, and in nursing homes,” McMaster continues. “One-third of the Australian population live the last part of their life in a nursing home – that needs to be the best it can be. What happens is that when people are in pain or distress, they are transferred to hospital and 20 per cent of nursing home residents actually die in a hospital. “The issue is that there are not enough registered nurses or specialist palliative carers. “The NSW Government has started improving funding and services but these improvements are nowhere near enough to provide adequate palliative care to all residents of NSW.” McMaster believes Dubbo residents in particular need access to a 24 hour service for after-hours care and a dedicated palliative care specialist. She describes the level of services still needed in the Orana region. “What we have here in Dubbo is a very dedicated skill group of care providers but there are not enough specialists to do the job as it must be done. “There’s also no relief for nurses if they are sick or on holidays – the few specialist nurses have no official help to back them up. And no-one sees what they do, except perhaps the patients who see them as angels of mercy. “There is no telehealth access, allied health staff or a specialist palliative care doctor.” With the NSW State election just over three months away, McMaster said now is the time to speak out as an entire community – and it’s important for everyone, not just the health sector or individual ambassadors. “Right here in Dubbo, it’s time for the whole community to show the government and bureaucrats the need for doctors, nurses and allied health in this area. “Dying people aren’t going to be on the electoral roll much longer but it’s time for the government to better fund palliative care. “If we say nothing, the government will sit back and do nothing. “Much still remains to be done. More specialist PC doctors, nurses and allied health are needed all over NSW and for community, acute hospitals and aged care facilities. “Everyone deserves to die with dignity and care.” >> For access to palliative care services in Dubbo, contact the Dubbo Base Hospital Palliative Care Service on 6885 8757 or the Lourdes Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Service on 6841 8655

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

ADVERTORIAL

Use the entrepreneur test with contractors T Business in HE vexing problem of distinguishing employees from independent contractors continues to plague businesses. The issue was clarified somewhat in a Federal Court ruling, when Justice Mordy Bromberg noted that “the absence of a simple and clear definition which explains the distinction... is problematic” (On Call Interpreters and Translators Agency Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (No 3) [2011] FCA 366). Bromberg noted that the situation is particularly troubling because the Fair Work Act 2009 requires that there be no misrepresentation of the work relationship on pain of civil penalty.

Facts of the Case: On Call, a translation company that offers jobs to a panel of interpreters and translators, appealed a determination by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) that the panel comprised casual employees. As a result, the company owed several years’ worth of back superannuation guarantee charges. The company had been treating them as independent contractors and thus not providing those benefits. Bromberg examined the nature of the work affiliation, saying it was important to look beyond the contractual terms to determine the roles, functions and work practices that establish the “totality of the relationship”. That was a reference to the 2001 High Court ruling in Vabu v Hollis Pty Ltd. (See “Through the Looking Glass” at right.) The Justice noted that the English courts have taken a similar approach with what he termed an “entrepreneur test”. Under that test, Bromberg said, the

changing times with Phil Comerford, Scolari Comerford Dubbo

question of whether a person is an independent contractor “may be posed and answered as follows: Viewed as a ‘practical matter’: 1. Is the person performing the work of an entrepreneur who owns and operates a business; and 2. In performing the work, is that person working in and for that person’s business as a representative of that business and not of the business receiving the work? If the answer to that question is yes, in the performance of that particular work, the person is likely to be an independent contractor. If no, then the person is likely to be an employee.” One of the issues reviewed was whether the interpreters and translators took risks to earn their profits and thus could be considered to be running their own businesses. Bromberg determined that their economic activities did not suggest any risks were involved. This is one of the defining factors in the ATO’s guidelines for distinguishing between employees and contractors. According to the tax agency, employees generally bear no legal risks in earning money. It is the employer who is legally responsible for the work they perform.

Factors

Employees

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Employees perform work in accordance with an employment contract.

Contractors perform work specified in a contract and provide additional services only by agreement.

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Contractors generally provide their own tools and equipment.

Contractors, however, do take on risk. They have the potential to make a profit or a loss, and it is their responsibility to remedy any defective work at their own expense. Another issue highlighted in the case was how employees and contractors are paid. On Call argued that the interpreters were paid for results, making them independent contractors. The ATO said they were paid for their time, thus meeting another of its criteria defining employees Under the ATO’s guidelines, employees can be paid either for time worked or for ‘piece rates’ or commission. Payments to independent contractors, on the other hand, depend on fulfilling specified contract services. The court also addressed control over work. The company stressed that the interpreters could refuse assignments and work for competitors. It added that the only way it could sanction them was to refuse to offer them work. Bromberg pointed out that these were also features of causal employment. Under the ATO guidelines, when an employer controls and directs a person’s work the individual is an employee. With contractors, the organisation or person paying the individual can specify how services are to be performed only if that control is outlined in the contract. Otherwise, the contractors are free to use their own discretion in how to complete a job. For other factors the ATO uses to distinguish between employees and contract workers, see the table below. The list is not exhaustive and the ATO says employers must consider all the terms of each contract. The tax agency

also has an online tool that can help determine whether an individual is an employee or a contractor. Be careful with your employment relationships. If they don’t meet the standards your organisation might be liable for paying: l Employment related costs including back wages, holiday pay and superannuation payments; l Workers compensation premiums; l Payroll taxes; and l Fines of as much as $33,000 for each violation of the Fair Work Act 2009. Consult your business’s advisers before signing contractor agreements. Professional guidance is important because the stakes are high. •••

Through the Looking Glass The concept of the ‘totality of relationship’ was established by the High Court when it handed down its ruling in Hollis v Vabu. In that case, the Justices were asked to determine; whether a bicycle courier was an employee of a company, making the business subject to vicarious liability claims. A bicycle courier wearing a ‘Crisis Couriers’ uniform struck a pedestrian, causing permanent injury. The pedestrian sued the company, trading as Vabu. That business claimed that the couriers were independent contractors and thus it could not be held vicariously liable for their actions. The High Court looked through the independent contractor label to the ‘totality of the relationship’. It concluded that the couriers were employees because, among other reasons: l They lacked discretion to accept or reject work; l The pay and work conditions were consistent with an employment relationship; and l Although the couriers provided their own tools and equipment, i.e. the bicycles, this was not inconsistent with an employment relationship.

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DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

COMMENT

Wrong way, go back F

or readers not familiar with this column, I’ve been living in the USA now for two years and came back to Australia recently for a bit of an extended visit. Did I pack everything I’d need for the trip Downunder? No, one thing was left back in Tucson: my Australian brain, most noticeable when behind the wheel of a car. The first time this came to light – let’s call it Day 1 – everything felt so blissfully normal... right up to that instant before I realised I was driving down the wrong side of the road. Not the highway or I might have noticed a little more quickly; just a quiet, suburban side street, engineered nonetheless for oncoming traffic. The sun was shining, the kids were in the back seat locked in hostile takeover bids for air space and I was fleetingly oblivious to the fact my car was a 50kph projectile, going the wrong way. Luckily, one neuron was on the job, sounded the alarm, jolted me out of autopilot to think (because clearly, I hadn’t been!), “ooh, something’s not right here”; a sickening wave of nausea confirmed my worst fears and thankfully, officer, nothing was coming the other way. How could this happen? Did I not notice the 13,000 miles of planes, trains and automobiles plus several time zones crossed to get here? Apparently not. On the bright side, I’m assured a place in world record books for the longest documented case of jet lag fog known to human kind. Fast forward to Day 23: The front left hand door of the car is still being mindlessly opened and as if an absent steering wheel wasn’t clue enough, I’ve actually sat in the seat, car keys in hand, American brain in full gear. It’s like Lara Bingle once infamously said: “Where the bloody hell are you?” Good question. Fortunately, and oddly, it’s not just me. As a career soccer “mom” the kids are used to being driven around in the States, by me, and occasionally here, share the same illusion we are still in the USA.

