True Blue Magazine - June/July 2018 by publishingbychelle

TrueBlue June/July 2018

OUR HEART IS IN THE COUNTRY

THE CAPITAL’S CALLING Canberra’s charm will have you converted in no time

LOVING MARGS

WA’s wine and food haven continues to seduce

ON THE MONEY

Regional Aussie hotspots where the property game is on

Kasey:

back to her roots KASEY CHAMBERS AND HER CAMPFIRE DISCIPLES ARE COMING TO YOU

AusBiz. The new Aussie business mag

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Letter From the COO

The new Rex flights linking Perth with Carnarvon and Monkey Mia are scheduled to commence on July 2, 2018.

EDITORIAL

Publisher: Michelle Hespe publisher@publishingbychelle.com Editor: Katrina Holden editor@publishingbychelle.com Art Director: Jon Wolfgang Miller National Sales Manager: Robert Desgouttes advertising@publishingbychelle.com Lifestyle & Travel Sales Manager: Sonja Halstead sonja.halstead@publishingbychelle.com Sub Editors: Sally Macmillan, Jessica Multari, Claire Hey Editorial Assistant: Sarah Hinder editorial@publishingbychelle.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Darren Baguley Kirsten Craze Shane Cubis Patrick Haddock Briar Jensen Ian Lloyd Neubauer Ryan Watson

PRINTING

SOS Print + Media 65 Burrows Road, Alexandria, NSW, 2015

To the third edition of True Blue

Exciting times are upon us as Rex expands its footprint in Western Australia (WA) with the addition of two new destinations, Carnarvon and Monkey Mia, both of which are located on the beautiful Coral Coast some 900 kilometres north of Perth. Monkey Mia is world renowned for its dolphins and their interaction with people — researchers from across the globe travel there to study these fascinating creatures. The new Rex flights linking Perth with Carnarvon and Monkey Mia are scheduled to commence on July 2, 2018. Rex has been operating from Perth to Albany and Esperance since February 2016, and the addition of Carnarvon and Monkey Mia to the WA network will double the number of regional destinations we service in this vast state. Rex will operate 24 weekly services between Perth and Carnarvon and 12 weekly services between Perth and Monkey Mia, which demonstrates our commitment to the state of WA and in particular the regional communities of Carnarvon and Monkey Mia. To further enhance the frequency of services in WA and along the Eastern Seaboard, we have recently purchased another two Saab 340 aircraft, adding to our already strong fleet of 55 aircraft. These new arrivals will augment our existing schedule and bolster not only the expanding WA routes but the entire network. In this edition of True Blue we share all that the unique destinations of our newly acquired routes have to offer, from the dolphin population of Monkey Mia to the delicious fresh produce of Carnarvon. Until next time, sit back, relax and enjoy your flight. Neville Howell Chief Operating Officer

TrueBlue June/July 2018

OUR HEART IS IN THE COUNTRY

THE CAPITAL’S CALLING Canberra’s charm will have you converted in no time

LOVING MARGS

WA’s wine and food haven continues to seduce

ON THE MONEY

Regional Aussie hotspots where the property game is on

Kasey:

back to her roots KASEY CHAMBERS AND HER CAMPFIRE DISCIPLES ARE COMING TO YOU

AusBiz. The new Aussie business mag

True Blue is published by Publishing ByChelle, (ABN: 78 621 375 853 ACN: 621 375 853) Suite 2, Level 8, 100 Walker Street North Sydney, NSW, 2060 (02) 9954 0349 publishingbychelle.com The reproduction of any content, in whole or part without prior written permission by the publisher is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed in the content are those of the contributors, and not necessarily those of the publisher. All information in this magazine was believed to be correct at the time of publication, and all reasonable efforts have been made to contact copyright holders. Publishing ByChelle cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If such items are sent to the magazine, they will not be returned. We apologise if we don’t get back to your email, as we do receive a large volume of communication via various online channels. Some images used in True Blue are from istock and Getty images, and we make every effort to credit all contributors.

JUNE/JULY 2018

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Cover Story

We catch up with Aussie singing sensation Kasey Chambers around the campfire as she talks about growing up in the Australian Outback.

Inside TrueBlue upfront

Features

09 Rex News

22 Events Calendar

From July 2, Rex will operate 24 weekly services between Perth and Carnarvon and 12 weekly services between Perth and Monkey Mia, delivering a consistent Monday to Friday flight schedule with morning and afternoon return services.

16 Rex Directory

An exciting array of some of the best places to eat, stay and play right across the Rex network.

The best events and festivals around the country during June and July.

24 Entertainment

The latest and greatest films, programs, books and music to inspire you.

31 From the Grapevine

Why juicy, fruit-driven grenache is fast becoming the new pinot.

32 Meet the Chef

We chat to Will Cowper, Head Chef at Otto in buzzing Brisbane.

40 Road Trip

It's time to hit Canberra, as the nation’s capital is fast becoming one of Australia’s most vibrant cities.

44 Food and Wine The many culinary and vinous gems of WA’s Margaret River region.

52 Philanthropy

We speak with the founder of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, now in its 13th year of raising funds for Australia’s homeless.

56 ArtSpace

Our look at the work of Cooks Hill Galleries, supporting homegrown artists such as Ken Strong, who brings Australian landscapes to life.

61 Conference & Incentive venues

We profile Australia’s best venues to host workplace conferences. Mix business with leisure.

AusBiz. Check out AusBiz. at the back of the magazine. In this edition you’ll find: BOOM AND BUST The economic cycles that affect property pricing in Australia’s mining towns. TRASH AND TREASURE The economic viability of reprocessing tailings from legacy mines. AGRIBUSINESS The truth about foreign ownership of Australia’s agricultural lands. INFRASTRUCTURE Developments changing our foreshores. FINANCE Tax time tips from Tribecca Financial.

JUNE/JULY 2018

Publisher's Letter

“Orange has long been a well-known fruit district, but over the past 20 years it has steadily, conscientiously cemented its reputation as a thriving food and wine hub.”

This photo was taken during Orange F.O.O.D Week, where I took a tour that explores the harvesting of hazelnuts.

6 TrueBlue

This month I was incredibly pleased to finally make it to the 27th Orange F.O.O.D week. I’ve had it on my mustdo travel list for more than a decade, and after three wonderful days I’m pleased to say that it was every bit as great as I’d heard. Before arriving in Orange I’d never stopped to consider the fact that despite its name, which understandably has most people assuming Orange is named after the fruit, it’s actually a city with roots planted in apples and gold mining. It was early explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell who named the parish Orange, as he’d been an associate of the Prince of Orange in the Peninsular War, when both were aides-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington. Orange has long been a well-known fruit growing district, but over the past 20 years it has steadily, conscientiously cemented its reputation as a thriving food and wine hub. In fact, F.O.O.D Week is the longest continually running food and wine festival in Australia, and today the Forage Day (a 4km stroll over which guests indulge in a nine-course degustation) has become a sell-out event where over 1,500 people hit the hills to walk, wine and dine. The Producers’ Lunch is one of the festival’s major drawcards. Sponsored by Country Style magazine, it’s a delightfully immersive event set up within market stalls in Cook Park, that includes a three-course meal prepared by locals from all of the delicious produce on offer. Everyone attending receives a prosecco upon arrival (how civilised), and you can fill your glass up

at a few of the stalls throughout the day. During the sublime, artfully presented lunch, producers take to the stage to talk about their life in Orange and, of course, their produce. I had the pleasure of hearing the Director of Fresh Fodder Fiona Schofield speak about her and her hubbie’s tree-change adventure and success in the dip and salad sector; Tim Hansen from Mandagery Creek gave a hilarious fact-filled talk about venison, and Basil Baldwin spoke about a life devoted to hazelnuts. Later that day I visited his farm for a tour, where I learnt about the entire growing and harvesting process. It’s fascinating! Before leaving Orange, I sent a text to a friend to thank her for some awesome advice: make sure you leave half of your suitcase empty and take a backpack. Thank goodness I did, as I came back to Sydney with enough fresh loot to feed my entire street cheese platters for a week! Luckily, I also had the foresight to order a few cases of local wine. Don’t even get me started on the wines of Orange… that’s another fabulous story that’s coming soon. Enjoy this issue of True Blue and drop us a line any time. Happy travels

MICHELLE HESPE & THE TEAM AT TRUE BLUE

A HOME AT SCHOOL COME AND SEE US ACROSS RURAL NSW THROUGHOUT 2018 • Boarding Schools Expo: Griffith - 14 June • Boarding Schools Expo: Wagga Wagga - 15-16 June • Mudgee Field Days - 13-14 July

• Boarding Schools Expo: Narrabri - 27-28 July • AgQuip Field Days - 21-23 August

For more information, contact Martin Gooding, Head of Enrolments, at goodingm@knox.nsw.edu.au or call 02 9473 9768. A Uniting Church school for boys, K-12 – Wahroonga, Sydney www.knox.nsw.edu.au

KIMBERLEY FINE DIAMONDS

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Rex News

New Routes for Rex Commencing July 2, 2018, Rex will operate air services on the Perth–Carnarvon and Monkey Mia routes. This announcement followed a competitive tender process whereby Rex was awarded the routes by the Western Australian (WA) Government. Rex will operate 24 weekly services between Perth and Carnarvon and 12 weekly services between Perth and Monkey Mia. The extra flight frequency between Perth and Carnarvon will deliver a consistent Monday to Friday flight schedule with morning and afternoon return services, for the convenience of regular travellers. The 12 weekly services between Perth and Monkey Mia will operate daily from Sunday to Friday inclusive. Warrick Lodge, Rex’s General Manager Network Strategy and Sales, said, “Rex is pleased to be expanding its services in WA. The award of the Perth–Carnarvon/Monkey Mia  JUNE/JULY 2018

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For more information and to apply for the Rex Cadet Pilot Program, please visit our website at rex.com.au/cadetpilot *Course duration may vary depending on individual aptitude and ability.

Rex News

route to Rex follows the award of the Albany and Esperance routes two years ago, demonstrating that Rex has fully lived up to expectations in its first foray into WA. Indeed, in the recent WA inquiry, the public response to Rex’s services and approach on the Albany and Esperance routes was predominantly positive. “In the past two years Rex has forged strong partnership agreements with the City of Albany, the Shire of Esperance and Perth Airport. Through this collaboration, Rex has implemented a very successful Community Fare scheme which saw more than 24,000 Community Fares sold out of 106,000 total seats sold in the past 12 months, bringing about $2 million of savings to regional air travellers annually. Rex intends to replicate this same successful scheme to Monkey Mia and Carnarvon.”

Monkey Mia (Shark Bay)

The World Heritage Area of Monkey Mia, or Shark Bay, is well known for activities such as fishing charters, snorkelling, diving, and boat and kayak hire. Here you can catch a glimpse of the abundant marine life, including bottlenose dolphins, dugongs, manta rays and loggerhead turtles.

Attracting people from all over the world, Monkey Mia is famous for its dolphin experience. At Shark Bay Marine Park visitors can get up close and personal to dolphins which have visited the area daily for four decades. You can also see Australia’s red dirt contrasting with blue skies and white sand beaches while driving a 4WD through Francois Peron National Park. Visitors can take a camel safari, experience an Aboriginal cultural tour or check out the world’s oldest living fossils: stromatolites at Hamelin Pool.

Carnarvon

Nestled between the Shark Bay and Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Areas, Carnarvon lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The town of Carnarvon produces 80 per cent of WA’s total fruit and vegetable crops, plus a large percentage of WA’s seafood. With this combination, visitors can look forward to great meals in Carnarvon. Visitors can also glean a background into the town’s history in the local Heritage Precinct, which includes One Mile Jetty, the Shearing Hall of Fame, Railway Station Museum and the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage. JUNE/JULY 2018

CONNECTING REGIONAL QUEENSLAND

Up, up and away! Regional Express: Our heart is in the country Bamaga NPA

Mornington Island (Gununa) Karumba Normanton

Cairns

Burketown Doomadgee

Townsville Mount Isa

Julia Creek Bamaga NPA

Hughenden

Richmond

Winton

Boulia

Longreach Bedourie

Windorah Charleville

Mornington Island (Gununa) Birdsville Carnarvon

Karumba Normanton

Monkey Mia

Brisbane West Wellcamp (Toowoomba)

Quilpie

Cairns

Burketown Coober Pedy Doomadgee

Cunnamulla

Brisbane

St George

Thargomindah

Townsville Mount Isa

Julia Creek

Lismore

Hughenden

Richmond

Grafton (Yamba) Armidale

Ceduna

Broken Hill WintonPort Augusta Dubbo Boulia Parkes Whyalla Orange Longreach Mildura Newcastle Bedourie Port Lincoln Griffith Bathurst Windorah Adelaide Charleville Sydney Narrandera-Leeton Birdsville Wagga Wagga Brisbane West Wellcamp Kangaroo Island Moruya Quilpie (Toowoomba) (Kingscote) Albury Snowy Mountains (Cooma) Cunnamulla Brisbane Merimbula Mount Gambier St George Coober Pedy Thargomindah Melbourne

Perth

Esperance Albany

Effective 2nd July 2018

Lismore

King Island Ceduna

ective 2nd July 2018

Grafton (Yamba) Armidale

Broken Hill

Perth

Port Augusta Whyalla

Albany

Port Lincoln

Adelaide

Kangaroo Island (Kingscote)

Orange Newcastle

Griffith

Bathurst

Narrandera-Leeton Wagga Wagga Albury

Mount Gambier

Ballina (Byron Bay)

Dubbo Burnie

Parkes Mildura

Esperance

Ballina (Byron Bay)

Melbourne

Sydney

Moruya Snowy Mountains (Cooma) Merimbula

King Island

Burnie

JUNE/JULY 2018

Check-in Info

CHECK- IN

BAGGAGE

Online check-in You can check-in online through the Rex website, rex.com.au, on your desktop or mobile devices between 48 hours and 60 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of your flight.

Checked baggage Passengers on all fares (except Rex Flex) are permitted a 15 kilogram free baggage allowance. Passengers in possession of a Rex Flex Fare are permitted a 23 kilogram free baggage allowance.

Airport check-in If you have checked baggage, we recommend that you arrive at the airport for check-in at least 60 minutes before the scheduled departure of your flight at all airports except Burketown, Queensland (90 minutes before).

Passengers with international connections (within 24 hours) are permitted a 20 kilogram free baggage allowance upon presenting a valid itinerary or ticket. Cabin baggage A maximum of two pieces per passenger up to a total of 7 kilograms of cabin baggage is permitted on board.

Rex check-in closes: •6 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure time at Burketown airport. •3 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure time at Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Queensland airports (with the exception of Burketown above). •2 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure time at regional airports in NSW, SA, Tas, Vic and WA.

Excess baggage Excess baggage is permitted subject to restrictions of the day and a surcharge of $7.70 per kilogram. Virgin Australia Baggage Agreement Rex accepts the checking of baggage to/from Virgin Australia flights. Ask at check-in for more information.

Passengers with special requirements Passengers with special requirements must check-in at the airport (online check-in is not available) no later than: •6 0 minutes prior to scheduled departure in major cities and all Queensland regional airports except Burketown (please see below). • 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure in NSW, SA, Tas, Vic and WA regional airports. • 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure in Burketown.

REX AIRCR AFT FACTS

AIRCRAFT

MAX. TAKE-OFF WEIGHT (KG)

SPEED (KM/H)

AVAILABLE SEATS

GALLEY

REST ROOM

AVAILABLE AIRCRAFT

CRUISE ALTITUDE (METRES)

CREW

SAAB 340

13,155

520

8,000

14 TrueBlue

rg io G i rg D io to e m co el D W to e m W elco W Call into our cellar door and check out our range of produce, stay for a glass and a local produce platter

OPEN 10-5PM EVERY DAY RIDDOCH HIGHWAY, COONAWARRA SA 5263 P 08 8736 3222 | WWW.DIGIORGIO.COM.AU

RELAX AND UNWIND IN -TRA STYLE BOOK ONLINE AT VIEW/AMEND BOOKINGS OR AT CHECK-IN

Experience Rex-tra comfort in an emergency exit row seat. Emergency exit row seats have extra legroom and can be reserved for less than $5.00 per sector to eligible passengers*. Plus, be one of the first to disembark if you choose a Rex-tra seat in row 1. *Terms and conditions apply.

rex.com.au

Directory

TrueBlue Experiences

Your directory of things to see and do across Australia.

Rock Cottage, Winmark Wines 229 WOLLOMBI ROAD, BROKE, NSW T 0429 265 268 E info@winmarkwines.com.au

Winmark Wines is a stunning Hunter Valley property situated on 116 acres. Nestled into the landscape is Rock Cottage â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a perfect getaway for exploring the Broke region. The residence has three bedrooms, a cosy living area, library, kitchen and dining room. There's also a tennis court for those who'd like a hit.

Loyalty Beach Campground & Fishing Lodge 1 LOYALTY BEACH RD, BAMAGA, QLD T 07 4069 3808 E fishcapeyork@bigpond.com loyaltybeach.com

Just 45 minutes from Australia's northernmost tip, we offer 13 acres of stunning beachfront, including 11 acres of open bush camping. We have town water, power supplies and our restaurant and bar is open 7 days a week.

16 TrueBlue

King Island Discovery Tours & Benn's Buses PO BOX 265, CURRIE, TAS 7256 T 0429 709 864 E jimbenn53@hotmail.com kingislandandbustours.com.au

Griffith NSW 81 KOOYOO STREET, GRIFFITH, NSW T 1800 681 141 E visitgriffith@griffith.com.au

King Island Discovery Tours and Benn's Buses have all your transport needs covered on King Island. Offering golf, scenic or special interest tours, we can move you wherever you want to go, and provide competitive rates, gourmet food packages and expert informative drivers.

Head to Griffith and discover "one of Australia's most liveable country towns" (Weekend Australian Magazine, 2018). It's easy to love Griffith; the people are friendly, the cafes serve fabulous Italian food, and the main street is buzzing with activity. Order your FREE Griffith Region book today.

Nautilus Arts Centre

Sapphire Waters Motor Inn

66 TASMAN TERRACE, PORT LINCOLN, SA 5606 T 08 8621 2351 E nautilusartcentre@plcc.sa.gov.au nautilusartcentre.com.au

32-34 MERIMBULA DRIVE, MERIMBULA NSW 2548 T 02 6495 1999 E info@sapphirewatersmotorinn.com.au sapphirewatersmotorinn.com.au

Nautilus Arts Centre is a place to gather, innovate, and celebrate. Located in the heart of Port Lincoln's CBD, it is also an outstanding venue for weddings and conferences. In the building you will find art galleries, the Gallery Shop and Nautilus Theatre.

An award-winning motel located just a short walk from the CBD, restaurants and clubs of Merimbula. We have a large range of room types to suit all occasions. Set on Merimbula Lake on the Sapphire Coast, we offer some of the most spectacular scenery on the NSW Coast.

Outthere MEDIAKIT 2016/17

TrueBlue Experiences

Directory Bamaga NPA

where we fly

Gununa

Doomadgee

Cairns

Normanton

Burketown

Townsville Mount Isa

Richmond

Julia Creek

Hughenden

Winton Longreach

Boulia Bedourie

Birdsville

Windorah

Quilpie

Charleville

Brisbane Thargomindah

Coober Pedy

Wellcamp/ Toowoomba

St George

Cunnamulla

Lismore Grafton Armidale Broken Hill

Perth

Taree Ceduna Whyalla

Dubbo Parkes

Mildura

Esperance Albany

Wagga Narrandera/ Wagga Leeton Albury

Kingscote

MENTION PROMO CODE: REXAIR for your free upgrade

Newcastle

Orange

Griffith

Adelaide

Port Lincoln

(Kangaroo Island)

Bathurst

Sydney

Moruya Cooma Merimbula

Melbourne

Mount Gambier

King Island Burnie

Macenmist Black Truffles

Absalom's Art Gallery

The Palms Motel Dubbo

230 CAPPANANA ROAD, BREDBO, NSW T 02 6454 4095 E inquiries@macenmist.com macenmist.com

638 CHAPPLE STREET, BROKEN HILL, NSW T 08 8087 5881 E jackab5@bigpond.com.au jackabsalom.com.au

39 COBRA STREET, DUBBO, NSW T 1800 185 322 E bookings@thepalmsmoteldubbo. com.au ThePalmsMotelDubbo.com.au

Macenmist is one of three truffieres located in the Bredbo region, approximately 80km south of Canberra, where the climate is ideal for the production of the coveted Black Truffle. After harvesting truffles, your three-course journey from 'paddock to plate' commences. Enjoy!

On your next visit to Broken Hill, Absalom's Art Gallery is a must. It has the finest collection of outback paintings by Jack Absalom, and features the largest opal display in the Southern Hemisphere. Hope to see you on your next visit. Come in and say hello.

Relax in our spacious, modern rooms. Get that tropical feel by our saltwater pool guarded by towering palm trees. Enjoy our friendly customer service and central location, right in the heart of Dubbo. It's only a 10-minute drive to the airport and Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

Commonwealth RoofClimb

Sundowner Cabins

Port Lincoln Visitor Centre

ADELAIDE OVAL, WAR MEMORIAL DRIVE, NORTH ADELAIDE, SA. T 08 8331 5222 E enquiries@roofclimb.com.au roofclimb.com.au

226 BROADBENT TERRACE, WHYALLA NORRIE, SA T 08 8645 1535 E sales@sundownercabinpark.com.au sundownercabinpark.com.au

3 ADELAIDE PLACE, PORT LINCOLN, SA T 1300 788 378 E info@visitportlincoln.net.au visitportlincoln.net.au

RoofClimb will literally take you to new heights at the world-class Adelaide Oval – in the heart of the city! This exhilarating adventure will have you travelling along the impressive curved roofline of the Oval as you soak up 360-degree views of the city and beyond. It's an ideal team building experience.

Offering accommodation for all budgets, at daily or weekly rates. Choose from 72 Modern Cabins — three with disability access, 52 two–bedroom, seven one–bedroom with full kitchens and 10 Studio Cabins. We also offer a great range of fully furnished units or houses in Whyalla.

The Visitor Centre is the perfect place to start planning your Eyre Peninsula adventure. Visit us to obtain permits, book land-based tours, ferry tickets and charters for shark, tuna and seal dives, and fishing. Drop in for travel brochures, souvenirs and postcards and internet access. Open seven days a week.

Lookout Cave Motel

King Island Escapes

LOT 1141, MCKENZIE CLOSE, COOPER PEDY, SA T 08 8672 5118 E info@thelookoutcave.com thelookoutcave.com

135 BARNES RD, LOORANA, KING ISLAND, TAS T 0417 580 550 E stay@kingislandescapes.com.au kingislandescapes.com.au

Charleville Cosmos Centre & Observatory

Sleeping underground is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. An opportunity not to be missed. Lookout Cave Motel has been excavated into sandstone rock up to 50 metres deep, so you'll experience a sleep like no other. Mention this advertisement for 10 per cent off your stay.

This ultimate beach retreat will take your King Island experience to another level. Our 4-bedroom architecturally designed accommodation, with bespoke cedar hot tub and sauna, are tucked into a hidden coastal setting with direct access to your private beach.

1 MILKY WAY, CHARLEVILLE, QLD T 07 4654 7771 E enquiries@cosmoscentre.com www.experiencecharleville.com

At our amazing observatory, see the wonders of our outback night skies and view the beauty of the Milky Way galaxy through powerful Meade telescopes. Enjoy ‘Astronomy by Day’ and book in for our incredible ‘Sun-viewing’. JUNE/JULY 2018

Ballina

(Byron Bay)

Rex FAQs/Exercises and Stretches

Frequently Asked Questions As you sit back in comfort en route to your destination, the Rex crew hope you enjoy this entertaining and informative light reading.

Q. Why do the flight attendants insist that all window blinds be up for take-off? A. The most critical phases of a flight are the take-off and the landing. In the most unlikely event of a situation that requires an emergency evacuation, it is important that crew and passengers are able to have a clear view of the outside conditions in case of obstructions. For example, before exits are opened, staff must check for fire or other obstacles that may present potential hazards during the evacuation. Q. Why do you have to stow your hand luggage in the overhead lockers, under the seats or in the seat pockets for take-off and landing? A. Flight crews are required by Civil Aviation Regulations to secure the cabin as well as possible for take-off and landing. As mentioned, these are the most critical phases of the flight and securing as much hand luggage as possible ensures that in the unlikely event of an emergency, the exits and aisles stay as clear as possible, in case evacuation is necessary. It is also important to keep hand luggage secure whenever possible to ensure that heavier items do not become airborne within the cabin. This is especially important when the aircraft is experiencing turbulence. Q. Why do you feel so tired from flying? A. As the aircraft altitude increases, air pressure decreases. As the pressure of the air decreases, the body absorbs less oxygen than it would at sea level — therefore, it must work harder to supply oxygen to the body’s cells. As the body is working harder, it becomes more tired. Q. Why do you sometimes feel pain in your ears or sinuses during ascent or descent? A. The sinuses and middle ear are air-containing cavities that connect with the nose via narrow channels. As aircraft ascend and cabin pressure drops, air passes out of these cavities (without any effort from the passenger) to balance the cabin pressure. It is a different matter during descent, as the cabin pressure increases. The channels close down and must be actively opened by holding the nose and blowing to

18 TrueBlue

inflate the cavities. Facial and ear pain can occur during descent if re-inflation does not occur, and this is much more likely if the passenger has nasal congestion. If you must fly with a cold or hay fever, use a decongestant nasal spray before descent and buy some ‘ear planes’ to plug your ears. (Information contributed by Dr Daniel Hains, ENT Surgeon.) Q. When can electronic equipment such as laptops, iPods and mobile phones be used? A. All Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) must be placed in flight mode inside the departure terminal and must remain in flight mode until inside the arrival terminal. Small hand held PEDs weighing less than 1kg, such as mobile phones, can be used in flight mode during all stages of flight on Rex’s Saab 340 aircraft. PEDs over 1kg, such as laptop computers, must be stowed appropriately for taxi, take-off and landing, and are permitted to be used only during cruise when the ‘Fasten Seatbelt’ sign is switched off. PEDs cannot be used while crossing the tarmac. Q. What is the average speed of the aircraft when cruising in-flight? A. Approximately 500 kilometres per hour. Q. Why do you have to get permission from the Captain to move to a vacant seat? A. The aircraft’s take-off speed is calculated by the weight and balance of the aircraft, and many factors need to be considered for a successful take-off. Factors include the weight of passengers and where they are seated, the weight of cargo, freight and fuel, the distance available on the runway, etc. For example, if there are 100 or more kilograms of freight in the cargo, the balance of the aircraft will be better maintained if passengers are seated in the forward rows.

AIR TURBULENCE

Q. Aircraft often experience air turbulence, but what causes it? A. Imagine the air around the aircraft is water in a stream. We can see how water is disturbed around rocks or when two streams converge. Turbulence in the air is similar: as the aircraft passes through cold air or in the vicinity of

terrain that has disturbed the airflow — often incorrectly referred to as ‘air pockets’ — the aircraft climbs and descends in the same way that a boat moves on water. Though turbulence can be uncomfortable, it poses no threat to the aircraft and is akin to driving on a rough or unsealed road. More severe turbulence can be associated with developing thunderstorms. The Saab 340 has a sophisticated weather radar that pilots use to avoid these areas. Occasionally, a flight attendant will discontinue serving passengers in turbulent conditions; this is a precaution to ensure everyone’s safety. Q. Why should you keep your seatbelt fastened even when the ‘Fasten Seatbelt’ sign is switched off? A. On occasions, the flight crew cannot foresee turbulence or it is not picked up on the flight-deck radar. Because of this, we could unexpectedly experience turbulence at any time. The company recommends that you always keep your seatbelt fastened while you are seated — for your safety, just in case unexpected turbulence is encountered.

ENGINE NOISES

Q. Why do the aircraft’s engine noises change during flight? A. Aircraft need more power to climb than to descend, in the same way that a car needs more power to go up a hill than down one. The Saab 340 turboprop has more than enough power to climb, so shortly after take-off you will notice a change in noises as the power is reduced. The pilots also control the pitch angle of the propellers for various stages of the flight and as they ‘change gears’, this can also be heard in the cabin. Q. What should you do if you see or hear something that does not look or sound right? A. Please advise your flight attendant. The flight attendant may be able to answer your query and allay any fears. If not, the flight attendant will contact the flight deck and advise the pilots of anything unusual. Rex encourages open communication and will always treat a passenger’s concerns with the utmost seriousness.

Rex FAQs/Exercises and Stretches

Exercise and stretch regularly while seated Exercise and stretch regularly while seated

IN-FLIGHT COMFORT

SEATED EXERCISES

Exercise and ExerciseSTRETCHES andstretch stretchregularly regularlywhile whileseated seated SEATED