Comment by YVETTE AUBUSSON -FOLEY Former Dubbo journo and proud green ‘n’ gold gal Yvette AubussonFoley says she has her work cut out for her raising little Aussies under the red, white and blue of a very different flag.

My eldest son asked to sit in the front seat the other day. Seeing where this was going, I said sure and watched him (for my own warped amusement) open the driver’s door, regard the steering wheel on the “passenger” side, step back with a “what the...?” expression then realise he’d just been pranked. When my 16 year-old daughter jumped in behind the wheel one day, the illusion took a surreal turn because at home, she can legally drive, so it felt... right. I ruined everything however because I sat, committed, in the Aussie passenger seat, holding the car keys, looking at her with a, “did we just do that?” expression, expecting Leonardo DiCaprio to appear and give his spinning top a quick twirl. Just to be sure. Reality or dream? Day 31: Waiting to turn at the traffic lights is still bothering me. My mental dialogue goes something like this: “Red arrow.... Oh, good I can turn. “No, no, no, no, no! Wrong country. “But, nothing’s coming. Geez. “Wrong. Country. “What a stupid law! There’s nothing coming. I can turn.

“Wait for it. “This is Fireworks Night all over again. What happened here? Did someone knock down a pedestrian in the 1970s turning on a red, so now we all have to wait to turn at the lights? “You’ll get booked. “So, sue me. “Wrong country.” Odd how what has been forbidden growing up in Australia, has now become second nature. Perhaps this is what it feels like on the Dark Side. It’s not so bad. Here I was busily telling Americans they’re barking, raving mad to think they’re the only country in the world that has capital ‘F’ Freedom, yet they can turn on a red! I’m so confused. So much for clinging to every scrap of Australian-ness about me living in Tucson, only to realise I’ve been permeated by American ways and I like it. OMG. This could be serious. What if it’s in my DNA? Perhaps it’s already too late? Do I have symptoms? Fever at the traffic lights; strange, delusional behavior. It’s infectious! The kids have it too. Can’t tell my left from my right; I have night sweats thinking about driving on the wrong side of the road. It’s every expat’s nightmare: “Where do I belong?” It is kind of nice to be somewhere where people make a big deal of Christmas, though. In the US, the Holidays cover all religious and secular festivities. Thanksgiving. Hanukkah. Christmas. So you only hear, “Happy Holidays”, never Merry Christmas. It’s a little thing but does make it feel like home.

“ So much for clinging to every scrap of Australian-ness... only to realise I’ve been permeated by American ways and I like it. OMG. This could be serious. ”

On the flip side, paying $2.98 for a lettuce does not make it feel like home. I can buy three for that price in Tucson! When did Australia get so expensive? And what’s with petrol? In the time it takes to fill a tank in the States, I could rewrite the Constitution and that’s only after I’ve deciphered Jefferson’s frilly writing. Fill up in Oz and there’s hardly time to remind myself to remember the fuel cap’s on the roof, and the tank’s full. Ouch! Oh, and smack me now: My youngest boys are spending time at their old school and Mrs Aus-merica-Foley sent P’butter sambos for lunch, committing THE lunch box sin of all sins. How quickly I’ve forgotten. How quickly I’ve absorbed another American way. Lunch box osmosis. No such restrictions exist at their Tucson school. Kids can bring what they like (that’s called Freedom) and the kids with health concerns just don’t eat other people’s food (um... that’s called common sense). The error of my ways has been corrected and the P’butter now stays home. That aside, the boys love spending time with their old school mates but my youngest admits he struggles with the swearing, because he’s just not used to hearing it anymore. He’s putting up with F-bombs from a second grader –when did this become cool? At the boys’ Tucson school, called Copper Creek Elementary, kids just do not speak to each other that way in public – having a finely-tuned, unaffected sense of appropriate language, respect for each other, their teachers, parents and themselves, because their wider society (which has no resemblance to what’s on TV), expects it of them. There’s an unwritten code: don’t speak like that in public, especially around children. I was sad and angry when I heard this story from Dash, who noticed something different, because I had no doubt about where I was in the world. Maybe it’s not just me on the wrong side of the road.

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

ARTS

The past as opera, soap optional Words Andrew Glassop

istorians, you might be surprised to learn, study history. And it’s not an easy gig, as the kids say, what with all the remembering of dates and names and places and treaties and castles and kings and wars and famines and battles and random acts of butchery. On top of all that obvious brain work is the added pressure of having to make sense of it all, of having to winnow down a thousand unruly telegrams, letters and diaries into a beautifully crafted paragraph that is, at least on the surface, true. Then, as soon as you’ve finished that paragraph (which could take years) you can be sure there is a PHD student somewhere in the world trying to make their name in the business by pointing out that what you have written is at the very least nonsense and possibly the work of a truly deranged imbecile. It’s a tough job. And it breeds within it a certain measure of reserve, of circumspection, of a very conservative approach to statements, language and words. Facts are measured once, then twice, then given to someone else to measure then put in a cupboard for a year before being brought out and left in the sun for a week to

did when US President Kennedy was shot? The historian’s answer is that only time, and perhaps a research grant from the government, will tell. What cannot be denied is that hyperbole, possibly brought on by a steady diet of TV dramas and reality soap operas, can lead us to make claims about current experiences that are not, strictly, or even with a large degree of latitude, true. It is a dichotomy of history that museums such as the WPCC wrestle bravely with every day. To be true is to be researched, referenced and reviewed. None of which is particularly entertaining. Yet museums today though are places of entertainment, the WPCC competes in the active leisure market alongside movies, fishing and live sport. The lure of the flashy dangles above we who work here, hoping to get us to bite. Resisting is not always easy and we probably don’t always succeed, but in the main we try to make the truth interesting, not the interesting true. •••