Inflight comfort

Flying can be demanding and altitude may make your body more sensitive to the Flying can be demanding and altitude effects of alcohol and caffeine. Sitting in one may make your body more sensitive place for a long time can be uncomfortable to the effects of alcohol and caffeine. and slow down your blood circulation. Flying be and Sitting in one place for a long time can Flyingcan can bedemanding demanding andaltitude altitude To helpmay your body adjust to flying make your body more be uncomfortable and slow downand your may make your body moresensitive sensitive to maintain your personal comfort and to and caffeine. blood circulation. To help your body tothe theeffects effectsofofalcohol alcohol and caffeine. wellbeing, wein recommend you take the Sitting one place for a long time adjust to flying and to maintain your Sitting in one place for a long timecan can following steps: be your personal comfort and and wellbeing, beuncomfortable uncomfortable andslow slowdown downwe your blood ToTohelp recommend you take theyour following bloodcirculation. circulation. help yourbody bodysteps: ANKLE CIRCLES —floor, Lift feet FOOT PUMPS —with Start withonboth ANKLE CIRCLES Lift feet off draw a circle with FOOT PUMPS Start both heels the floorheels and pointon feet the upwardfloor as high Keep hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids — adjust to flying and to maintain off draw a circle with and point feet high as Then youliftcan. Then put adjust to flying and to maintainyour your thefloor, toes, simultaneously moving one foot the clockwise as you can. Thenupward put both feetas flat on the floor. heels high, keeping the water, juice, non-caffeinated soft drinks — to personal comfort and wellbeing, we toes, moving both balls feet flatfeet ononthe floor. Then lift heelsintervals. high, keeping and thesimultaneously other foot counterclockwise. Reverse circles. of your the floor. Continue cycle in 30-second Keep hydrated. Drink of fluids personal comfort andplenty wellbeing, we – Do each direction for 15 seconds. Repeat one foot clockwise and theif desired.the balls of your feet on the floor. Continue cycle in preventrecommend dehydration, fatigue and headaches. you take the following steps: water, juice, non-caffeinated soft drinks recommend you take the following steps: ANKLE CIRCLES Lift feet off floor, draw a circle with30-second FOOT PUMPS Start with both heels on the floor and point feet upward as high other counterclockwise. intervals. Minimise– intake of dehydration, alcohol andfatigue coffee. ANKLEfoot CIRCLES Lift feet off floor, draw a circle with FOOT PUMPS Start with both heels on the floor and point feet upward as high to prevent and the toes, simultaneously one foot clockwise as you can. Then put both feet flat on the floor. Then lift heels high, keeping the Reverse circles. moving Do each Exercise Exercise and and stretch stretch regularly regularly while while seated seated the toes, simultaneously moving one foot clockwise as you can. Then put both feet flat on the floor. Then lift heels high, keeping the Moisten the face to help reduce drying and the other foot counterclockwise. Reverse circles. balls of your feet on the floor. Continue cycle in 30-second intervals. Keep hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids –– direction seconds.Reverse circles. balls of your feet on the floor. Continue cycle in 30-second intervals. headaches. Minimise intake ofthe alcohol and the otherfor foot 15 counterclockwise. Keep hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids Do each direction for 15 seconds. Repeat if desired. effects of cabin air. Repeat if desired. water, juice, drinks Do each direction for 15 seconds. Repeat if desired. SEATED SEATED EXERCISES EXERCISES and coffee. Moisten the facesoft to help water, juice,non-caffeinated non-caffeinated soft drinks –reduce dehydration, fatigue and the drying effects of cabin air. to Eat lightly. Eat lightly on longer flights –totoprevent prevent dehydration, fatigue and headaches. intake alcohol avoid indigestion — our in-flight is headaches.Minimise Minimise intakeofofmenu alcohol and Moisten the totooptions. help Eat lightly. Eat lightly onface longer flights designed tocoffee. provide lighter meal and coffee. Moisten the face help to reduce the ofofcabin air. avoid indigestion –effects our inflight menu reduce thedrying dryingeffects cabin air.is Exercise. We encourage you to do the designed to provide lighter meal options. gentle on-board exercises on this flights page to Eat Eatlightly. lightly.Eat Eatlightly lightlyon onlonger longer flightstoto enhanceavoid yourindigestion wellbeing during the flight. – our inflight menu isis Exercise. We encourage you to the avoid indigestion – our inflight do menu We recommend you do these exercises for KNEE LIFTS Lift leg with knee SHOULDER ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLS Arms held at 90° angles, designed totoprovide lighter meal gentle onboard exercises on thisoptions. page to designed provide lighter meal options. bent while contracting your thigh shoulders forward, then upward, elbows down, hands in front. Raise hands about five minutes every one to two hours. enhance your wellbeing during theStartheels flight. muscle. Alternate legs. Repeat 20 then backward, then downward, up to chest and back down. Alternate ANKLE CIRCLES ANKLE LiftCIRCLES feet off floor, Lift feet drawoffa floor, circledraw with a circleFOOT with PUMPS FOOT StartPUMPS with both withonboth the heels floor and on the point floor feetand upward point feet as high upward as h should also occasionally walk down We encourage you to do the theYou toes, simultaneously the toes,Exercise. simultaneously moving one foot moving clockwise one footyou clockwise as do you can. Then as you putcan. both Then feet put flatboth on the the feetfloor. flat on Then theliftfloor. heels Then high,liftkeeping heels high, the keeping to 30 times for each leg. using a gentle, circular motion. hands. Repeat in 30-second intervals. We recommend these exercises Exercise. We encourage you to do the and the other and foot the counterclockwise. other foot counterclockwise. Reverse circles. Reverse balls circles. of your balls feet on of your the floor. feet on Continue the floor. cycle Continue in 30-second cycle in intervals. 30-second intervals. KNEE LIFTS Lift leg with knee SHOULDER ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLS Arms held at 90° angles, aisles, as space permits. In addition, weto exercises on this page Do each direction Do each forgentle direction 15 seconds. foronboard Repeat 15onboard seconds. if desired. Repeat if desired. every KNEE LIFTS Lift leg with knee SHOULDER ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLS Arms held at 90° angles, for about five minutes one to two gentle exercises on this page to bent whileLIFTS contracting thighleg shoulders forward, then upward, elbows down, hands in front. Raise hands KNEE —your Lift SHOULDER ROLLS ARM CURLS Arms recommend that you avoid crossing your bent while contracting your thigh shoulders forward, then upward, elbows down,— hands in front. Raise hands enhance your wellbeing during hours. You should also occasionally walklegs. muscle.knee Alternatebent legs. Repeat 20 then backward, then downward, to chest and back down. Alternate enhance your wellbeing duringthe theflight. flight. with — Hunch shoulders heldupup at muscle. Alternate legs.while Repeat 20 then backward, then downward, to90° chestangles, and back down. Alternate to 30 times for each leg. using a gentle, circular motion. hands. Repeat in 30-second intervals. you do exercises SEATED down the aisles, as permits. In MovingWe about the aircraft. You may move contracting your forward, upward, elbows down, to 30 times forSTRETCHES each leg. thigh using athen gentle, circular motion. hands. Repeat inhands 30-secondinintervals. Werecommend recommend youspace dothese these exercises muscle. Alternate legs. then backward, then front. Raise hands up to for minutes one toand two addition, we recommend that you avoid about the aircraft as spaceevery permits when forabout aboutfive five minutes every one to two Repeat 20 to 30 times for downward, using a chest and back down. hours. You should walk crossing your legs.also the seatbelt sign is off. However, when the hours. You should alsooccasionally occasionally walk each leg. gentle, circular motion. Alternate hands. Repeat SEATED aisles, asas space permits. InInremain SEATEDSTRETCHES STRETCHES seatbeltdown signthe is you are required in 30-second intervals. down theon aisles, space permits.to addition, we recommend that you avoid Please note: you should not do any of seated with the seatbelt fastened. addition, we recommend that you avoid crossing your legs. these exercises if they cause you pain or If you feel unwell, tell the cabin crew. They crossing your legs. cannot done withcommon ease. can assist withbe the more in-flight KNEE LIFTS KNEE Lift legLIFTS with knee Lift leg with knee you should SHOULDERnot SHOULDER ROLLSdo Hunch ROLLS Hunch ARM CURLSARM ArmsCURLS held atArms 90° angles, held at 9 Please note: any offurther complaints and, if necessary, can seek note: you shoulders should not do any bent while contracting bent whilePlease your contracting thigh your thigh forward, shoulders then forward, upward, thenof upward, elbows down,elbows handsdown, in front. hands Raiseinhand fron muscle. Alternate muscle. legs. Alternate Repeat legs. 20 Repeat 20 then backward, then then backward, downward, then downward, up to chest and up to back chest down. and Alternate back down. these exercises if they cause you pain or Moving about the aircraft. You may and assistance these exercises iffor they cause you pain to advice 30 times for to 30 each times leg. for each leg. using ayou. gentle, using circular a gentle, motion. circular motion.or hands. Repeat hands. in 30-second Repeat inintervals. 30-second cannot be move about thewith aircraft ascan space permits On descent. Ears and sinuses cause cannot bedone done withease. ease.

SEATED SEATEDEXERCISES EXERCISES

Inflight Inflightcomfort comfort

and when thethe seatbelt sign is discomfort, due to change inoff. air pressure on descent. To minimise discomfort: Moving about the aircraft. You may about the asasspace you are required to remain seated with • Yawn move or swallow frequently. move about theaircraft aircraft spacepermits permits the seatbelt sign isisoff. the seatbelt fastened. • Pinch and your nostrils together blow firmly andwhen when the seatbelt signand off. However, when the seatbelt sign into your cheeks with mouth However, when theyour seatbelt signisclosed. ison on you are required to remain seated with Ifyou you feel unwell, tell the cabin crew. are required to remain seated with the fastened. They can assist with the more common theseatbelt seatbelt fastened. inflight complaints and, if necessary, If you have ongoing discomfort, seekcan the Ifseek feel tell cabin further advice and assistance for you. advice of the cabin crew Ifyou you feelunwell, unwell, tellthe the cabincrew. crew. They Theycan canassist assistwith withthe themore morecommon common inflight complaints and, if necessary, can descent. Ears and sinuses can KNEE TO CHEST KNEEBend TOOn CHEST forward Bend slightly. forward slightly. FORWARD FLEX With both FLEX feet With oncan both the floor feet on theOVERHEAD floor OVERHEAD STRETCH Raise STRETCH both hand Rais inflight complaints and, ifFORWARD necessary, Clasp hands Clasp aroundhands left knee around andleft hugknee it toand hug it toand stomach and heldstomach in, slowly held bend in, slowly forward bend forward straight up over straight yourup head. overWith yourone head. han seek further advice and assistance for you. cause discomfort, due toassistance the change seek further and for you. your chest. Hold yourthe chest. stretch Holdforthe15 stretch seconds. for 15advice seconds.and walk your and hands walkdown your hands the front down ofin your the front ofgrasp your the wrist grasp of the theopposite wrist of the hand oppos and

SEATED SEATED STRETCHES STRETCHES Moving about the aircraft. You may However, when the seatbelt sign is on KNEE TO CHEST Bend forward slightly. Clasp hands around left knee and hug it to your chest. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it KNEE TO —10slightly. Bend down.TOAlternate legs. times. KNEE CHESTCHEST BendRepeat forward KNEE TO CHEST Bend Clasp forward slightly. forward Clasp hands slightly. around left knee and hug it to Clasp hands around left knee and hug it to your chest.around Hold the stretch knee for 15 seconds. hands and your chest. Hold theleft stretch for 15 seconds. Keeping aroundchest. knee, slowly let it hug it hands tohands your Hold Keeping around knee, slowly let it down.stretch Alternate legs. Repeat 10 times. the seconds. down. Alternatefor legs.15 Repeat 10 times.

Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it down. Alternate legs. Repeat 10 times each leg.

FORWARD FLEX With both feet on the floor OVERHEAD STRETCH Raise both hands and stomach held in, slowly bend forward straight up over your head. With one hand, and walk your hands down the front of your grasp the wrist of the opposite hand and legs toward your ankles. Hold the stretch for gently pull to one side. Hold the stretch FORWARD FLEX —back With STRETCH — for 15 seconds. RepeatRaise on theboth other side. 15 secondsFLEX and slowly sit up. FORWARD With both feet on the floor OVERHEAD OVERHEAD STRETCH hands FORWARD FLEX With both feet on the floor OVERHEAD STRETCHstraight Raise both hands both on floor both hands andfeet stomach heldthe in, slowly bend forward Raise straight up over your head. With one hand, and stomach held in, slowly bend forward straight up over your head. With one hand, walk your hands down front of your grasp theyour wrist of the opposite hand and andand stomach in,the slowly With and walk yourheld hands down the front of yourup over grasp the wristhead. of the opposite hand and legsforward toward your and ankles.walk Hold the stretch for onegently pull to one side.the Hold the stretch bend hand, legs toward your ankles. Hold the stretch for gently pullgrasp to one side. Holdwrist the stretch for 15opposite seconds. Repeathand on the other side. seconds and slowly the sit back up. your1515 hands front of the for 15 seconds. Repeat on theand other side. secondsdown and slowly sit back up.

of your legs toward your ankles. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and slowly sit back up.

gently pull to one side. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the Please note: you other side.

should not do any of these exercises Please note: you note: you SHOULDER STRETCH — Reach your right handcause over you ifPlease they should not do your left shoulder. Place your left hand behind your right should not doany any PLEASE NOTE: You pain or cannot be elbow and gently press your elbow toward yourexercises shoulder. ofofthese shouldSTRETCH not do any SHOULDER Reach your right hand HoldNECK With your these exercises the ROLLS stretch forshoulders 15 seconds. Repeat on thewith other side. done ease. over left shoulder. Place yourifleft hand relaxed, drop your ear to shoulder and ofyour these exercises ififthey theycause causeyou you behind right elbow andpain gently press your gently roll your neck forward and to the theyyour cause you NECK ROLLS —each With your drop your elbow toward your be shoulder. Hold the stretch other side, holding position for shoulders relaxed, pain or cannot be or cannot done pain or cannot be ear to shoulder and gently roll your neck forward and to forwith 15 seconds. RepeatReach on theyour otherright side.hand five seconds. Repeat times. SHOULDER STRETCH NECK ROLLS With yourfive shoulders ease. SHOULDER STRETCH Reach your right hand the other NECK ROLLS With your shoulders done with ease. side, holding each position for five seconds. over your left shoulder. Place your left hand relaxed, drop your ear to shoulder and done with ease. over your left shoulder. Place your left hand relaxed, drop your ear to shoulder and

Keeping hands Keeping around hands knee, around slowlyknee, let it slowly it legs toward your legs toward ankles. your Holdankles. the stretch Holdforthe stretch gently for pull togently one side. pull Hold to onetheside. stretch Hold air pressure onletdescent. Toslowly minimise for Repeat 15 seconds. on theRepeat other on sideth down. Alternate down. legs. Alternate Repeatlegs. 10 times. Repeat 10 times. 15 seconds and 15 seconds sitand back slowly up. sit back up. for 15 seconds.

On discomfort: Ondescent. descent.Ears Earsand andsinuses sinusescan can cause discomfort, due to •cause Yawn or swallow frequently. discomfort, due tothe thechange changeinin air pressure descent. ToTominimise •air Pinch youron nostrils together and blow pressure on descent. minimise discomfort: firmly into your cheeks with your discomfort: • •Yawn swallow mouth closed. Yawnoror swallowfrequently. frequently. • •Pinch Pinchyour yournostrils nostrilstogether togetherand andblow blow into your cheeks with your Iffirmly you have ongoing discomfort, firmly into your cheeks with your mouth seek theclosed. advice mouth closed.of the cabin crew.

times. behind your right elbow and gently press your Repeat gentlyfive roll your neck forward and to the gently roll your neck forward and to the other side, holding each position for other side, holding each position for five seconds. Repeat five times. for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side. five seconds. Repeat five times.

behind your right elbow and gently press your toward your shoulder. Hold the stretch 12 elbow elbow toward your shoulder. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Please note: Please you note should not should do any not d of theseofexercises these exer if they cause if theyyou cause pain or cannot pain orbe cann done with done ease. with e

SHOULDER SHOULDER STRETCH Reach STRETCH your right Reach hand your right hand NECK ROLLSNECK With ROLLS your shoulders With your shoulders over your leftover shoulder. your left Place shoulder. your left Place hand your left handrelaxed, droprelaxed, your eardrop to shoulder your earand to shoulder and Ifyour have ongoing discomfort, Ifyou you have ongoing behind your behind right elbow and right gently elbow press and gently your press your gentlydiscomfort, roll your gently neckrollforward your neck and forward to the and to the elbow towardelbow your toward shoulder. your Hold shoulder. theadvice stretch Hold the stretch other side, holding other side, each holding positioneach for position for JUNE/JULY 2018 seek the of the cabin crew. seek the advice cabin crew. for 15 seconds. for Repeat 15 seconds. on theRepeat other on side. the other side.of fivethe seconds. five Repeat seconds. five times. Repeat five times.