My Place

Edward Gibbon, writer of racy history. Source: Wikimedia Commons

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make sure it is still a fact. Then, and only then, will it be referred to as a possibility (unconfirmed) of a feasibility. To be an actual fact that process needs to be done by no less than six other historians, at least one of whom must come from Oxford. It is not a creative craft, in fact, the greatest historians are so consistently, tweedily dull they cannot, physically, be read. Gibbon’s masterpiece The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (no mystery in that title) was a hit of popular history when written. It has been “devoured” by people such as Winston Churchill and is still read, or referenced, today. This is how he deals with topics such as the Roman Emperors being assassinated as a matter of due process, within a culture so debauched and depraved that their legend is legion and Toga Party is now code for “pants optional”: “A life of pleasure or virtue, of severity or mildness, of indolence or glory, alike led to an untimely grave; and almost every reign is closed by the same disgusting repetition of treason and murder. The death of Aurelian, however, is remarkable by its extraordinary consequences. The legions admired, lamented, and revenged their victorious chief. The artifice of his perfidious secretary was discovered and punished.” Nurse, the valium! But this is how history should work. It should be considered and careful and conservative (in the small ‘c’ sense of the word) because it is about what really really happened and what it really really means. If historians just make stuff up, or inflate things or pretend things were more important than they are, then history fails to be, well, history. This is not to say that historians should never be wrong, mistakes will always happen but they should happen in a genuine fashion. History should be somewhat disengaged from passion, from the urgency or fire of rebellion, for that way madness, and propaganda, lies. Consider how a historian would approach the recent death of cricketer Phil Hughes. It is true that any death can be tragic, and that the younger the victim the more tragic it can be, but would any historian worth their salt describe this accident as the saddest day Australian sport, let alone Australia in general, has witnessed? Has his death really been a way for Australia to confront the reality of death, something to which we have somehow grown inured? Will we remember Phil Hughes as we do (or did) Princess Di? Will we remember where we were when we heard the news like people

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

Over the Christmas break the WPCC has put on a special children’s area where kids of all ages (a Marketing-101 term which contradicts nearly everything in the previous section) can explore ways of expressing themselves, from art through writing to self-portraits and creating a virtual world in Minecraft. For those not in the know about Minecraft, look it up in Google, for those not in the know about Google, send me a telegram, but it is basically a computer game where you create a world by digging up rocks to turn into metal to chop down trees to build houses. It is a complete sandbox where you can make, and do, almost anything. The Minecraft in My Place has a wonderful version of the WPCC at its heart, built by the students at TAFE NSW Western (Dubbo) we are using it as a grand experiment in community cooperation. So if the mood strikes come on down with the small fry and have a go. •••

Merry Christmas Finally, everybody at the WPCC wishes all our visitors, and readers of the Weekender, a very merry Christmas and restful holiday season. The WPCC is only closed on Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Days (as well as the usual Tuesdays) during the holidays so there is plenty of time to drop in with friends and relatives. See you in the New Year.

COMMENT

Put up or shut up: pollies hold the power on high prices L eaders of all political parties have acknowledged in recent years that the high cost, by global standards, of electricity in Australia is impacting on national competitiveness yet most have done very little to bring the price down. Unsustainable electricity price rises, far in excess of CPI (Consumer Price Index), are impacting on the profitability and financial stability of many businesses and households across Australia, however the area with which I’m most familiar is the irrigated agriculture sector. Prices irrigators receive for their food and fibre products cannot match the unfettered escalation in electricity prices – driven largely by the network cost component of electricity bills. In many instances irrigators are finding it unviable to irrigate using existing electricity infrastructure. Small increases in input costs erode profitability and competitiveness in a tough competitive international environment. The regulatory framework around the setting of electricity prices is complex, largely due to state and federal agencies having a range of roles. Typically network charges represent around 50 per cent of irrigators’ electricity bills, environmental charges 20 per cent, and electricity usage making up less than 26 per cent. Around four per cent is reflected in administration charges. The current regulatory pricing framework is enabling an excessive guaranteed return on investment and encouraging over investment in network assets. Irrigators and other businesses are left with few choices; they can either cease production, switch off pumps (resulting in loss of productivity) or source cheaper forms of energy. In the latter case, the uptake of alternative energy sources and users moving “off grid” produces a knock-on effect with costs having to be recovered from fewer users. In those states where demand charges currently exist, irrigators are also severely impacted due to lumpy usage patterns. For those irrigators who are forced offgrid and move to diesel pumps, it’s vital that the current diesel fuel rebate indexation arrangements are maintained. Chapter Two of the Australian Government’s Energy Green Paper acknowledged recent rises in household electricity prices noting: “Electricity prices have recently increased sharply, with household electricity prices rising by around 50 per cent nationally over the past four years.” While a 50 per cent increase is not insignificant, by contrast the cotton industry has experienced power bill increases in the order of 300 per cent since 2000 (the CPI increase over this period was 43 per cent). In Queensland canefarmers are now paying 107 per cent more than they were in 2009 (the CPI increase over this period was 13.9 per cent), representing price increases far exceeding CPI over these periods. In the lead up to the 2013 federal election, leaders of the major political parties acknowledged that the high cost of electricity in Australia by global standards is impacting on our national competitiveness. Excessive prices are driven in large part by the network cost component of electricity bills. These rises have been far in excess of CPI primarily due to the way tariffs are now calculated.

ADVERTORIAL

Media & Marketing Minute Compiled by the Sales & Marketing team at Dubbo Photo News/Dubbo Weekender

Regional markets are different. A touch of glamour.

Comment by TOM CHESSON

Bogan born and bred Tom Chesson has worked all over the world in a myriad different roles including in the media and politics – and tracking illegal stock movements in South East Asia.

Notwithstanding these statements power prices in all states will experience above CPI increases this financial year, despite the removal of the Carbon Tax. At a state level political representatives have also acknowledged the unreasonably high cost of electricity, yet long-term blame shifting is enabling regulators and electricity companies to avoid scrutiny, resulting in inaction. Networks must not be rewarded for over-investment, “gold-plating” and under-utilisation of assets. Currently in NSW the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is determining what network companies can charge customers in NSW over the next four years. The federal government has the ability through the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to ensure over-investment by network owners is discontinued. State Governments’ desire to maximise sale returns in Queensland and NSW is now impeding progress on reforms and if the NSW Government’s response to the AER’s recently draft price determination is anything to go by they will do all they can to ensure we don’t get the full warranted price cuts because they want to maximise sale returns. It makes a complete mockery of their claims of wanting to deliver cheaper electricity prices to the people of NSW. Any move to the privatisation of assets however, must come with safeguards to ensure there is sufficient competition in the market for rural and regional users. Safeguards could include the implementation of a Community Service Obligation applied to regional communities, acting as a mechanism to mitigate unreasonable electricity costs. Electricity price regulators must take into account the financial impact on electricity users’ profit margins and their capacity to pay. Any measures implemented should also take into account the impact of other government controlled services such as water delivery charges. In the irrigated sector we believe that an immediate 30 per cent drop in the price of electricity for everyone in NSW is not only needed, it’s warranted and can be justified. It is important that people get in touch with both their local state and federal government members and tell them the current prices they’re paying for electricity are far too high; that they’re sick and tired of duplicitous statements made by politicians about the high price of power and demand they stop playing the blame game. The politicians have it in their power to give you an immediate price cut of 30 per cent through the AER process currently underway, but they won’t do it if you stay silent. (Tom Chesson is the CEO of the National Irrigators Council.)

I and welcome to our Marketing Minute – compiled here in Dubbo by the team at Panscott Media. Our opening ads this week (above) prove that glamour sells – if it suits your product. The marketing people at both Tiffany & Co (left hand ad) and Dior (the ad on the right) have utilised a glamorous feel for their print ads to attract the attention of the more affluent readership they’re targeting.

Regional markets are NOT the same as capital city markets We touched on some research by Brand Navigator in last week’s Marketing Minute and wanted to elaborate a little more this week. Their just-completed study shows that consumers in regional centres such as Dubbo don’t always act and react the same as city dwellers. For instance, their 2014 research shows that readers: Engage more deeply with regional newspapers compared with TV and radio; Are twice as likely to have enquired about a product or service because of a newspaper ad than one played on local radio; Are nearly twice as likely to have visited a store or business because of a newspaper ad as opposed to a local TV ad; l Believe local newspapers are more likely will stand up for their community on important issues (71%) than local TV (36%); l Are more likely to act on, keep or share content compared with TV, radio or letterbox catalogues/flyers; l Will more likely keep details of a newspaper ad (46%) than a flyer (14%) l Will be nearly three times as likely to share something with family and friends if read in a newspaper (48%) than if they received the information from local radio (14%) or TV (15%) and; l Feel positive towards newspaper advertisers (54%) compared with those on TV (24%), radio (25%) and in catalogues (18%) We’re not just sharing the above information because we’re proud to be in print. We realise many local business people are uncertain about how best to spend their marketing budget

– it can be frustrating getting good intel on what works and what doesn’t. We believe studies such as the one quoted above at least provide some hard evidence to help you make that decision.

One more thought... Why is it that people in regional cities “engage more deeply with regional newspapers compared with TV and radio”? We believe a big reason is the fact that newspapers like Dubbo Weekender and Dubbo Photo News still provide more than 90-95% local content. Compare that to radio which is using more and more satellite programming, and TV which – at most – offers a half hour ‘local’ news bulletin each weekday. Keep in mind, too, that ‘local’ to a newspaper literally means ‘Dubbo’, whereas ‘local’ to a TV station seems to mean anything within a 500km radius. That’s why Dubbo people feel a closer affinity with their local paper.

When you write: Tip #8 Here’s another in our series of handy copywriting tips from Richard Bayan’s book “Words That Sell”. 8. Write for easy reading. Your style should suit the audience you’re addressing, but certain rules apply to all copy. Cultivate a style that flows smoothly and rapidly, a style that’s clear, uncluttered, involving, and persuasive. Avoid long, convoluted sentence constructions. Affect a crisp but friendly and extroverted tone. Communicate. You want to do everything possible to ensure that your message gets read.

Great Scots! Here’s a unique marketing idea... A Scottish university announced it has developed a fabric designed to bear the permanent odour of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky. “Smart textiles are a fast-developing sector that offers enormous potential,” said Jim McVee, business development manager at the School of Textiles and Design. “(This) is a great example of the ways in which we can help Scottish textile companies to develop their business, add value to their textiles and bring exciting new products to market.” – Until next week, smell well... and sell well!

“Fortunes are built during the down market and collected in the up market.” – US entrepreneur Jason Calacanis

89 Wingewarra St Dubbo | Tel 02 6885 4433

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

LITERATURE

It’s been another huge year for the Cowley Literary Award, with preselectors inundated with short stories from all across Australia and around the world for the two categories – fiction and non-fiction. But the judges, after a gruelling process given the quality and diversity of the entries, selected a winner in both sections. The judges were impressed with the

quality of the writing and felt the fiction section was the stronger of the two. There were many contenders for the title, but the 2014 Cowley Literary Award goes to Jenny Toune, whose grim but engaging short story captures, in brutal starkness, the essence of how the basics of the human condition can both divide and unite us. Can’t Say No to a Dying Man was common ground for the judges – best selling regionally-based author Nicole Alexander and 2013 winners of both Cowley Award section winners, Jacqui Winn and Monte Dwyer.

The judges said Jenny’s was “a well crafted story that displayed a strong grasp of characterisation, voice and dialogue”. “The stylistic simplicity added depth to the narrative. Well edited.” Congratulations to Jenny – and we hope you again enjoy reading her now-award winning work, Can’t Say No to a Dying Man. (The winner of the non-fiction section is Barry Divola, whose Free of the Earth will be republished here next week.)

Can’t say no to a dying man WORDS Jenny Toune

had to do something, see. Something other than the third generation unemployable car-tinkering mall-cruising pub-crawling stoner’s cliché. And I figure yeah here’s your chance Jones, pick something different, something from another planet. I scan the list: “Domestic assistance for people living with HIV/ AIDS”. That’ll do. So I do the training and it weren’t too bad. I could relate, you know, to most of it. Living with death and grieving – c’mon, who can’t relate? It’s about shopping and cooking and cleaning for these dying dudes. And about listening, yeah, most of us don’t ever listen, they said, most of us just wanna talk up our own talk. Then they say I’m ready to go – first time I been given the A-okay for anything in my whole goddamn life. So I’m cooking for these two guys. The one that’s dying I hardly see. He’s always in the bed they got made up in the lounge room. The other guy’s my contact. Easy clients compared to what some of ‘em got: every Friday I go shopping and cook ‘em dinner. Basic shit like chops and eggs ‘cos I’m no great cook. Chloe got a real hard gig on her hands and knees scrubbing some queenie’s floors – three hours he keeps her at it she says. F**k that shit, she says. Ups and quits and bingo, next time I see her she’s been kicked off the dole and trying to kick a habit. Three guesses how she’s making the bucks to support said habit. They say it gives them a break, having me cook. This one time Steve says to me, like, can you do a roast? And I

say never tried. He reckons he’ll show me next Friday and I say whatever, I’ll be here anyway. I mean no-one’s ever tried to teach me shit before, like why bother, you know. Come next Friday he’s all pepped up and talking me through prepping vegetables and basting meat and I do it, I cook a f**kin’ roast. They make me stay and eat with them, f**kin’ A it was too. Although I make sure not to touch anything dodgy, especially the dying dude. “You got anyone at home to cook for?” Barry croaks. Propped up on pillows, tray table bridged over belly like an external skeleton. “It’s a squat, man. Don’t do much cooking. We’re pizza eaters.” They both thought that was funny. “From now on, Fridays you’re eating with us,” say Barry. Mum topped herself on a Friday. Boredom probably. Oh, and smack. Been dead for hours when I found out. Ambo’s told me. She was still in the kitchen chair; face down in the bread and jam she’d made for my little brother. Him snivelling in the bedroom. F**k’s sake, her timing was off. Sis at least had the courtesy of OD-ing at a boyfriend’s house. Bingo, the lucky family scores again. So there was no money for rent, then no house until social wel-

fare stepped in – whatever, least little brother’s doing fine with his new family and I got mum’s Corolla and eye liner. Always was a bit of a Bowie fan. Next week I roast a chook for them. Then I see this recipe on the back of those free magazines you get at the supermarket: Chilli Beans and Rice. Very cowboy. I try it out and although Barry can’t eat much ‘cos of the spices, Steve says it should be my “signature dish”. They both thought that was funny. Even I had a laugh. I’m washing up when Steve comes in. “Barry wants to ask you something.” Barry’s past his expiry date. “Jones, I like you. You’re a good kid. Quiet too. Listen, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. We’re having a party, well... our version of a wake. Can you help us out, darling? Perhaps your famous chilli beans and rice, warm a few pastries, wash dishes? I want my man right here next to me. All night.” Steve strokes his arm. “It would mean so much to us.” Looks up at me. F**k’s sake. Can’t say no to a dying man. Besides, I like Steve, he’s alright for a fag. “Okay. Why not?” It was some f**kin’ party. Floor to ceiling glitz. Oiled and tanned muscle, bearded bears, geeks in pink shorts, trannies, a few over-fed over-the-top

“ Mum topped herself on a Friday. Boredom probably. Oh, and smack. Been dead for hours when I found out.