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Travel trails

Experience a river cruise holiday in France on board a luxury houseboat

Explore beautiful French villages, vineyards and more in the Loire Valley, Burgundy. Renowned for its superb wine vintages and gourmet cuisine, the Loire Valley in France entices wine lovers and foodies from all over the world — with stately châteaux, colourful gardens, flourishing vineyards, medieval villages and Roman towns. The Canal latéral à la Loire runs through the Loire Valley and is the canal that boats cruise along for the duration of their self-skippered Le Boat trip, mooring alongside the canal and exploring quaint French villages along the way. A highlight within this region is stopping in Sancerre, one of the most revered wine regions in France, to explore Maison des Sancerre and learn how some of the world’s finest wines are produced. As part of a wine-themed cruise and suggested itinerary, ‘The Sancerre and Faience Cruise’, travellers can learn more about over 300 vineyards in the area and tour farms with the

For the love of truffles Growers of the famous Perigord winter Black Truffle, Macenmist Black Truffles & Wines can be found just outside the village of Bredbo in the Snowy Monaro region of NSW. Black truffles (tuber melanosporum) are a type of fungus that has developed a symbiotic relationship with another plant. They grow underground and are formed on the roots of trees. Research indicated that the calcareous soils and extreme climate of the region, hot summers and freezing winters, would be ideal for the production of the black truffle. In 2008 Macenmist planted its first inoculated Oak and Hazel trees. Their first truffles were reaped more than two years later, albeit only four truffles. It was after the first truffles were found that Macenmist acquired and trained their first truffle dog, a Lagotto Romagnolo. They now have two highly trained Lagottos that locate the truffles on the farm. From the very beginning Macenmist’s harvest has escalated and the farm now runs tours throughout the winter months where visitors can enjoy a ‘paddock-to-plate’ experience that specialises in supplying a variety of truffled foods. Dates for the next Macenmist truffle hunts run from June 3 until August 26. For more information about the truffles and specific tours, visit www.macenmist.com.au

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winemakers. Magnificent cathedrals and châteaux fill the valley with history including the dungeons of the fort at Câtillon-Coligny, the castle ruins at Châtillon-sur-Loire and the Cathedral of St. Cyr and St. Julitte in Nevers. Le Boat offers modern, fully equipped self-drive river cruise holidays for all budgets and group sizes in 10 different destinations including France, Holland, the UK, Scotland and Canada. Best of all, no boating licence or prior experience is required. The experienced Le Boat teams provide a demonstration before guests set off, captaining their own boat and experiencing the regions at their leisure. Prices start from A$440 per person, based on a group of eight travelling for seven nights on one of the premier Horizon 4 boats. Visit leboat.com.au for a brochure or phone 1800 118 940.

Griffith Region Discover Griffith - one of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most liveable country towns, according to the Weekend Australian Magazine. Located in the heart of the NSW Riverina, Griffith is a progressive, vibrant regional centre servicing a population of 52,000. Griffith is bursting with life and energy. The main street is dominated by Italian cafĂŠs serving great coffee, pizza, local wine and house-made gelato. The people are friendly and the boutique shopping is impressive. The industries are diverse, and include wine, poultry, nuts, rice, citrus, vegetables and dryland cropping. There are many exciting career opportunities and the housing is affordable. Make time to discover Griffith Region - a great place to visit, a great place to live.

visitGriffith.com.au

Events Calendar

What's on & What's hot Our pick of the very best gigs, festivals, and cultural and sporting events from around the country. Compiled by: Sarah hinder

May 25–June 16 Vivid Sydney

Sydney NSW Sydney is artistically transformed each winter into a city-wide festival of free events, art installations and light displays bringing the Harbour City to life. Join the Vivid Ideas program for thought-provoking workshops or wander the sparkling city streets through night markets and forests of light. vividsydney.com

June 1–10

June 1–30 Pie Time

Southern Highlands NSW This month-long festival celebrates everything to do with the great Aussie pie! From piethemed treks and tours to Bowral’s two-day PieFest on June 23 and 24, the Southern Highlands goes all out with special activities and events. pietime.com.au

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Melbourne International Jazz Festival Melbourne VIC You don’t have to be a jazz fanatic to enjoy this worldclass celebration of music, taking place in arts venues, concert halls and jazz clubs throughout Melbourne. The program includes original performances and educative panel discussions. melbournejazz.com

June 6–17

Sydney Film Festival

Sydney NSW At Sydney’s State Theatre and several cinemas, more than

200 of the world’s best new films and documentaries — not normally found in multiplexes — will screen over nights of premieres, talks and parties. sff.org.au

June 8–23

Adelaide Cabaret Festival

Adelaide SA In the biggest event of its kind, this vibrant festival highlights local, national and international cabaret artists through an eclectic program of classic and contemporary performances. The Festival also offers earlycareer Australian cabaret artists mentorship. adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au

Events Calendar Events

June 9

Parkes Picnic Races

June 29–July 7 The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival

Winton Qld Winton is quickly becoming known as the ‘Hollywood of the Outback’ for this film festival inspired by Sundance. Sit under a star-studded night sky in the open-air cinema to take in nightly flicks, from premieres to outback-inspired classics. visionsplendidfilmfest.com

Parkes NSW Parkes’ social highlight of the year, this fun-filled day of racing features a Fashions on the Field competition, as well as live music. parkespicnicraces.com.au

June 9–11

McLaren Vale Sea & Vines Festival

Adelaide SA At this celebration of what McLaren Vale does best — food, wine and beach — degustation dinners and winery tours showcase the wonderful regional produce. seaandvines.com.au

July 5–18

June 29 & July 1 Ballina Food and Wine Festival

Ballina NSW Showcasing the best produce, restaurants and entertainment in the region, the festival kicks off with Asahi After Dark Gala Dinner on the Friday night, followed by exhibits, demonstrations and awesome live gigs on the Sunday. ballinafoodandwine. com.au

Revelation Perth International Film Festival

Perth WA Australia’s leading independent film festival, Revelation, will present more than 120 international films at cinemas, galleries, cafes and bars across Perth over 13 days. revelationfilmfest.org

July 7–22

Bathurst Winter Festival Bathurst NSW Bathurst transforms into a wonderland in June, where families can wander through the Enchanted Forest and Winter Playground. At night,

spectacular light installations bring the town’s historic buildings to life. bathurstwinterfestival.com.au

July 10–12

Birdsville Big Red Bash

Birdsville Qld The world’s most remote music festival, the Big Red Bash, features some of Australia’s best-loved country and rock musicians playing in the Simpson Desert. This year’s line-up includes John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite and the Hoodoo Gurus. bigredbash.com.au

12–15 July

Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge

Cloncurry Qld Regarded as one of the greatest horse events in Australia, the Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge draws participants into a thrilling competition designed to display the horses’ athleticism while also exhibiting the riders’ horsemanship. currychallenge.com.au

July 20–22

Splendour in the Grass

Byron Bay NSW This annual festival features a stellar line-up including Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, Franz Ferdinand, Angus & Julia Stone and Hilltop Hoods. splendourinthegrass.com JUNE/JULY 2018

Entertainment

Compiled by Sarah hinder

books music

Rather His Own Man, Geoffrey Robertson

Released February 26, 2018, RRP $45, EBook: $15.99, Knopf Australia, Autobiography. One of the world’s leading human rights lawyers, Australia’s Geoffrey Robertson’s memoir is deeply honest and equally entertaining, sharing tales from his days at school right through to his career in the courtroom. The stories he shares are witty, candid and at times poignant.

Australians on the Western Front 1918, David W. Cameron

Released February 26, 2018, RRP $34.99/EBook $14.99, Viking, History. The first in a two-part landmark series, this book by historian David Cameron is a compelling account of victory on the Western Front during April and May 1918 with troops at VillersBretonneux. The anticipated second instalment of the series will be released August 20.

In the Garden of the Fugitives Ceridwen Dovey

Released February 26, 2018, RRP $32.99/EBook $13.99, Hamish Hamilton, Fiction. Emerging Australian author Ceridwen Dovey’s new novel takes readers on a page-turning journey across ancient Pompeii and post-apartheid South Africa, exploring the obsessions of unrequited desire and how the power of the past can stifle our present.

Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin

Out now (April 2018) Revamp is a curated selection of Elton John and co-writer Bernie Taupin’s greatest hits reinterpreted by today’s biggest artists, from hip-hop and soul to pop and rock. Guest artists include Ed Sheeran, P!nk and Florence and the Machine.

ART Vivid Art After Hours at AGNSW

Art Gallery of NSW, May 30, June 6 & 14, 2018 Vivid Sydney will take over the Art Gallery of New South Wales for three nights of talks, music and art. Special guests will speak on mortality, female sexuality and conflict. When your brain’s had enough, you can feast your eyes on this year’s Archibald Prize.

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I hope you get this: Raquel Ormella

Shepparton Art Museum, May 26–August 12, 2018 This travelling exhibition from one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists explores themes of social and environmental activism, national identity, and human and animal relationships through installation, video, painting, drawing and experimental textiles.

A Room with a Zoo ...

WINNER - Best Deluxe Accommodation in Australia*

NATURALLY!

A unique animal lodge located in Canberra, rated by local and overseas celebrities and guests as one of the best in the world. Check our guest feedback on Tripadvisor.

02 6287 8444 | info@jamalawildlifelodge.com.au

www.jamala.com.au

* 2017 Australian Hotels Association Awards for Excellence

Foodie News & Views

Sip & Eat Here’s some delicious fun to be had in Tasmania, Sydney and Queensland. Compiled by: Sarah Hinder

New way to cruise through Tasmanian wilderness A new vessel, Spirit of the Wild, from Gordon River Cruises, has been launched to take visitors on a Tasmanian journey that captures the spirit of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Passengers can now experience this place like never before — from the fishing port of Strahan to the cool temperate rainforests on the banks of the river. Spirit of the Wild will be the most environmentally sensitive vessel of its type in Australia. Its hybrid engines will allow the operators to cruise silently up the river, past ancient rainforests, providing guests with access to this pristine region. Onboard, guests will hear tales of the piners, miners, fishermen and convicts who used to inhabit the area, and sample Tasmanian food and wine. gordonrivercruises.com.au

Tassie foodie tours

A new gourmet touring experience in Tasmania is being launched in June by Feast and Fossick. The company will offer two tours for gourmands — a two-day Hobart Fossick, and a two-day Bruny Fossick. Both tours feature premium Tasmanian food and wine experiences with the chance to explore Tasmania’s beautiful wilderness. Feast and Fossick Tasmania has been developed by Bruny Island Adventure Bay Retreat owner and operator Jan Glover. The tours cater for small groups of up to 12 guests and are personally guided with introductions

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to the best local gourmet experiences in Hobart and Bruny Island, and adventure experiences such as sea kayaking and wilderness cruising. Guests can choose to experience the tours individually or combine the pair. Accommodation on the Hobart tour is at Macq 01 in Hobart and at Adventure Bay Retreat on Bruny Island. For a couple, single tour rates are $2,480 per person for either the Hobart or Bruny Fossick; or $3,880 per person for the combined Hobart and Bruny Fossick over four nights. feastfossicktasmania.com.au

Biota comes to Sydney In Sydney this winter, foodies will have a chance to try the award-winning cuisine from chef James Viles when he brings his Bowral restaurant Biota to inner-Sydney’s Chippendale for a four-week residency, from June 11 until July 7 at The Old Clare Hotel. A five-course casual menu will include a mix of snacks and individual and shared dishes. Extras such as whole salt and pepper mud crab with wild greens from Far North Queensland can be added to the menu. Biota sommelier Ben Shephard will oversee a cocktail list made with all Australian spirits and a select wine list. In early May Viles and a group of his chef mates — Paul Carmichael (momofuku seiobo), Lennox Hastie (Firedoor), David Moyle (Longsong), Aaron Turner (Igni) and Beau Clugston (formerly of Le 6 Paul Bert and Noma) — headed to a property in Far North Queensland for a week of camping and cooking near the Gulf of Carpentaria. These chefs will also make cameo appearances during the Chippendale opening period, adding dishes to the menu on those evenings. Biota Chippendale will be open Wednesday to Thursday for dinner, and lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday. The five-course menu costs $110pp, with beverage pairing for $68pp. Book at biotachippendale.com

Blend your own Bundaberg Rum

The Bundaberg Rum Distillery, Australia’s most awarded rum distillery, now features an $8.5 million Visitor Experience. Visitors can craft their own personalised Bundaberg Rum blend. This one-of-a-kind Blend Your Own Rum Experience allows guests to spend time with expert rum blending guides, who will teach the art of tasting, blending and pouring rum straight from the barrel, the same way the Master Blenders of Bundaberg Rum have been doing for decades. Guests select their perfect blend from a range of exclusive, premium rums, and walk away from the experience with two 700mL personalised bottles that they handcrafted themselves. Visit bundabergrum.com.au/distillery or phone 07 4131 2999. JUNE/JULY 2018

TRUE BLUE WINES

Wines from the West

We meet three winemakers from the Margaret River region.

One of the most geographically isolated wine regions on the planet, Western Australia’s Margaret River is formed on ancient granite rocks and soils, and enjoys a Mediterranean-style climate. It's small in size, yet responsible for producing some of the country’s most highly sought-after wines. One of the area’s revered producers, Cullen Wines, is in the Wilyabrup subregion, where the Cullens first planted vines in 1971. Today at the family-owned winery, Chief Winemaker and Managing Director Vanya Cullen proudly continues the legacy of her pioneering parents. Her oldest memory of drinking wine dates back to 1977, when she was 18 and savoured the Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon — “and grand cru Burgundy 1976 in the same year,” says Vanya, who clearly started her wine journey with a more refined palate than your typical 18 year old. These days, harvest time is her favourite part of winemaking. “It’s when I get to make the decision to harvest the year’s work and taste the produce, seeing how nature plays into the making

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when you connect with her,” says Vanya. The classic blends of Margaret River are beautifully expressed in both the 2015 Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and the 2017 Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. “The sauvignon blanc semillon is one of the great wines we have made, and it feels like chardonnay, with its extraordinary texture, flavours, minerality and complexity,” says Vanya. “The wonderful Wilyabrup 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot is one of the great classics that truly defines our region. Cabernet is the king grape and it's harder to make great cabernet than pinot noir, in my opinion. It’s beautiful, smooth drinking, with delicious savourysweet nervous energy flowing through the wines.” Over at Voyager Estate, which is celebrating 40 years in the business, Manager of Winemaking and Viticulture Steve James credits the local industry for its commitment to excellence. “Very few regions around the world can boast the consistency of highquality vintages which Margaret River

experiences,” says Steve, who delights in the entire winemaking process. It’s his sheer love of the job that keeps Steve in the business, and it’s vintage time that he really relishes — when he gets to see the results of all the hard work carried out in the vineyard. “I also love the camaraderie which you always experience during vintage, with some new faces from around the world helping us out.” Both Voyager’s 2015 Sparkling Chenin and 2016 Girt by Sea Chardonnay are very special to Steve and his team. “The Sparkling Chenin we first made in 2013 and we’ve always been so impressed with this variety’s ability to produce exceptional sparkling wine, with delicate flavour, purity and crisp acidity,” says Steve. “The Girt by Sea Chardonnay completes our range of exceptional chardonnay wines by offering a more fruit-driven style of wine with less oak influence, yet still with excellent flavour, texture and complexity.” In contrast to these well-established wineries, newcomer Nocturne is one to watch. Nocturne is a collaboration

$210

for this exclusive case of 6 wines including delivery between husband-and-wife duo Julian and Alana Langworthy, who’ve been making their own side-project wines for more than a decade. Julian, also chief winemaker and general manager at Deep Woods, has been awarded Australia’s most coveted wine award, receiving the Jimmy Watson in 2016 for the 2014 Deep Woods Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The couple are taking their singlevineyard wines very seriously, sourcing fruit from exceptional sites in Margaret River, including their own, newly acquired Sheoak Vineyard on which mature cabernet vines grow. The Nocturne wines featured here are the 2016 Single Vineyard Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon and 2017 Single Vineyard Margaret River Nebbiolo Rosé. The cabernet, says Julian, “is a pretty wine and one of the highlights of a challenging vintage. The Sheoak Vineyard makes expressive, mediumbodied cabernets that bear some resemblance to a modern version of a luncheon claret.”

Voyager Estate Chardonnay: A medium weighted Chardonnay fermented in stainless steel and French oak.

Cullen SSB: Organic fruit is on show here, with the Semillon giving this wine complexity and texture.

Cullen Cabernet: An outstanding vintage with the finest of tannins, matured in old French oak.

Nocturne Nebbiolo Rose: Light with a very gentle acidity running through it. Expressive Margaret River Rose.

Nocturne Cabernet: Inky, dark fruits, making it a perfect accompaniment to a rested Rib Eye steak.

Voyager Sparkling: Bright & fresh, made in the traditional method with Chenin Blanc grapes.