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

”

queens and the occasional flannelette dyke. Barry must have been popular in his day. Later, when the booze slowed, the weed came out. I did the food and plenty of free booze which led to my bit on the dance floor and I’m washing up. Steve comes in. “Time to finish up disco diva, Barry wants to say goodbye.” Barry is lounging on the couch in an apricot silk number. “Jones, thank you darling. You’ve been a great help to us. Especially Steve.” He wipes his eyes, takes a drag. “Look after yourself and seriously, think about some dance lessons, hehe. Really, you’re a sweetheart. Don’t forget us.” He offers me a toke, I shake my head. You gotta be kidding. Steve walks me out. Stops just outside their door. They live on the third floor of some swanky Kirribilli apartments where the corridor goes on forever, murals and warm lighting. He rests one hand on my shoulder. “Jones, you get that we won’t need you anymore in this capacity? After tonight, I mean. But hey, don’t be a stranger. For my sake.” Tears on his cheeks. His hand is heavy. Warm. “Yeah. Got it.” What do you say? His pretty life surrounded by death, same as mine. His hand against the back of my neck, his mouth over mine. I go to push away, pull him closer instead. What d’ya know? I think. Same planet after all.

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by Dave Pankhurst The Book Connection, Dubbo

Books – and small business M ANY challenges confront small businesses, whether they trade in merchandise or technical services. Most deal with the commercial styles of mega-traders who use their negotiating muscle whether they are trading in cabbages or books. The latest edition of “Top Stocks 2015” by Martin Roth examines the investment opportunities for share buyers. A factor in the balance sheet which used to appear and which is no longer revealed is, for example, Woolworths total merchandise stock holding of $1.2 billon which is offset by creditors of $900,000,000 indicating that suppliers fund 75 per cent of the products on the shelves, a benefit that small business doesn’t have. “Family Business” by Denis Tracey is a collection of stories from Australian family businesses and people who operate them. They comprise the largest sector in the Australian economy. A study by Monash University showed that 75 per cent of Australian businesses could be classified as ‘family-owned’. Their total value was about $1.2 trillion which was, at the time, about three times that of the companies listed on the Stock Exchange. Tracey’s book includes the history of several enterprises that started out with family members and grew substantially. A newsletter from the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) and the Council for Small Business deals with the announcement that The Book Depository, based in the UK and owned by Amazon, intended to establish an Australian operation based on local publishers for locally published books. The chief executive of the ABA says that ‘Amazon and The Book Depository have every right to set up shop in Australia. What we want to ensure is that that they pay tax on the sales at the same rate as Australian bookshops.’ Currently, their deliveries are quoted as being post-free ex the UK, and they pay minimal (if any) tax here – these two strategies not only give their business an advantage over local Australian businesses, but also impact on all Australians. Why? Because Canberra fails to collect approximately $1 billion in GST every year from Australians buying offshore (that’s $1 billion less to spend on our health and education systems, for example), and under international postal agreements, Australia Post has to deliver parcels posted from other countries to Australian addresses without being paid a single cent for it. That’s right, you and I pick up those tax losses, and you and I pay surplus charges to Australia Post to subsidise the parcels coming into this country. An article headed “Amazon earnings: a not-for-profit story’’ is from a customer. It details an announcement re-

garding Amazon’s trading over the past seven years indicating a steady growth from $US18 billion to $US81 billion revenue – with zero net income every year. At the end of last quarter their share price suffered a double digit crash – losing $US437 million in value, more than ten times the $US41 the previous quarter. They have told investors over time that profits are just around the corner but there is no excitement in view. Amazon’s founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos’ personal wealth is about $34 billion. And his companies are structured to minimise tax with the Luxembourg tax haven used to the hilt. This type of business operation is analysed by Owen Jones in “The Establishment – And how they get away with it”. Whilst it is a UK publication the circumstances are recognisable here. The question of who really rules us, and what are they up to, matters more than ever. Today at the heart of our democracy lurks an all-powerful network of people. They are unaccountable and unchallenged. They are making huge profits at our expense. They are the Establishment. Jones’ book exposes the vested interests that bring politics and big business together and, whilst they claim to be working on our behalf, they are doing exactly the opposite. The strength of the position of the seemingly humble book, that device with a cover that folds back to reveal a number of pages on which is printed information, has been reaffirmed. Our bookshelves are accumulating a growing list of second-hand books. This trade has increased as publishers under economic pressure cease production of titles still sought by readers, and ranges from the economic to the rare and sophisticated titles printed through the ages. A book by Ronald Searle which deals with “the wicked world of book collecting” is titled “Slightly Foxed but Still Desirable”. That is a term antiquarian book dealers use when describing their offers. Along with each description is a cartoon relating to bookish people. Apart from food, books are one of the few items that have continued trading over centuries. E-books did have some impact when they were introduced – but it now appears that E-books have simply motivated more people to read, because the number of printed books sold remains unaffected. Jen Campbell gives the impression of being a bookaholic. In her latest book, “The Bookshop Book”, she provides a tour of book shops around the world. Opening pages describe some fascinating stores that have traded for decades – something we’re proud to say is occurring here in Dubbo, too. Enjoy your browsing, Dave Pankhurst.

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

PEOPLE

WEEKENDER DIARY hear ll Robie Porter Get set for a musical treat when Australia’s alltime number one hit record producer and international starmaker Robie Porter appears live on stage in the Dubbo RSL Club Auditorium. Porter is responsible for the success of 29 number one hit records (Danny Cool, Rick Springfield and Air Supply) either as a recording artist, song writer, publisher or producer. Catch him on January 4;

showtime 7.30pm. ll Country Hoedown If country music is your thang, head down to Dubbo RSL Club on Sunday, December 14, for an extravaganza presented by the Dubbo Country Music Association. Promoting country music in the local area, the Country Music Hoedown is sure be an entertaining afternoon. The fun will begin at 2pm, concluding at 6pm.

see

Talking to... Terry Clark To Royal Flying Doctor Service director Terry Clark, family is everything. This man of many talents and interests admits he’s the “emotional” type (and that’s not a bad thing!). AS TOLD TO Kaitlyn Rennie On my bedside table at the moment is... nothing. It’s brand new and it’s so nice to be free of clutter. It may soon have a Kindle with my latest book loaded. Life has taught me that when it comes to the opposite sex... they are always right and it’s safer to agree than disagree. My top five albums of all time are: The Best of John Denver, The Village Stompers – Washington Square, Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind, The Highwayman – Chris Kristofferson and Others, Le Miserable – original soundtrack If I had to name my five bestloved movies they would be: Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War, Sleepless in Seattle, The Sound of Music, The Castle, Four Weddings and a Funeral I draw inspiration from... our garden, seeing our children grow into sound adults and now enjoying our young grandchildren.

I believe... we all should give back to our community at some time in our lives – volunteering in some way. I don’t believe... we could have built our successful business without my wife Sue. The one thing that will always make me cry is... a sad movie – thank goodness it’s dark at the cinema! I always laugh when... we are enjoying a wine or coffee with friends and family. I’ll never forget... the day I left home in Sydney to go jackarooing in rural NSW. Mum took me to the train at Central and said, “See you later.” What I know now that I wish I’d known sooner is... how important it is to invest in some real estate. I never thought I’d... be a director of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and have so much responsibility for keeping Reverend John Flynn’s dream alive.

ll Imagine Enter a world of pure imagination as the talented students of Stepping Out Dance Factory celebrate their 2014 year of dance. Stepping Out invites you to journey with them through a dazzling array of dance genres into an enchanted and magical realm where anything and everything is possible. Mermaids, unicorns and fairies will frolic, enchanted gardens will come alive, the deep seas will glisten and the excitement of a carnival will be in the air. Spectacular costuming, toe-tapping tunes and the excitement of our incredible performers will be sure to delight and

enthral you. ll Bellycast Bellycast is a celebration of the mother’s pregnancy and the bond she has developed with her unborn baby. This exhibition at Western Plains Cultural Centre acknowledges and commemorates the pregnancy journey that each mother has experienced and what is unique to her. The belly casts represent life and the celebration of strong mothers. The official opening is an insight into the background, artists and meaning behind the works and the holistic exhibition. It begins at 2pm on Saturday, December 13.

do ll Christmas Unplugged Take a break from the stresses of Christmas and come on down to Dubbo Presbyterian Church at 7.30pm on Saturday, December 13, for Christmas Unplugged. The night will be jam-packed with enjoyment for all ages. From singing to a puppet show, there’s something for everyone. The night will then be topped off with a fireworks display at 9pm. So come on down for a great night. Enquiries to Wayne on 6885 5997.

ll Fun and fitness ‘Tis the season for fun and fitness, so now’s the time to join Dubbo Sportsworld. Sign up for a new sport, or enrol the kids in festive season activities. Children aged five to 12 can enjoy a range of sports including soccer, cricket, laser skirmish and more. Christmas activities for children will be held on December 21 and 22, between 9am and 3pm. Contact the centre on 6884 0123 for details.

etc ll Dubbo Open New Year’s Athletics Carnival For more than three decades, Dubbo has been the destination for what is one of the most anticipated athletic events held in the region. Hosted by Dubbo Combined Athletics, the Dubbo Open New Year’s Athletics Carnival caters for athletes aged eight to 80 and is focused on providing families with not only a high quality event but an unforgettable Dubbo experience. The 2015 Carnival will be one of the very first events to be held at the $6M Barden Park facility, providing synthetic surfaces, a 500-seat grandstand and a photo-finish facility. Event begins at

9am on January 3 and 4. ll Send Josh to Tamworth Taste Canowindra is staging a benefit concert to raise money to help Josh Maynard go to Tamworth to perform during the national Country Music Festival in January. Josh is a self-taught 17-year-old from Canowindra who has been experiencing success in the music world. The concert will be held 6pm on Sunday, December 14, at taste Canowindra, 42 Ferguson St. A meal will be included in the ticket price. For more information, visit www.tastecanowindra. com.au

DRTCC OFFERS QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY, 8.00PM

GIFT VOUCHERS

SUBSCRIPTION ENDS 16 JANUARY 2015

SHOW DETAILS & BUY TICKETS

DRTCC.COM.AU Keep up to date – join our mailing list

BOX OFFICE HOURS MONDAY FRIDAY, 9.30AM - 4.30PM AND 1 HOUR PRIOR TO THE SHOW BAR OPEN BEFORE & DURING INTERVAL MOST SHOWS 155 DARLING ST, DUBBO (02) 6801 4378

THE AUSTRALIAN TENORS Great subscription show to kick off the Season – five tenors, The Southern Cross Orchestra and classical soprano Emily Garth will serenade you with Some Enchanted Evening, The Prayer, La Donna e Mobile, O Sole Mio, Funiculi Funicular and more!

GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS Great Christmas idea for that hard to buy for person. You choose the amount and they choose the shows of their choice! Gift Certificates can even be purchased and redeemed on line!

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

A facility of Dubbo City Council.

GETTING SOCIAL

Dubbo South students visit preschoolers

By EMMA TUDGEY Photos by KAITLYN RENNIE Eighteen Dubbo South Primary Year 5 students visited the Orana Gardens Childcare Centre to participate in the Leadership in Literacy Program on Thursday, November 20. This involved the older students choosing a quality picture book to read to small groups of preschoolers. Other activities included helping with art and craft.

William Magher-Pollard, Anastacia Smith

Harry Maybury, Noah Cobby, Jack Naden

Students from Dubbo South Primary School and Orana Gardens Childcare Centre

Niesha Crawford, Skye Dodd, Coby Read, Jesse Tozer Toby Dowler, Kimberly Trappett

SESSIONS FROM THU DEC 11 UNTIL WED DEC 17

COMFORT, STYLE & VALUE

$10.00 TICKETS 3D EXTRA

3D CINEMA $12.50 3D EXODUS GODS & KINGS (M) Daily: 4.30

STANDARD CINEMA $10 HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (MA 15+) Daily: 10.45 1.15 3.45 6.30 9.00 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PT. 1 (M) Daily: 10.30 1.15 3.50 6.30 9.00 3 2D EXODUS GODS & KINGS (M) Daily: 10.30 1.30 7.30 8.30 ALEXANDER & THE TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD DAY (PG) Daily: 10.30 12.30 2.30 4.30 6.30 FAT PIZZA VS HOUSOS (MA 15+) Daily: 1.30 8.45 LET’S BE COPS (MA 15+) Daily: 11.00 4.00 6.30

READINGCINEMAS.COM.AU

DUBBO PH: 6881 8600

ICE V R E S Y A D SAME Cards

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DUBBO WEEKENDER Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 00.00.201429 1 DUBBO WEEKENDER TheThe Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

PUZZLES & PLAY FIND THE WORDS

WEEKENDER SUPER CROSSWORD

This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in any direction but always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when you have completed the puzzle, there will be 13 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle. Playing sport

ability action athletics beach ball boot boules bowling bowls catch count cricket

croquet cycling dibs football game golf grid hand hockey indoors lacrosse

league marathon netball pelota petanque rugger shoot shot-put skiing soccer sprint

squash surfing table tennis talent tenpin touch triathlon try win

WEEKENDER SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

ACROSS

1. Empress of old Russia 8. Unwakeful state 12. Part of BYO 15. Political coalition 19. Choose for jury duty 20. Lang. spoken in Milan 21. 1959 John Wayne film 23. What a maestro studies 25. Christian, for one 26. Braggarts have inflated ones 27. Grade Point Averages 28. Penitentiary division 30. Laid eyes on 33. What “My Bonnie lies over” 34. Home for a pet rodent 38. Fort Knox feature 44. Meyers of “Think Big” movie 45. Wriggly swimmer 46. “Now .. ... be told” 48. Having much land 49. Crop lopper 51. Mournful ring 52. Groups of wharf-supporting beams 54. Taj ... 55. Relaxing facility 57. Sci-fi writer Harlan 59. “. ... just wondering” 60. Mark of a sergeant, e.g. 66. “The Hanoi Hilton” locale 67. White cheese