Supporting Australia's winemakers The Local Drop and True Blue magazine have teamed up to ensure that you, as our valued readers, have access to some of the finest wines from the Margaret River. Order this exclusive box of six wines for $210 and have them delivered to straight to your door. Simply email us at charlotte@thelocaldrop.com.au Or call 1800 903 885 to chat to one of our friendly staff.

JUNE/JULY 2018

Wildly Different at GSG To understand how wildly different Great Southern Grammar’s Early Childhood Centre is, you need to see it through a child’s eyes. GSG’s curriculum is brought to life for its Early Childhood Centre students by integrating guided nature play into every day. Wednesdays are spent in the Wild Space – native bushland and wetlands that make up part of our 144-acre campus. It’s a space that encourages children to be wildly curious, wildly creative and wildly independent. These are the qualities that lay the foundation for a love of learning that will take them through school and beyond. Great Southern Grammar is an independent, Christian, coeducational residential and day school for students from Kindergarten to Year Twelve, located on 144 acres of waterfront

land in Albany, Western Australia. At GSG, children have the latitude to discover their talents, build independence and come into their own. Great Southern Grammar’s values are integrity, respect, tolerance and compassion, underpinning the school’s mission which is to provide the young people of the Great Southern region and beyond with a worldclass school incorporating a liberal education, the Christian faith and a maritime heritage. A leading provider of co-educational boarding, GSG offers girls and boys a world of opportunity in a supportive country setting. Embark on your own journey of discovery. Book in for a personal tour today. Visit gsg.wa.edu.au or call 08 9844 0307.

From the Grapevine

Take a splash into Grenache words: patrick haddock When a variety that’s not mainstream wins the Jimmy Watson (one of the country’s most significant awards in winemaking) it’s a very big deal. Last year a grenache took out the trophy and it heralded a new push for this underdog that’s always been seen as a bit of blender. In wine we are always predicting the next big thing, but grenache has already arrived centre-stage with a bang. So hotly tipped, some are calling it the new pinot. It nods towards a softer, easier drinking style, with a lighter bodied structure but bags of juicy fruit. It’s only been a few years since its resurgence but the regions doing it well tend to be warmer, such as McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. It’s a late ripening grape that maximises its time in the sunshine. Until recently, grenache has been the ‘G’ in GSM blends (along with shiraz

and mourvedre), but now it stands alone as people are seduced by its juicy, ‘gluggable’ qualities. As wine drinkers look for something less ful- bodied than shiraz, the fruit forward expression of grenache is a great alternative. “When done right, there is no wine with sweeter fruit, greater texture or length of flavour,” says Alex Head, one of the young breed of winemakers from the Barossa Valley. For Alex, who has made a concerted effort to make grenache into a food-friendly and lauded single expression of variety, there’s no doubt in his mind that the Barossa does it best. In his opinion, the site matters since grenache favours lean topsoil over rock. Aware that grenache has earned quite the fan club, Alex does as little as possible when it comes to winemaking, by being gentle and respecting the fruit. Less is more, more or less. TB

If you want to delve into grenache, check out these wines. Alex Head Old Vine Grenache 2016 $35

From the Barossa, young gun producer Alex Head makes a wine with little or no oak, letting the fruit do all the talking. Similar to pinot, with cherries and spice, soft tannins and scintillating length.

Cirillo The Vincent Grenache 2017 $30

A consistent Barossa grenache year after year, sourced from 60-yearold vines, it has a rich and vibrant nose of raspberry and blueberry, with a supple mouthfeel and juicy finish.

S.C. Pannell Grenache 2016 $55

One of the stars of McLaren Vale, Steve Pannell is able to tease out every last bit of flavour from his grenache fruit. Intense red fruits lead to a plush palate, with gentle spice and a bright acid finish.

Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2014 $125

Often cited as Australia’s finest example and crafted by Peter Fraser, recipient of James Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year in 2016, this is serious stuff. An amalgam of fresh berries and a chocolate complexity make this world-class. JUNE/JULY 2018

Meet the Chef

A Story about OTTO Two years ago, OTTO in Brisbane was the first venture for the Fink Group outside of NSW, and since then it’s become a beacon of modern Italian culinary craftsmanship. Words: Michelle Hespe Head Chef Will Cowper of Brisbane’s OTTO comes from a large family where everyone has always been close. “I remember as a kid we would come together when my grandmother would cook incredible feasts full of flavour. It brought us closer together, and so I grew up believing that I could and would make people happy by cooking.” Will’s belief continues to thrive at OTTO, and customers regularly come back because of it. “I love to see everyone who comes here leaving fulfilled, happy, satisfied and with a sense of having experienced something really enjoyable and memorable,” he says. “I’ve always been more about tasty food, as opposed to pretty food, and so I create food from and for the soul. It's also really important to my team and to me, that we source as much local produce as possible.” This is not to say that Will’s food isn’t pretty. In fact, most of the dishes that he creates are pieces of delicately arranged art — colour explosions that treat plates like a blank canvas. There is one dish on the menu at present that bucks this trend, however, as it looks decidedly like animal manure. With a laugh and a smile, Will is quick to explain — “It’s a dish that looks ugly, but one that tastes delicious, hence me

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calling it ‘Never judge a book by its cover.’ This dish comes back to my philosophy of tasty food and not too pretty food. It also celebrates the local produce in this special region.” The dish in question is actually very sophisticated, and a delightfully harmonious flavour combination — Moreton Bay Blue swimmer crab meat and mascarpone-filled pasta with a black garlic crema that gives it its questionable colouring. Its rich, smooth texture is like a mousse, and after a first spoonful it’s common for staff to witness a diner’s face break into a smile. That’s followed by a few moments of wonder and the odd lifted brow. What is that? Which leads to Will’s grounding philosophy, that can be summed up in one word: creativity. “As a chef, no day is ever the same for me as I’m always trying to source new and interesting ingredients and the creative process gets me out of bed every morning. Heading up a restaurant such as OTTO, you can’t just cook for a certain type of person, so that always keeps you on your toes and makes you think outside the box. You have to be open to other peoples’ food choices and to understand and have empathy for people with food allergies. Basically, I love making everyone who walks through OTTO’s door happy and satisfied. That makes me really happy.” TB

“I've always been more about tasty food, as opposed to pretty food, and I create food from and for the soul.” — Will Cowper JUNE/JULY 2018

Kasey

Backto herRoots

Since the beginning of her four-decade singing career, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a special album inside Kasey Chambers ready to come up for air. For this Aussie legend, it was simply a matter of when. WORDS: Michelle Hespe

Cover Story

A L L I M A G E S C O U R T E S Y O F WA R N E R M U S I C

t night, under a billion shining stars in the rugged wilderness of the Aussie Outback, a campfire is a mesmerising sight, and an axis upon which rudimentary life can revolve. It provides food, warmth, protection, and if you're lucky, a sense of peace and a connection with the land and others. For anyone who has spent time with others around a campfire, it's a place where stories are shared and memories are made. For Kasey Chambers — one of Australia’s most revered songbirds — a campfire has that special meaning, as her family's life once revolved around one that was lit every night on the Nullarbor Plain in the South Australian outback, where she and her family lived in a car. Although those days and nights are now thirty years ago, that campfire has never left her heart or mind. In fact, the memories made around it form the basis of the woman and indeed the musician she is today. Kasey's father, renowned musician Bill Chambers, packed up his little family (his then wife, Kasey and her brother Nash) and drove them into the middle of the Nullarbor Plain to start a new life that centred upon a new career for him as a fox hunter. Back then, Kasey was a newborn and her brother was three years old. There, in one of the most extreme locations on Earth, the family began their new life living off the land and sleeping in swags under the stars every night. "It's not a normal thing for a father to do, I know!" says Kasey with a laugh. "Who wakes up one day and decides to be a fox hunter, huh? But anyway, at the time, my brother and I didn't know that.

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Our life revolved around hunting animals for food — emus, kangaroos, goannas and anything that moved, and every night we'd sit around the campfire. We barely saw other people, except every week when we met a food supply train to stock up on the basics such as tea, sugar and flour." Kasey's mum cooked everything that they hunted and gathered on the campfire, and her dad would bring out the guitar. "After we'd eaten, we’d all sing,” says Kasey, on the eve of her releasing her new album, Campfire. “It was such a special thing, and those days and nights form my earliest memories,” she says. “But back then, out there, we only had cassette tapes. There was no radio or television, so we only heard the music that Mum and Dad liked, on tapes that they'd brought with us.” One of Kasey's earliest memories of music was the sound of American singer Emmylou Harris's voice on those tapes. “It was a comforting sound to me then and now, her voice is such a familiar sound — and something that brings back those precious childhood memories,” she says. These musical memories created a reminiscence album inside Kasey — an ode to her upbringing and a reflection on the past — and it was something so special that she always knew it was there, slowly taking shape within her. Awards, parties, events and relationships came and went. She had three children (now aged six, 10 and 15), collaborated with globally renowned musicions such as Keith Urban and Ed Sheeran, and continued to add more and more awards to the mantelpiece. However, as with most artists true to their heart and direction, before 2018 came along, Kasey knew instinctively that it wasn't the right time for Campfire, despite it being there, ready to spring from inside. Then, in 2017, fate stepped in. Kasey was touring in the US and at one gig Emmylou Harris was also scheduled to perform. The two women graviated to one another, chatted, and agreed that that they should do something together. “On Campfire she sings a duet with me,” 

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Cover Story

Left to right: Kasey with Yawuru Elder, Alan Pigram, Brandon Dodd and father and legendary musician, Bill Chambers says Kasey, beaming. "I can’t even begin to explain what it meant and means to me," she continues, then pauses, lost for words. "Collaborating with Emmylou was a dream come true – it was like everything just fell into place. To have that sound, that voice that was such an enormous part of my childhood, gives me goosebumps. Despite the incredible highs in my career over the last year, the time wasn't right. And then after meeting Emmylou, and us collaborating, it made the time right for Campfire. The whole album is about comfort, and about being comforted. It's about me, about what it felt like to me living out there around a campfire, it's about what it felt like as a child — and then other more recent memories and experiences of mine — like what it felt like living on Norfolk Island and travelling in Africa. It's simply about those experiences lived out around a campfire." Kasey found it easy to produce Campfire, it flowed from her. "If I had forced it out earlier, it would've been harder," she says. It's so right to do it now, after such a huge year last year. In 2017 I toured in the USA four times, played gigs in Africa, toured all over Australia and I had a number one album [Dragonfly earned Kasey her 5th number 1 album on the ARIA charts]. Honestly, it was one of the best years of my life. But because it was all so big and so much was happening and I had so much success, I had to remind myself of who I actually am. I had to strip things back to the me inside, and not just be this big powerful woman (don't get me wrong, I know I am that!)

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but I needed to sit around a campfire and be more earthy. I needed to be around my beautiful family and beautiful peple. Basically, I wanted to get back to my roots." And so Campfire finally emerged, and it really is like a glimpse into Kasey's heart and soul. Listening to it, you actually feel as though you might be sitting with Bill, Kasey, her mother and Nash out there under the stars. It also seems fitting that before Campfire, she released a song on Dragonfly that is just as poignant, but it's about her life now, as a woman reaching a turning point in her life. "'Ain't No Little Girl' is the song that holds Dragonfly together," she says. "It's poignant and so important to me, and one of the most intense songs I have ever created. It came from hard times, but I am able to gain more perspective on something when I put it into a song. It's about losing someone from heartbreak – love can be such a powerful emotion – it changes your whole perspective on everything else around you. Love can make the world and everything in it so colourful and it can also make it all so grey when you lose it. That's a scary thought really – beautiful and scary at the same time." Meet Kasey and one thing you'll notice right away — and it won't matter how many more awards she has or how much more famous she can possibly become — is that she is real. There's no facade. Even when she talks on stage, she's a straight shooter and there's no filter. Words just fall from her lips, straight from her heart. "I try to make sure that I see everything in true perspective," she says. "Trying to balance a career and being a parent – it's bloody madness. Some days I am rocking back and forth in

Cover Story

KASEY CHAMBERS – CAMPFIRE TOUR

foetal position. I make dinner for the kids, throw it across the room and hope that one of them catches it. My days are filled with interviews, new records, I might be presenting an award at the APRAs, and before that picking a dress, but then I need to get to a parent teacher meeting, drive my son to a football match and my daughter to a swimming lesson, then get my hair and makeup done. It's nuts! But let's face it, that's life for most mums. That's what we do. It's a mad world that we live in, so I like to say, you need to earth yourself." To Kasey, that means physically feeling the earth beneath her feet. "Keep perspective. Don’t forget to enjoy where you are standing right now. Try not to lose sight of what life is really about. Yes, I get overwhelmed like everyone else, but when I do get to footy training, and I see how happy my son is to see me there, it's beautiful. Doing those little things that matter with the people in your life that matter — that’s the secret to a happy life, I think." Kasey understands that we live in a world that can be superficial, especially with social media dominating the lives of so many people, particularly affecting children often too young to deal with the ramifications of what can come from it. So much of what we see online today is not real, and as a role model to so many, Kasey does her best to support the notion that authenticity matters. Being real matters. "I have to remind myself all the time that this world can be so superficial – there are so many filters," she says. "But I buy into it too sometimes. I put my fave filters on photos, but I also really believe in showing people the real side of me, as it can be just as beautiful and important, and inspiring as the

Wednesday 23 MAY – CASINO RSM, CASINO NSW Thursday 24 MAY – C EX-SERVICES CLUB, COFFS HARBOUR NSW Friday 25 MAY – CLUB FORSTER, FORSTER NSW Saturday 26 MAY – LAURIETON UNITED SERVICES CLUB, LAURIETON NSW Thursday 31 MAY – GRIFFITH REGIONAL THEATRE, GRIFFITH NSW Friday 1 JUNE – CIVIC THEATRE, WAGGA WAGGA NSW Saturday 2 JUNE – SWAN PACC, SWAN HILL NSW Sunday 3 JUNE – MILDURA MAC, VIC Thursday 14 JUNE – MINGARA RECREATION CLUB, TUMBI UMBI NSW Friday 15 JUNE - THE CUBE, CAMPBELLTOWN NSW Saturday 16 JUNE – ROOTY HILL RSL, ROOTY HILL NSW Sunday 17 JUNE - ULLADULLA SERVICES CLUB NSW Thursday 21 JUNE – SEYMOUR CENTRE, SYDNEY NSW Friday 22 JUNE – ANITA’S THEATRE, THIRROUL NSW Saturday 23 JUNE – PANTHERS, BATHURST NSW Sunday 24 JUNE – CANBERRA PLAYHOUSE THEATRE, CANBERRA ACT Thursday 28 JUNE – THE EVENT CENTRE, CALOUNDRA QLD Friday 29 JUNE – TWIN TOWNS, TWEED HEADS NSW Sunday 1 JULY – BRISBANE POWERHOUSE, BRISBANE QLD Thursday 5 JULY – THE DESERT CAVE, COOBER PEDY SA Saturday 7 JULY – ARALUEN ARTS CENTRE, ALICE SPRINGS NT Wednesday 11 JULY – FRANKSTON ARTS CENTRE, FRANKSTON VIC Thursday 12 JULY – BURRINJA THEATRE, UPWEY VIC Friday 13 JULY – THE PALMS AT CROWN, MELBOURNE VIC Saturday 14 JULY – THE PLAYHOUSE GPAC, GEELONG VIC Thursday 19 JULY – ALBURY THEATRE, ALBURY VIC Saturday 21 JULY – DUBBO RSL NSW Thursday 2 AUGUST – NORTHERN FESTIVAL THEATRE, PORT PIRIE SA Friday 3 AUGUST – THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE SA Saturday 4 AUGUST – SIR ROBERT HELPMANN THEATRE, MT GAMBIER SA Sunday 5 AUGUST – LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE, WARRNAMBOOL VIC Thursday 9 AUGUST – TANKS, CAIRNS QLD Wednesday 15 AUGUST – WEST GIPPSLAND ARTS CENTRE, WARRIGAL VIC Friday 17 AUGUST – REGENT THEATRE, YEARRAM VIC Saturday 18 AUGUST – WONTHAGGI ARTS CENTRE, WONTHAGGI VIC For further information please head to www.kaseychambers.com

'filtered' me. Even more beautiful actually. I sometimes wish that Instagram didn’t exist, but it's not going away, so we have to use it to create positive things. We have to find balance. I might still put my favourite new dress on Instagram, but I am not scared to say that my kids have nits." She hoots with laughter. "Bloody nits and kids!" Listening to Kasey talk, you can't help but smile. That strikingly authentic nature that fans have fallen in love with, over and over again, shines through. It's amplified in her music, especially in Campfire. "Being real appeals to everyone, whether they know it or not," she says with certainty. "Being authentic connects me to people, and I have a 40-year-old career to prove it." TB JUNE/JULY 2018

Road trip

Cultural Capital

top to bottom: Views over Parliament House; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a cycle-friendly city; rich red poppies decorating the Roll of Honour at the australian war memorial; Princess Grace engagement ring at Cartier: The exhibition; historical sculpture

With some of the greatest galleries, gastronomic experiences and cultural attractions found in our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital, the cooler months are an ideal time to visit to fast-changing, charming Canberra. Words: Katrina Holden

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As Australia’s capital, Canberra can often be overlooked as nothing more than our political centre. It’s a city many of us visited on school excursions, posing for photos in front of Lake Burley Griffin and doing our best prime minister impersonations in front of Parliament House. Yet today there’s a vibrancy, energy and cultural beat running through its veins — just look to Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2018, in which Canberra is ranked third-best city in the world to visit, behind Seville and Detroit. A planned town, the site was chosen in 1908 as the country’s capital, serving as a compromise and halfway point between rivals Sydney and Melbourne. As a result, its wide, open streets and mostly flat terrain make it incredibly easy to navigate. Canberra operators are seeing an increase in big-smoke escapees visiting for the weekend. It’s not surprising since there are numerous new attractions for couples, friends and families. A city slicker myself, I was on the hunt for a good dose of culture, food and relaxation on my recent visit — and I found all three. At the National Gallery of Australia, I was mesmerised by Cartier: The Exhibition, running until July 22. Here more than 300 pieces from the Cartier Collection are on display for the first time in Australia. Spanning decades of exquisite craftsmanship, the exhibition brings together dazzling jewels and takes inspiration from East Asia, India and Egypt. There are jaw-dropping pieces worn by turn-of-the-century opera singer Dame Nellie Melba and screen siren Elizabeth Taylor, plus Grace Kelly’s 10.47-carat diamond engagement ring and the 1000-diamond halo tiara given to the Queen on her 18th birthday, worn again by Kate Middleton at her wedding to Prince William. For a poignant overview of Australia’s military history and to pay my respects, I was keen to visit the Australian War Memorial. Recommended for visitors of all ages, its peaceful and solemn surrounds contrast greatly with the tragedies of wartime, depicted throughout its indoor and outdoor spaces. During my visit, people toss coins into the Pool of Remembrance beside the Eternal Flame, an old man places a commemorative poppy alongside the name of his fallen relative while curious children run their fingers over the flowers protruding from the Roll of Honour, and others visit the dome-shaped Hall of Memory and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later this year, between October 5 and November 11, the Australian War Memorial will host a commemorative program to mark the centenary of the Armistice that ended the First World War. I’m staying in the fashionable Manuka district at the chic and colourful East Hotel, owned by the Bisa family and run by brother-sister duo Dion and Dan. They’re no strangers to hospitality, with their Italian parents being the first operators to open serviced apartments in Canberra. Along with all the services and facilities you’d normally expect, the hotel 

Fast Fact As part of its program to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice that ended WWI, the Australian War Memorial will place 62,000 knitted poppies in the Sculpture Garden, each one representing an Australian life lost.

JUNE/JULY 2018

2018 NPA Cultural Festival Keep the Flame of Culture Burning

July 4th - July 7th 2018 Careers Expo

Performances

Arts Exhibition

Fireworks

Arts and Crafts

Cultural Workshops

Float Parade

Kids Activities

Guest Performance Christine Anu

Proud Festival Partners

For further information contact festival@nparc.qld.gov.au

is fitted out with apartment rooms that are great for families (with a series of ‘kids cubbies’ and studios) that are also ideal for longer stays. As I settle in for an evening of warm, Italian-style hospitality at Joe’s Bar (named after the patriarch) and then dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Agostinis, I’m thankful for hitting the hotel’s gym that morning. Agostinis is not your average hotel restaurant: fun, edgy design cues pay tribute to matriarch Marisa — whose family owned a restaurant in northern Italy by the same name — before migrating to Australia in the 1930s. Not just for guests, it’s a favourite among locals, with kids drawn to the one-metre-long pizzas made in an oven imported from Verona, while grown-ups are seduced by the fresh pasta made in-house and the restaurant’s Tuscan specialty, a one-kilogram, classic-aged T-bone. Many guests take advantage of the free bicycles in the lobby to explore the surrounds. Breakfast at Muse cafe is a book lover’s dream, and Kingston Wharf just down the road is packed with waterfront eateries to while away the afternoon. But if you’d rather be on the water, hire an electric boat from GoBoat Canberra to cruise the lake at your leisure. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, don’t miss the FreakShakes at Patissez Manuka — I couldn’t finish mine, and the hotel staff reveal I’m not alone! Great coffee and specialty blends can be found at The Cupping Room on the corner of University Avenue and London Circuit, and a stroll down Braddon’s Lonsdale

Left to right: Freakshake at Pattisez Manuka; Agostinis at east hotel; sweet treats at frugii dessert laboratory; and exquisitie jewels at CArtier: The Exhibition

Street reveals eclectic shops and hip bars and restaurants. Try eightysix for quality food and Frugii Dessert Laboratory for a sugar hit. If you’re after something more adventurous than brekkie to start your day, take to the skies in a hot-air balloon for an early morning bird’s-eye view of Canberra’s picturesque parks and buildings. And if you’re planning an autumn getaway, you can catch the Canberra Balloon Spectacular each March. Meanwhile, vinophiles will no doubt be tempted by a visit to the region’s 30 cellar doors within 35 minutes’ drive of the city centre. If you’re travelling with kids (or just like to get your geek on) you cannot miss Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre, or head out to the Pod Playground at the National Arboretum. TB JUNE/JULY 2018

Food and wine

There’s

something

about

Marg

Great food, fine wine, dark chocolate, creamy nougat and juicy olives — aren’t they the essentials for any good itinerary? Add glamping to the list and you’re close to understanding why people drool over the words ‘Margaret River’. WORDS: Michelle Hespe

JUNE/JULY 2018

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Food and wine

Nougat and Chocolate

can often be caught saying: “I don’t have a sweet tooth; I’m a savoury girl. Give me wine, cheese and olives any day.” This statement was once true, but it’s based on the fact that, growing up, all my parents had stashed was a family block of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate. And if it was a really posh occasion, out came the Top Deck. We had Lipton tea in the pantry and honey was a noname, no-nonsense affair from Franklins. So it’s no wonder that when I visited my first Australian wine region and tasted the local produce from markets bursting at the seams with wickedly wonderful fresh goodness, I had to reassess what my tastebuds had been telling me since primary school. And as it turns out, I do have a sweet tooth after all. As my sense of taste developed, I indulged with trips to the Hunter Valley, Orange, Mudgee, Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley, Coonawarra, the Barossa, the Derwent and Tamar, traipsing across the country in

search of great food and wine. And then, when I visited Margaret River for the first time 15 years ago, I fell in love. Perhaps it was the blending of a well-established surf culture and alternative lifestylers, with nature, art, wine and food in sheer abundance at every single turn. Or perhaps it was the fact that everything just felt different, because it was like being in another country way over west in WA. Whatever the case, I’ve been madly in love with this seaside strip of bustling hamlets, villages and towns strung together with magical caves, deserted white-sand beaches and towering karri forests ever since. ‘Margs’, as she’s known by the locals, has come a long way in the 15 years I’ve known her. But it still feels like a gathering of farms and cellar doors linked by sun-dappled roads with forest canopies. On every second gate there’s an enticing sign signalling another treat to be tried. Here are some of my new favourites, but it’s really only a tip of the delectable iceberg.

In business for almost two decades, The Margaret River Chocolate Company isn’t shy about claiming they make the best hot chocolate in Western Australia and the best brownies in the country. Sitting in the factory’s garden with lush lawns fanning out into the native bushland peppered with all manner of bright flowers, I found the sweeping claims hard to argue. Plus, they do handmade truffles, chocolate sauces, cakes, desserts, fondues and cocoa powders, not to mention sweet-smelling chocolate-based body products. When you’ve had your fill — and a free tasting — bounce down the road to family-run Bettenay’s Margaret River in Cowaramup. It’s home to some of the creamiest, chewiest, handmade Frenchinspired nougat in the country, and there are 32 flavour combinations to agonise over, including white chocolate and apricot, and cranberry and pistachio. And don’t miss out on the family’s renowned wines (they’ve scooped more than 40 medals to date) and revered Nougaretto liqueur, lovingly made in two flavours: honey and almond, and coffee and almond. With hindsight, it’s downright laughable that I thought I didn’t have a sweet tooth. 

JUNE/JULY 2018

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Food and wine

Now that we’re on to wine, where to start and where to end will only cause a severe case of FOMO (there are 215 vineyards and 187 wineries in Margs), so it’s best to pick a few favourites and you’ll always end up swinging by some others on the back of local recommendations. Celebrating 50 years of winemaking last year, the region is bursting with bright, progressive, new-world winemakers who balance out the plethora of producers dedicated to traditional methods and varietals. Here, the world’s your oyster. I chose Cullen Wines and Voyager Estate as my big guns — they’re both legendary and the families behind them were instrumental in establishing Margaret River as a respected wine region. Both have stunning cellar doors and restaurants with sensational views to boot. Cullen Restaurant’s food is organic and biodynamic, and over at Voyager you can enjoy a seven-course Discovery Menu. If you have time, fit in both to get a taste of what these institutions offer dedicated food and wine lovers. I also visited Glenarty Road, which takes a ground-toglass approach to wine, ensuring guests taste a “true representation of the site, the season and a bit of hard science.” The restaurant menu revolves around the grass-fed lamb reared on the farm, and fresh seafood caught by local fishermen. I then stopped by Amelia Park Wines to experience its exquisite cellar door and the well-priced, high-quality drops produced by award-winning winemaker Jeremy Gordon. Squeezing in one more place, rightfully famous for its vineyard views, superb wines and fine food by head chef Seth James, I spent a couple of hours at beautiful Wills Domain. 

JUNE/JULY 2018

Food and wine

Savoury Glamping To immerse myself in nature, I stayed at Olio Bello, a glamping experience that seriously raises the bar on eco-accommodation. Surrounded by thousands of olive trees in their sentinel-like rows, I awoke every morning to the bleats of hundreds of sheep and the early morning warbles of friendly magpies. A family of resident ducks, fluffy ducklings following in Mum’s wake, regularly caused gentle ripples in the glorious reflections of towering gumtrees. My luxurious, air-conditioned designer ‘tent’ was complete with floorboards, a lounge area before a bi-flame fireplace, a full bathroom and a cosy kitchenette. There, on my last night, sitting on my verandah with the sun setting in its fiery glory across the land, I arranged savoury treats I’d bought from the farmers’ markets on a locally made chunky wooden breadboard (prosciutto, goats’ cheese, beetroot dip, a perfectly rotund pear and some chilli crackers), accompanied by Olio Bello’s homemade, thick-crust sourdough and a bowl of garlic-infused olives that were a welcome gift. I’m still a savoury girl at heart, but a bit of cranberry nougat and some dark, salty chocolate paired with a glass of Margs’ finest cab sav is an exceptional way to wind up a day living it tough in WA. TB

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Fact File The Margaret River Chocolate Company chocolatefactory.com.au Bettenay’s Margaret River bettenaysmargaretriver. com.au Voyager Estate voyagerestate.com.au Cullen Wines cullenwines.com.au Glenarty Road glenartyroad.com.au Amelia Park Wines ameliaparkwines.com.au Wills Domain willsdomain.com.au Olio Bello oliobello.com For more information, visit Margaret River tourism margaretriver.com

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Philanthropy

Let me sleep on that

What happens when leaders of top Aussie companies sleep outdoors overnight to raise money for homelessness? We meet with the founder of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout to find out. WORDS BY: Katrina Holden It’s true that everyone deserves a safe place to call home, and Australia, after all, has long been considered the ‘lucky country’ where the dream was once a house, Holden and a Hills hoist. However, according to official figures from the 2016 national Census, the grave reality is that more than 116,000 Australians are homeless each night, and 32 per cent of these people are aged between 12 and 24. Meanwhile for our older citizens, the rate of homeless people aged 55 years and older has steadily increased by 28 per cent between 2011 and 2016. Addressing this growing concern, the Vinnies CEO Sleepout raises money to provide those experiencing homelessness with essential access to food and accommodation. Vinnies also provides education, counselling, employment and health services to help people overcome long-term poverty. The 2017 CEO Sleepout raised $5.6 million which translated into 1,949,673 support programs, meaning 689,819 beds were provided to the homesless, and 1,590,554 meals. Now in its 13th year, the CEO Sleepout has evolved since its early days when founder Bernie Fehon, CEO of Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise, first came up with the idea. In 2006 Fehon was an AMP financial planner who, with the support of the AMP Foundation, got involved in Vinnies fundraising dinners. The dinners, though successful, were hard work and presented the challenge of trying to better them each year. “It was also a little bit odd having a banquet to raise money for people who couldn’t afford their next meal. Meanwhile,

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my kids were doing sleepouts at their school, and while in an organising committee meeting I started thinking, ‘Wouldn’t a CEO sleepout be easier than a CEO dinner?’” said Fehon. The first event in 2006 took six months to plan, had fewer than 10 CEOs and raised $5,000. “But it captured the imagination of a core group of us who were at that first event, and an organising committee was formed to do it again.” Word spread and soon more highprofile CEOs became involved as well as politicians. The fourth Sleepout in 2009 was a turning point — involving more than 200 CEOs and raising $620,000. All money raised went directly to Vinnies to use on services where required. “Those early events were really the prototype of a more significant event, and Vinnies invested in a website and made it easier, promoting it early,” says Fehon. “The next year (2010) it went national and we raised $2.9 million. The event has continued to grow with the attendance of CEOs from some of the biggest companies in Australia and past and future prime ministers, as well as the GovernorGeneral and Australians of the Year all taking part. “The greatest impact comes when CEOs and business leaders quietly listen to the personal stories of people who have experienced homelessness. Having spoken to many CEOS, I know that the CEO Sleepout actually changes the way CEOs think,” says Fehon, who adds that most CEOs have safety nets that homeless people don’t — family, finances and access to health care. “A lot of homelessness is hidden. People see a homeless 

Opposite page: founder of vinnies ceo sleepout, bernie Fehon. this page, clockwise from top: Former CEO of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Lee White; Former Mamamia CEO, Kylie Rogers; volunteers at the Sleepout.

Philanthropy

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The 2017 CEO Sleepout raised $5.6 million which translated into 1,949,673 individual support programs; 689,819 beds and 1,590,554 meals.