68. A mean Amin 69. Track beams 70. Discontinue 71. Its students tumble 75. “... grown apart” 76. Represented 77. Wayfarer’s refuge 78. Try to win at eBay, say 79. First, in terms of transmission 82. Holland bloom 85. Marine “motorcycle”

86. “So long, Pierre!” 87. “... .. directed” (medicine box warning) 88. Freckle, e.g. 89. Royal flush card 90. American mobile phone 93. Scanned supermarket symbol 97. Close by 99. Squabble 100. De Niro’s 2015 movie 105. Mosquito net material 106. “... boy!”

This week’s theme: SHARED FEATURES

chance 60. Hostess Perle 61. Kleenex, say 62. Advertisements 63. Really must 64. Called upon 65. Nucleic acid base 67. Showing, as a card 72. Actor Conrad 73. Dandelion lookalike 74. Tuned in 75. Cleverness 78. Davis of film 79. Érié or Supérieur 80. Lyrical work 81. “Stand by Me” actor Wheaton 83. Los Angeles police force 84. It’s S. of Leb. 85. Sock ... (radio) 87. Dismount 88. Artist Marcel 91. With 17Down, discusses at length 92. Weasels’ kin 94. Fell in line 95. Menu listing 1. Clock datum 39. Philip VI’s 110. Into the mutual funds 96. Grouchy wind 2. Overproud 15. Make coffee house 98. Net Weight 3. Lhasa ... (dog 16. Molten rock 40. Serving 111. Statement (abbr.) breed) 17. See 91-Down perfectly about nine 100. Singer Irene 18. Strong rope 41. Vase variety 101. Electrified answers in this 4. Boosts 5. Incorporated 22. Storage unit 42. Piano part puzzle 102. “54” co-star (abbr.) 43. Total Dis24. Project 115. Successful Campbell solved Solids particular CPR performers 6. ... Kameni 103. Platform for (Greek Island) 29. In a majestic 47. Bishop, e.g. 116. Dressed in a lectern 7. Allowing only 50. Fathers manner 117. Chinese 104. Canadian 51. China’s ChiCheckers pieces female students 31. Stainless ... cable channel 8. Loud insect ang ...-shek 32. Squint (at) 118. Fruit-flafor children 9. Western 52. Rack-and-... 33. Head, in Pau voured drinks 105. Piddling Amerinds (steering) 34. Hurting 119. South 107. Like giants 10. Tarnish 53. Hoops Hall 35. Sunken southeast 108. Bark source 11. Initial Hebrew space in front of of Famer Dan 120. Ticked 109. Mgr.’s aide letter a cellar window 55. Parents’ 121. Skit 112. Garden tool 12. Singer Roy 36. She’s a soc- hiree 56. Kilt pattern 113. Actor Kilmer 13. Nobelist Elie cer star 58. Arrived at by 114. Epoch DOWN 37. Liquor 14. Like some

Tip: This is an international crossword. To add an extra challenge it occasionally uses the US spelling for answers. 1124 n Solution next week

GO FIGURE

>> AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW: One letter stands for another. In this sample, A is used for the three Ls, X for the two Os, etc. Single letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of the words are all hints. Each week the code letters are different.

1201 n Solution next week

TRIVIA TIME 1. MEDICINE: What condition does a deficiency of iron cause? 2. FOOD AND DRINK: What is bergamot? 3. FLASHBACK: Who loved Puff, the magic dragon? 4. MOVIES: Which animated movie contains the line: “Squirrel!”? 5. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the traditional birthstone for September?

6. LYRICAL: Name the song that contains this lyric: “Tuesday afternoon is never ending, Wednesday morning papers didn’t come, Thursday night your stockings needed mending, See how they run.” 7. ASTRONOMY: How many moons does the planet Mars have? 8. MYTHOLOGY: What is the Greek god of the sun called? 9. LANGUAGE: What is the only word in the English language that ends in the letters “mt”? 10. LITERATURE: What was the name of Dick and Jane’s dog in the famous early readers? n Answers next page

1201 n Solution next week

OUT ON A LIMB

DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014

>> The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers only once. 1201 n Solution next week

by Gary Kopervas

CRYPTO-QUOTE

PUZZLES & PLAY THE WEEK AHEAD

week commencing 15.12.2014

ARIES

LIBRA



Mar 21-apr 19 Make your holiday preparations one step at a time in order to avoid being overwhelmed and leaving things undone. That confusing family situation continues to work itself out.

TAURUS



apr 20-May 20 Ease this year’s holiday money pressures by letting your thrifty side guide you as you look for those perfect gifts that typically reflect your good taste and love of beauty.

GEMINI



May 21-Jun 20 You’ll have a good handle on potential holiday problems if you delegate tasks to family members, friends or co-workers – most of whom will be more than happy to help out.

CANCER



Jun 21-Jul 22 Right now you are especially vulnerable to holiday scams that seek to take advantage of your generosity. Best advice: Check them out before you send out your cheques.

LEO



Jul 23-aug 22 The upcoming holiday season gives the Big Cat much to purr about. Relationships grow stronger, and new opportunities loom on the horizon, just waiting to be pounced on.

VIRGO



aug 23-Sep 22 A changing situation brings conflicting advice about how to go forward with your holiday plans. Your best bet: Make the decision you feel most comfortable with.



Sep 23-Oct 22 Holiday plans get back on track after some confusion about the direction you expected to take. A potentially troublesome money matter needs your immediate attention.



SCORPIO

Oct 23-nOv 21 Your holiday preparations are on track. But you need to confront a personal situation while you can still keep it from overwhelming everything else.

SAGITTARIUS



nOv 22-Dec 21 Tight financial matters ease a bit during this holiday season. But the sagacious Sagittarian is welladvised to keep a tight hold on the reins while shopping for gifts.

CAPRICORN



Dec 22-Jan 19 Don’t put off making decisions about this year’s holiday celebrations, despite the negative comments you’ve been getting from several quarters. Do it NOW!

AQUARIUS



Jan 20-Feb 18 The holidays will bring new friends and new opportunities. Meanwhile, be careful to use your energy wisely as you go about making holiday preparations.

PISCES



Feb 19-Mar 20 There’s good news coming from a most unlikely source. And it could turn out to be one of the best holiday gifts you have had in years. Remember to stay positive.

OPEN WEEKENDER COFFEE & MEALS

RSL AQUATIC & HEALTH CLUB

CARLO’S IGA SOUTH DUBBO

• Open Saturday 12 til late • Good foo, good music, good times • $12 lunch specials

• Open Saturday 7.30am-5pm • Open Sunday 8.30am-3pm • Gym • Indoor pool • Sauna • Steam room • Squash courts

• Saturday 7am-8pm • Sunday 8am-8am • Weekly specials, friendly service, • delicatessen, fruit and vegetables, grocery items

232 Macquarie Street, 6884 7728

TED’S TAKEAWAY • Open Saturday and Sunday 8.30am-8pm • The big value in takeaway food. • Great weekly specials.

26 Victoria St, 6882 7899

VILLAGE BAKERY CAFE • Open Saturday and Sunday 6am to 5.30pm. • Gourmet pies • Mouth-watering cakes • Delicious pastries • Gourmet French garden salad baguettes and salads. • Perfect breakfast and brunch

113 Darling Street (adjacent to the railway crossing), 6884 5454

CLUBS & PUBS PASTORAL HOTEL • Open Saturday 10am to 4am, Sunday 10am to 9pm. • Restaurant open for lunch and dinner. • All desserts home made. • Open Saturday and Sunday • Balcony breakfast’s from 8am - 11.30am • Serving Bill’s Beans Coffee

110 Talbragar St, 6882 4219

DUBBO RSL CLUB RESORT • Open Saturday 8am to 1am Sunday 8am to 10pm. • Quality entertainment, blackboard specials in the bistro.

Cnr Brisbane and Wingewarra Streets, 6882 4411

Be creative in applying your forecast to the actual circumstances of your life. For entertainment purposes only.

CLUB DUBBO

Last week’s Super Crossword 1124

Last week’s Go Figure 1124

• Open Saturday and Sunday from 9am. • Riverview Bistro 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm. • Relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Whylandra St, 6884 2396

AMAROO • Open Saturday and Sunday from 10am • Bistro specials everyday for lunch and dinner. • Night club

81 Macquarie St, 6882 3533

COMMERCIAL HOTEL • Restaurant open 12-2pm and 6-9pm • Free function room hire • Kids playground • Large screen broadcasting all major sporting events

Last week’s Sudoku 1124

161 Brisbane Street, 6882 4488 This week’s Find the Words solution 833 The active life Last week’s Crypto-Quote 1124

CLUBS & PUBS SPORTIES • Open Saturday and Sunday from 9am • Restaurant open from 11.45am2pm and 5.45-9pm.

101 - 103 Erskine Street, 6884 2044

MACQAURIE INN This week’s TRIVIA TIME answers: 1. Anaemia. 2. A type of citrus fruit. 3. Little Jackie Paper. 4. “Up” 5. Sapphire. 6. “Lady Madonna,” by the Beatles in 1968. Paul McCartney was aiming for a boogie-woogie Fats Domino sound, and Fats covered it the same year. “Lady Madonna” gives a daily account of the problems of a working-class woman... except Saturday was left out, something McCartney didn’t realise until years later. 7. Two, Phobos and Deimos. 8. Helios. 9. Dreamt. 10. Spot

GROCERIES

OLD BANK RESTAURANT

BORN THIS WEEK: You are respected for your honesty and loyalty. You make friends slowly – but with rare exceptions, they’re in your life forever.

THE ANSWERS & SOLUTIONS

GYMS

• Open 10am-1pm on Saturday and 10am-10pm on Sunday • Restaurant open 12-3pm and 6-9pm

Cnr Brisbane and Wingewarra Streets, 6884 1777

SHOPPING DUBBO ANTIQUE & COLLECTABLES • Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 3pm • Antique furniture, china, cast iron, old tools and collectables.

4 Depot Road, 6885 4400

THE BOOK CONNECTION • Open Saturday 8.30am to 4pm. • Sunday 10am to 2pm. • New and used books • Over 60,000 books in store.

178 Macquarie St, 6882 3311

QUINN’S MYALL ST NEWSAGENCY • Saturday and Sunday from 5am- 1pm. • Newspapers, magazines, stationery supplies.

272 Myall St, 6882 0688

THE SWISH GALLERY • Open Saturday 9am to 12pm. • Distinctive jewellery, creative contemporary decor for your home and stylish gifts.

29 Talbragar St, 6882 9528

BRENNAN’S MITRE 10 • For all your DIY projects, hardware, tools and garden products • See us in store for great specials • Saturday 8am-4pm • Sunday 9am-4pm

64-70 Macquarie Street, 6882 6133

ORANA MALL SHOPPING CENTRE • 52 Specialty Stores, Big W, Woolworths and Bernardi’s SUPA IGA. • Easy Parking, now also with approx. 160 undercover. • Food Court • Saturday 9.00am – 5.00pm • Sunday 10.00am – 4.00pm • www.oranamall.com.au

Cnr Mitchell Highway & Wheelers Lane, 6882 7766

THE PARTY STOP • Open Saturday 9am-4pm • Party Costumes • Decorations • Balloons • Gifts for milestone events • Themed parties

95 Tamworth St, 6882 2029

DMC MEAT AND SEAFOOD • Open Saturday 6am to 3pm • Huge variety, bulk buys and red hot specials weekly.

55 Wheelers Lane, 6882 1504

IGA WEST DUBBO • Open Saturday and Sunday 7.30am to 6pm. • Great weekly specials and friendly service.

38-40 Victoria Street, 6882 3466

THINGS TO DO WESTERN PLAINS CULTURAL CENTRE • One of the largest galleries and museums in NSW • An ever-changing array of exhibitions and events including top national exhibitions.

76 Wingewarra Street, 6801 4444

OLD DUBBO GAOL • Open Saturday and Sunday 9-5pm • Large display of animatronics and holographs providing a realistic insight into a bygone era of prison life.

90 Macquarie Street, near the old clock tower, 6801 4460

TARONGA WESTERN PLAINS ZOO • Open Saturday and Sunday 9-4pm. • The zoo’s encounters and shows offer visitors truly special experiences with their favourite animals.

Obley Road, off the Newell Hwy, 6881 1400

TRIKE ADVENTURES • Book a ride Saturday or Sunday • Available for town tours, special occassions, outback pub lunches or just blasting along with the wind in your face

1300 TRIKES (1300 87 45 37)

READINGS CINEMA • Comfort, style and value • $10 tickets • 3D extra • Candy bar • 5 screen cinema complex • Digital sound • Dolby Digital 3D projection • Luxury armchair comfort

49 Macquarie St,6881 8600

142 Darling Street, 6885 6188

DUBBO GROVE PHARMACY • Open Saturday 9am til 12 noon • Giftware • Jewellery • Homewares

59A Boundary Road, 6882 3723

THE ATHLETES FOOT • Open Saturday 9am til 2pm • Everything you need for the perfect fit for your foot

IF YOUR BUSINESS IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS EACH WEEKEND CALL US FOR A GREAT RATE ON A LISTING HERE – 6885 4433

176 Macquarie Street, 6881 8400

Birch Avenue, 6884 1955

TO HAVE YOUR BUSINESS FEATURED HERE, CALL 6885 4433 DUBBO WEEKENDER The Dubbo Photo News Weekend News Magazine 13.12.2014