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Philanthropy Russell Baskerville, Managing Director, Empired

In 2018, the Vinnies CEO Sleepout takes place on June 21 (June 28 in Geelong) at these locations: ADELAIDE With host Kate Ceberano, at Adelaide Oval, War Memorial Drive. BRISBANE Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm CANBERRA National Museum of Australia, Acton. GEELONG (28 JUNE) GMHBA Stadium, Geelong GOLD COAST Cbus Stadium, Robina

person in the street and think that represents all homelessness — it doesn’t. There are people couch surfing, sleeping in their cars, families being split up for practical reasons… it’s really hard to keep a family together once you’re homeless. I think the misconception for many might be that there’s a simple answer and there’s not. That’s why the work Vinnies does is so critical in having caseworkers who tailor a solution to each and every individual,” says Fehon. While the CEO Sleepout represents just one evening, Fehon says it inspires many CEOs to take part in a range of activities between the yearly events. “With Abergeldie for example [one of Australia’s leading civil contractors] I went to school with founder Mick Boyle, and he’s been a tremendous supporter of the event. They sponsor the Vinnies van in Western Sydney. I’m also aware of enLighten Australia, who have installed energy-efficient lighting into a Vinnies facility which really becomes the gift that keeps on giving through cheaper energy bills. An IT strategy group was also established to help Vinnies. There’s a whole range of ways that CEOs can help,” says Fehon. Outside our cities, Vinnies has provided specific services in regions such as Armidale, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga. “It’s a national problem. The great thing about Vinnies is that it’s really community based. Wherever there’s a Vinnies shop there are volunteers, supported by the staff, who are doing the great work that we see here in Sydney. And when it comes to my role with Vinnies, the truth is, I don’t have one! I’m a friend of Vinnies who founded this idea. It’s been a joy and I’ve met some exceptional people,” says Fehon. TB

LAUNCESTON University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston. MELBOURNE The University of Melbourne, South Lawn Underground Carpark (via Swanston Street) NEWCASTLE McDonald Jones Stadium, Broadmeadow PERTH WACA, East Perth SYDNEY White Bay Cruise Terminal (via Robert Street), Rozelle WOLLONGONG St Mary Star of the Sea College, Wollongong

To register or to donate (donations are still open after the Sleepout dates) go to ceosleepout.org.au Example donations include $55 to feed a family for a day; $105 to help a family keep the power on this winter; $155 to provide emergency accommodation for a family in crisis. Alternatively, you can donate an amount of your choosing.

JUNE/JULY 2018

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ArtSpace

Strong lines

Ken Strong’s affinity for the Australian landscape has kept him painting it for three decades. WORDS: Sarah Hinder | images: Courtesy of Cooks Hill Galleries For as long as he can remember, Ken Strong has held a pencil or a brush in his hand. He’s the kind of artist who, after three decades of painting landscapes, never tires of drawing inspiration from his surrounds. Through his art, he seeks to recreate a sense of place and incite a deep, reflective response from his audience. It’s the “mystical element” and transformative power of art that drives the Brisbaneborn painter to continue putting oil to canvas. “I’m always looking for a greater impact of expression,” says Strong, whose works are revered both locally and internationally. “Art, for me, is incredibly exciting. It’s a form of expression that tends to follow the contours of my subconscious rather than an analytical process.” Over the course of his 35-year career, Strong has travelled extensively throughout Australia, Europe and the US, developing a predilection for landscapes oriented around water very early on, which he attributes to a period of his childhood spent on the New South Wales Central Coast. “The whole focus there was around boats and water. I really fell in love with that, and it’s just continued,” he says. “In the last 15 to 18 months I’ve had a real focus on Sydney Harbour and all the little nooks and crannies that occur around that part of the world — and it’s truly delightful. The focus on boats and water, which has always been a love of mine, is also why I love Sydney Harbour so much.” Painting from a young age, Strong says he was influenced by the Australian Impressionists of the 1800s who, in turn, took their cues from the French

Impressionist movement. Since his first solo exhibition in 1988, Strong’s art has undergone a distinctive transformation. “I still have Impressionist overtones, but I tend to look at abstractions within the work. I like to have some degree of representation within my paintings, and I like to use abstraction within the remaining area around my subject, to reinforce my subject and to support that composition.” Strong usually has around six paintings underway at any given time, and aims to start a new work at least every second day. “When I have so many paintings going on at one time, I can see things that I can’t when just attempting to analyse one painting for hours,” he explains. “It really has to come from more of a spontaneous reaction to what I pick up when I turn around and look at an easel on the far side of the studio.” More than the reward of spontaneity, Strong says it’s the sheer enjoyment and the possibility to evoke this same feeling in others that motivates him to create. “Occasionally when painting, I really touch on something that gets me quite excited about it — it isn’t tangible. I think it’s that sort of mystical element within art which is not all that quantifiable that drives me to do it.” While his landscapes are characterised by instinctive, bold strokes, Strong’s approach to his subjects is more subtle in many cases. “Whether it’s a boat, a structure or a small figure, it brings your focus into certain parts of the work and generates questions. Having questions coming out of a work — as well as a visual appreciation — creates the overall

interest in what is being expressed,” he explains. Rather than focusing on subjects from a composition point of view, Strong is more concerned with human intervention — the subject’s impact on the landscape. “It links the subject back to man’s influence, whether it’s good or bad.” Like most artists who recognise perfection is near impossible and entirely subjective, Strong is always 

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Q&A with Mark Widdup

Director, cooks Hill Galleries

striving for growth and improvement. “The perfect composition, I think, is something that is momentarily recognised. If I can capture this even for a moment, it’s really satisfying. The problem is, I’m always looking for improvement, which usually results in changes. With this in mind, in reality, I don’t believe there is a perfect composition, but it is always a goal to aspire to.” To date, Strong has participated in 59 exhibitions including 28 solos, with works currently on display at Newcastle’s Cooks Hill Galleries. Most recently, he’s been experimenting with light and shadow to hone his skill. “I’ve been looking at the use and the accentuation of light to reinforce the focus on my subjects within the composition. That particular characteristic I’m trying to push to another level with the works I’m doing for Cooks Hill,” he says, referring to one of Australia’s leading commercial art galleries. Strong is also working towards mastering larger-scale works. “The impact of the larger works can be quite dramatic. The physical size of it gives you a lot more opportunity to be able to express impact, and express the sorts of things that I’m developing with the use of light to achieve a more powerful result,” he explains, before a pause and a chuckle. “In two years’ time, ask me the same question and I’ll probably say I’m doing something completely different!” TB cookshillgalleries.com.au

Q: When you founded Cooks Hill Galleries (CHG) in 1975, what was your goal for the gallery and the region? A: I had little art knowledge, having just left the University of Newcastle. CHG was more an opportunity of life and a leap of faith. I later realised I didn’t have the sense to work elsewhere, to develop art contacts — I did it all by trial and error. This wasn’t a bad way of learning, albeit slower. The goal was to understand the art market, qualify the local artists and figure out how to survive. Q: While you’ve worked with many big names, you also seek out midcareer artists. How does CHG help them build their profile? A: Over the years we have developed a pathway for our artists to follow. This simultaneously adds value to their career and builds their profile within the Australian art market. At CHG, we develop individualised plans for our artists, and we offer direction and guidance for interpreting the art market. CHG has many years of experience and offers a dependable opinion and eye on the composition, style and the artwork overall. We offer a confidential working relationship that is relaxed and productive. Q: What is it about the Australian art scene and its artists that enthuses and inspires you? A: The constant proliferation of artists and the ever-present challenge of assessing artists who will endure in the art market, versus the short-term, fashionable contributors. I seek out the inner qualities of artworks, which I am proud to say Australian art has plenty of. Compared to the markets of Europe and the USA, Australian art is not necessarily overtly influenced by tradition — it is innovative.

Q: How do you work with buyers and sellers of art and what services do you provide to them? A: We offer a bespoke service across a wide range of art mediums and styles. The diversity of art offered at CHG, along with our unmatched experience and art knowledge, is our point of difference. For art vendors, we offer art evaluation or appraisal, valuation, condition reports and a realistic review of a work’s inherent qualities. For art buyers, we align qualities within artworks with buyers’ art preferences, and challenge buyers’ art perceptions. Most importantly, CHG allows buyers to retain their freedom of choice, and instils confidence before they buy. Q: Your gallery has been operating for more than 40 years. To what do you largely attribute its success? A: It would be our commitment to growth and diversification in the art that we offer, and supporting our exhibitors. Local emerging artists were augmented with those with an established reputation. CHG began as a regional exhibiting gallery and developed to be a nationwide art provider, utilising a vast network of suppliers. We developed a broad base of art-interested followers. The escalation of the internet has rapidly expanded our reach, especially through our social media platforms. We hope to offer art as an investment of the heart alongside investment in artists of already established reputation. cookshillgalleries.com.au JUNE/JULY 2018

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Corporate retreats

Top 10 conference and incentive destinations in Australia We check out some of the finest corporate-minded retreats in Australia. You might want to stay on after closing the laptop. Words: Sarah Hinder

ELEMENTS OF BYRON, BYRON BAY NSW This resort in beautiful Byron Bay is purpose-built to hold a range of conference and team getaway events, from largescale pavilions and beachfront gardens to private rooms fitted with the latest tech support. Accommodation-wise, there are 193 free-standing villas dotted across the groundsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 20 hectares of grasslands, natural waterways and forest. elementsofbyron.com.au ď ˝ JUNE/JULY 2018

Corporate retreats

FREYCINET LODGE, FREYCINET NATIONAL PARK TAS

Q STATION, MANLY NSW With its exceptional — and eerie — history that dates back to the 1830s, and its sweeping views across Sydney Harbour, today’s restoration of the original North Head Quarantine Station makes for a memorable visit. Set within 12 hectares of Sydney Harbour National Park, Q Station is home to 11 heritage-listed meeting rooms with harbour views, a grand ballroom and a private beach and wharf precinct able to accommodate up to 500 guests. For a unique teambuilding experience, brave a nighttime ghost tour — but beware: the site is considered one of Australia’s most haunted. qstation.com.au

QT, GOLD COAST QLD An entertainment-focused destination, QT Gold Coast is the go-to choice for those wanting to throw anything from a quirky networking party to a bespoke celebration. Aside from the hotel’s 297 designer guest rooms, it’s decked out with 15 meeting rooms spread across three floors of dedicated conference space, and a grand-scale ballroom for up to 750 delegates. qthotelsandresorts.com/gold-coast

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At the heart of the world-renowned Freycinet National Park is this cosy winter escape for corporates. Imagine panoramic coastal views of Great Oyster Bay and a log fire crackling in your homely cabin. An outstanding destination for foodies, the retreat serves up premium Tasmanian produce and local seafood at The Bay restaurant. Versatile conference facilities cater for anywhere between 10 and 110 delegates year-round, while the lodge’s special winter conference package — available between June 1 and August 31 — is reserved for smaller corporate groups looking to get down to business with hot chocolates in hand and wintry menus to look forward to. freycinetlodge.com.au

Corporate retreats nts

MOUNT LOFTY HOUSE, ADELAIDE HILLS SA

SILKY OAKS LODGE, MOSSMAN GORGE QLD

Perched above the banks of the Mossman River, this boutique accommodation is surrounded by the lush Daintree. Set on 32 private hectares of the world’s oldest living rainforest, Silky Oaks provides a special conference environment. The resort houses two well-equipped meeting rooms set against a tropical backdrop and flooded with natural light, the largest catering for up to 100 delegates. For a more immersive experience, guests may conference and dine in a long-table setting upon the sands of the river. silkyoakslodge.com.au

GRANGE BELLINZONA, HEPBURN SPRINGS VIC

SOFITEL SYDNEY DARLING HARBOUR, SYDNEY NSW

Grange Bellinzona offers a hidden oasis nestled between historic towns Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, at the heart of Victoria’s spa country, around 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. An experience in fivestar luxury, the retreat specialises in creating individual corporate getaways. Purpose-built as a superb conference and team-building centre, it houses five meeting rooms that hold up to 180 people with views across Wombat Forest. grangecc.com.au/bellinzonadaylesford

Located just one minute from the International Convention Centre, Sydney’s newly refurbished exhibition and entertainment precinct, the Sofitel is both perfectly located and equipped with competent facilities for professional meetings and events. The luxury hotel boasts nine flexible meeting and conference spaces, including an elegant ballroom seating up to 300 guests. For extra-curricular activities, there’s the French-inspired Atelier restaurant and infinity pool and bar overlooking the Sydney skyline. sofitelsydneydarlingharbour.com.au

Originally built in 1852 as a summer residence overlooking Piccadilly Valley, Mount Lofty House has an interesting history of hosting Adelaide’s high society. An iconic manor home just 15 minutes from Adelaide’s CBD, the residence takes pride in hosting opulent corporate getaways and is equipped with meeting and presentation rooms able to accommodate up to 1,000 delegates. Signature experiences include hiking the Heysen Trail around Mount Lofty Summit, team building within the estate gardens, and group masterclasses. The residence is an exciting destination for epicureans, home to a 170-year-old cellar, the multi-award-winning Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant, plus five-star accommodation. mtloftyhouse.com.au

CABLE BEACH CLUB RESORT & SPA, BROOME WA Expect brilliant sunsets over the turquoise Indian Ocean at this awardwinning resort in the Kimberley. Tailor-made conference packages are their speciality, ensuring each company achieves what they set out to experience. The garden and pool areas provide private welcoming spaces, while formal dining and adaptable conference venues — which accommodate between 10 and 200 delegates — overlook world-famous Cable Beach. cablebeachclub.com

WILDMAN WILDERNESS LODGE, MARY RIVER WETLANDS NT An escape at the edge of Kakadu National Park, Wildman Wilderness Lodge is an experience in bush luxury. Ideal for smaller corporate groups, the resort has meeting rooms, private dining spaces and a theatre seating up to 40 people. Its 25 rustic cabins and luxury safari tents can be booked out exclusively for corporate events. The lodge can also organise group tours of Kakadu National Park, airboat safaris across the Mary River Wetlands and helicopter tours. TB wildmanwildernesslodge.com.au JUNE/JULY 2018

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Business News+Views

Business News+Views Bringing you the latest insights and analyses. WORDS: Sarah Hinder Stephen Hawking’s last predictions From an Artificial Intelligence (AI) apocalypse to nuclear war, Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist and genius who passed away in March, has left us with these alarming predictions.

Fireball

Global warming, over-reliance on fossil fuels and overpopulation all put our planet at risk. “By the year 2600, the world’s population would be standing shoulder to shoulder, and the electricity consumption would make the Earth glow red-hot,” he hypothesised.

Hawking has warned of the dangers that self-aware AI will pose to

Imbalance between corporate gain and the average worker’s reward

Corporations are already reaping the overwhelming benefits of productivity and economic growth as a result of automation. The trend is predicted to make a $2.2 trillion boost to productivity between 2015 and 2030. There is a disturbing divergence, however, between this growing economic surplus and the average worker’s compensation. Research suggests the gap between productivity and wage compensation for the average worker has been larger since the 2000s than at any point in the postWorld War period, and the trend is expected to grow.

humanity. “This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans,” he predicted. In an interview with Wired magazine, Hawking forewarned, “We need to move forward on artificial intelligence development, but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers.”

Extinction

Alarmingly, Hawking proposed that within the next 100 years, humans will either leave Earth to repopulate elsewhere in the universe, or face extinction. It was his belief that, unless we succeed in becoming a multi-planetary species, the human race is very likely to die out within the next century.

Housing market problems having significant increases in homelessness

The number of Australians experiencing homelessless has steadily increased over the past decade by 13.7 per cent since 2011, as measured by the 2016 Census. Groups experiencing the biggest increase in homelessness were overseas-born migrants aged over 65 and those living in New South Wales. A recent study from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has found that changes to Australia’s housing system have played the most predominant role in rising homelessness across the nation. JUNE/JULY 2018

Mining

Boom and bust HOUSING VALUES IN MINING TOWNS HAVE BEEN ON A PRECARIOUS RISE AND FALL TRAJECTORY IN RECENT YEARS AFTER THE COMMODITIES BOOM BOTTOMED OUT. NOW, THE UPWARD CYCLE HAS BEGUN. ILLUSTRATION BY: ANNA FARRELL

Kirsten Craze Kirsten Craze is a freelance journalist who has been writing about property in Australia and overseas for more than 15 years.

AusBiz.

Mining

Australia’s mining towns have ridden a rollercoaster ride of real-estate prices over the past decade. During that time some investors made a pile of cash as home values soared, while others dug themselves into a financial ditch when the market bottomed out. Today, however, the dust is settling after the rise and fall of the commodities boom, and many mining towns are bouncing back. Louis Christopher, founder of property data firm SQM Research, crunched the numbers on several resource-rich towns and, while he admits prices are on the mend, he says buyers should still enter the mining market at their own risk. “If they buy at the right time, then great, but for those who bought at the wrong time, they might as well have just gone down to the casino,” says Christopher. “You get extreme volatility, so people should keep that in mind. The good times are going to be fantastic and the bad times could be a nightmare,” he says. According to Ray

White Western Australia CEO Mark Whiteman, the bad dream is over for prices in the golden state. “There are definitely signs of improvement in the mining towns of Western Australia — that is evident by increased numbers of inquiries and better auction clearance rates in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions,” he says. “It appears that supply is being soaked up by additional demand, which should see things improve from what was certainly a very big correction. The market is certainly not back at boom proportions, but it is way better than the dire situation that it was,” Whiteman says. “My view on any market is that, provided people don’t get carried away at the peak and overcommit in any part of the market, then mining towns represent excellent buying opportunities right now.” Whiteman adds that, with property data showing a “flattening out” of the North West Shelf, prices are close to, or even at the bottom, of the cycle. “And that is universally known as the best time to buy,” he says. “We’ll see an improvement over the next 12 to 36 months as a number of mining companies are going through upgrade phases and are developing their facilities in some of these towns. I think the markets 

“The market is certainly not back at boom proportions, but it is way better than the dire situation that it was.” —

Mark Whiteman, Ray White Western Australian CEO.

JUNE/JULY 2018

Mining

in the Kimberley, Karratha, Broome and Port Hedland are going to see significantly good times ahead,” he predicts. Sophia Keily of Jays Real Estate Mount Isa says the market in North Western Queensland also looks promising. “Mining is picking up, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve got more people back in town and the rentals are steadily picking up. We’re just coming out of a down cycle and it appears as if commodity prices are coming back up. The town’s prices are lagging, but the potential is looming again. It’s a good time for investors to get back in,” says Keily. Keily adds that, with limited accommodation in Mount Isa, landlords with well-presented property will always find tenants while the local copper and zinc mines are hiring. “We had about 10 years of zero to maybe one or two per cent vacancy. We even had those extreme situations where people were renting out their backyards as makeshift camp sites and any caravan was being used. It was so bad that people were homeless, but they were working homeless,” she says of the boom times. While property cycles in mining towns might be extreme, Keily says what goes up does come down, and vice versa. “People picked up places really cheaply in the low of 2004, and they caught that wave. I remember by 2012 a lot of those landlords wanted to capitalise, so sold up and made huge capital gains,” she says. “At that time, people who came to town for work were being forced to pay a lot for property that

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wasn’t being maintained, so they ended up buying very high, which was still better than paying high rents for something that was falling apart. “Where it all came unstuck is when those same people got put off as the mines retrenched in 2014 and 2015, and then had to sell. They’re the ones who got into trouble. But there were a lot who fixed up their homes, rented them out when they could, and waited. If they can wait they will get their money back, because every time we’ve had this cycle it’s always come back. It’s all about timing.”

Karratha

Population: 15,828 (Census 2016) Current gross rental yield: 12.5 per cent (houses) and 8.95 per cent (units) At the height of the inflated market between 2011 and 2012, the main caravan park in Karratha was charging up to $2,400 a week — but today a van is as little as $85 a night. At the peak of the mining boom, Karratha had a vacancy rate of about 0.4 per cent according to SQM Research. 

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Mining Those rates then rose during the downturn to 7.5 per cent in April 2015. Between late 2015 and now, vacancies have been trending down, and by early 2018 were sitting at 2.5 per cent. The median weekly rent peaked in July 2012 at $1,700 a week for houses and $1,100 a week for units. By January 2017, rents finally bottomed out at $450 a week for houses and $300 a week for units. Today, rents are now climbing again, with the median house rent sitting at $495 a week, while units have picked up to $333 a week as at April 2018. Sales in the town saw a huge rise and fall during the same timeframe. At its peak, the median house price in Karratha reached $870,000 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with some homes selling for more than $1 million â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and units hit a median of $600,000. The market began falling in 2012 through to 2017, finally bottoming out at a median house price of $300,000 and a median unit price of $127,000. By the first half of 2018, the median house price got to $390,000, with units yet to move.

Port Hedland

Population: 13,828 (Census 2016) Current gross rental yield: 8.25 per cent (dwellings) In the height of the boom, there was 0.2 per cent vacancy in Port Hedland according to SQM numbers. That then skyrocketed in the downturn to a high point of 7.5 per cent. Now on a downturn since late 2016, the local vacancy is sitting at about 2.6 per cent. Weekly rents for a house in Port Hedland soared to $2,800, with units at $1,400. But then by the bottom they were sitting at $600 a week for houses and $350 a week for units. Port Hedland rents are on an upward swing in 2018 and are sitting at $800 a week for houses and $400 a week for units. When the market was booming in WA, Port Hedland prices were skyrocketing. In 2012, the median house price reached a whopping $1.6 million, but by 2017 it bottomed out at $525,000. At the same time units hit their peak at $810,000, but then began to fall. Units in Port Hedland were at $264,000 by early 2018.

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Mount Isa

Population: 32,588 (Census 2016) Current gross rental yield: 6 per cent (dwellings) Similar to Port Hedland and Karratha, vacancy rates were tight during the mining boom, getting as low as 0.3 per cent in October 2012. They peaked at 6 per cent by December 2014 and have slowly fallen since to 2.5 per cent this year. House rents in Mount Isa reached $600 a week in the boom, while units were at $480 a week. The bottom finally came in late 2016 when rents for houses fell to $350 and units were $200 a week. SQM data shows that the median house price hit a high of $495,000 in December 2012, then gradually fell to $325,000 by mid-2017. They climbed to $330,000 in early 2018. Meanwhile units peaked in mid-2013 at $410,000, then bottomed out in October 2017 at $250,000, and have inched back up this year to $295,000.

Roxby Downs

Population: 3,884 (Census 2016) Current gross rental yield: 6 per cent (dwellings) Resource-rich towns in South Australia have also been along for the ride. Roxby Downs, a purpose-built town that services the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine site, has been on one of those property price waves. Vacancy rates sat at around zero in March 2012, then hit a dramatic peak in June 2016 of 17 per cent. Since then vacancies have fallen, and, by September 2017, were back down to 0.8 per cent. They are now slightly up 2.5 per cent. At their height weekly rents for a house reached $520 in August 2012, then dramatically dropped to $190 a week in January 2017. Now they are on the rise again to $377 a week. The few units in Roxby Downs did peak at the same time as houses at $350 a week, then bottomed in April 2016 at $160 a week. Now, local units have climbed to $310 a week. In October 2012 the median house price in Roxby Downs was $470,000, but fell to $310,000 by June 2017. That was up by early 2018 to $339,000. Similary, units peaked at $377,000, then slumped to $192,000 and have increased to $220,000.

Darren Baguley An agriculture, tech, mining, energy and business specialist.

Trash to treasure AS HIGH-GRADE DEPOSITS BECOME HARDER TO FIND, REPROCESSING TAILINGS FROM LEGACY MINES BECOMES ECONOMICALLY VIABLE AS MINING COMPANIES GO BACK TO THE FUTURE. For thousands of years the process of prospectors working in remote areas, under harsh conditions, to find an ore deposit, develop the mine and extract the resource has fired the imagination. There can be no denying there’s a romance to this progression. However, it invariably misses out the final phase — the inevitable closure of the mine when the finite resource has been extracted, processed and turned into the products of our comfortable industrial world. While there are mines, such as Potosi in Bolivia, that were opened hundreds of years ago, most have a life span of 30 to 50 years. New technology and a new way of viewing mining waste, however, are changing perceptions as to what is the end of a mine’s productive life. All mines generate waste. There is the overburden, rock that overlies the ore seam or mineral body, and tailings, the material

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Fast Fact

80%

Mined since the 1500s, and the source of Spain’s wealth at that time, the Cerro Rico de Potosí is the world's largest silver deposit. In the early years the ore grade was as high as 40 per cent silver.

remaining after ore has been processed and the valuable fraction separated out. The amount of tailings can be large depending on the metal or mineral being mined and the purity of the ore or mineral body. During extraction, the ore is ground into fine particles. Tailings are usually stored near the mine site itself and present challenges when it comes to rehabilitating the mine site at the end of its life: acid mine drainage, alkaline drainage and fine particles loaded with toxic substances such as lead. Mine site rehabilitation is expensive and it’s often the taxpayer picking up the bill. There are about 60,000 unrehabilitated mine sites in Australia, which represents a considerable burden that could be minimised if mining companies, government and the public see these ‘waste’ materials as potential resources. According to Anita Parbhakar-Fox, the Senior Research Fellow — Minimising Geoenvironmental Risks Transforming the Mining Value Chain — an ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub at the University of Tasmania, tailings dumps could be part of a new mining boom as there is vast potential for these massive piles of waste to be re-mined. Not only are the tailings from some older mines the equivalent of economic grade with modern processing methods, but changing demand for metals means there are also desirable elements contained within the waste. “If we’re looking at historical, legacy sites, the sites that had quite high grade in the first place would be the sites to prioritise if a mining company was chasing the same commodity,” says Parbhakar-Fox. “Take, for example, Western Tasmania mining around Zeehan and Queenstown started in the early 1900s and as mineral processing technology has changed,

Mining review

what was once waste material would now be considered as economic grade. “The other thing to consider is the accessory metals you might have in some of the assemblages that are associated with those high-grade deposits. When we look at some of the mine waste material from Western Tasmania, we may be looking for lead, silver and base metals but we actually find there is quite a nice accessory of critical metals. For example we’ve had a bit of success with finding indium and cobalt. So, looking at those mine wastes a bit more broadly and seeing if there is a metal or mineral that is in demand now can certainly improve the potential revenue companies can generate from reprocessing these materials.” According to Parbhakar-Fox, the Old Tailings Dam, a site at Savage River on the west coast of Tasmania, has pyriterich waste from mining activities between 1967 and 1982 containing 38 million tonnes of material. While rehabilitation measures such as vegetating the site or flooding the area have been deemed technically too difficult, studies by Parbhakar-Fox found that the tailings contained as much as 3 per cent cobalt, a metal priced at US$81,000/tonne at the time of writing. She adds that by using bacterial oxidation, a greener process developed to release gold from pyritic rocks, much of the cobalt could be recovered. The Baal Gammon mine near Herberton in northern

Queensland produced copper, tin and silver for more than 70 years, but acid drainage from the site’s tailings has contaminated the waste near Jamie Creek and Walsh River. Analysis by Parbhakar-Fox’s team of shows it contains high levels of tin and indium that could be recovered using modern processing technology. “Reprocessing the waste would also remove the sulphides that are causing the acid drainage and threatening local waterways,” she adds. At its most basic, the way companies reprocess their waste depends on the metal or mineral being extracted and the grade of the parent material. “Operational mines need to take their waste material and treat it the same way they treat ore characterisation, understanding where the metals are sited, and start using appropriate metallurgical techniques,” says Parbhakar-Fox. A good example of a company doing this is the Ernest Henry Mine, a copper and gold mining operation in northwest Queensland. The mine began commercial production in March 1998 and it has undertaken good work in terms of reprocessing its tailings. “They’ve gone back to their tailings dams and dredged the material there. They’re chasing magnetite so it’s quite easy for them to put the material through magnetic separation and recover it much the same way they treat their ore,” says Parbhakar-Fox. Cobalt and indium are ‘hot’ elements right now because  JUNE/JULY 2018

Mining review

they’re used in electronic gadgets the world currently has an insatiable thirst for, and a similarly in-demand element, lithium, is being recovered from waste in Western Australia. Over the past two years Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT) has developed its patented SiLeach® lithium processing technology that promises to produce lithium at very low cost and can also process ores that were up until now regarded as waste material. According to a report by RM Research, “[Lithium Australia’s] flagship lithium processing technology, SiLeach® is a halogenbased lithium processing technology which eliminates the expensive roasting step used in conventional lithium processing. SiLeach® is able to treat all lithium silicates including micas and low-spec and contaminated spodumene concentrates that are currently being disposed as waste from mining operations. Conventional processes can only recover lithium. SiLeach® efficiently digests and recovers all metals from the minerals processed and has the capacity of recovering valuable by-products which conventional processing is unable to do.” While reprocessing of mine waste is far less destructive to the environment than building a new mine, Parbhakar-Fox says that it can still be controversial. “When you consider the cultural aspect, the different land uses involved, [reprocessing] can be quite tricky. In Zeehan, we’re working on the infamous slag dump as another project. We’ve worked out where the zinc is residing, and we can improve the metallurgy of the recovery of that zinc, but it’s an area of cultural significance. “It sounds simple to say you should remove all this because it would remove a risk. We know it’s generating dust and contributing to the low pH waters with the slag pile sitting right next to a tailings repository all of which is impacting Austral Creek, which has a pH of 1.7.” Despite the logic, a company that was reprocessing the slag in 2011 struck opposition from locals who saw it as destroying history. “It’s a hurdle that isn’t always obvious when you’re thinking about minerals and dollars and things,” sums up Parbhakar-Fox.

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Fast Facts

40,000

The oldest continuing mining operation in the world may be the Wilgie Mia ochre mine in Western Australia’s Weld Ranges. Archaeologists believe excavation began 40,000 years ago.

Gold

South Australia's integrated metallurgical plant at Olympic Dam mine is able to process copper, uranium, silver and gold.

While high grade deposits continue to be found, the reality is that mining companies worldwide are chasing lower grade deposits across all commodities. According to ParbhakarFox, the logic of reprocessing legacy waste and further processing waste as it is produced is undeniable, but more research is needed. “Any decision that needs to be made in the area of reprocessing or rehabilitation needs to be based on good solid mineralogy. A lot of decisions can be made by looking at element signatures, but unless you understand where those elements were actually sited mineralogically then you can’t make a good decision in terms of the site. Developing techniques that can predict, characterise or capture mineralogy more cost effectively in the field is quite critical, as it can potentially transform the mining value chain. If we don’t do things like that, then we’ll continue to make mistakes."

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Property

On the money THERE’S MONEY TO BE MADE FOR INVESTORS IN REGIONAL MARKETS WHEN IN THE PROPERTY GAME FOR THE LONG RUN. HERE, WE LOOK AT THE AUSTRALIAN REGIONS OFFERING THE BEST INVESTMENT POTENTIALS

Kirsten Craze Kirsten Craze is a freelance journalist who has been writing about property in Australia and overseas for more than 15 years.

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One of the great real-estate myths is that only cities are home to big returns. But savvy investors know the real story. Sure, Sydney and Melbourne have multi-million-dollar price tags and have seen impressive annual growth, but high entry costs and mammoth mortgages mean many investors just can’t play the field. However, switched-on investors who have stepped into regional markets are finding there is money to be made when playing the long game. Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo, National Research Manager for PRD Nationwide, says there are plenty of regional hotspots where prices are affordable and gains are strong. “There’s a lot of potential in regional areas. Many people just think about Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, or within an hour’s drive of those places — they don’t think about regional areas and their investment potential,” she says. Mardiasmo recently released PRD Nationwide’s annual Ready Set Go Regional Report that analyses which Local Council Areas show property investment promise.

Property

The comprehensive report takes into account affordability, property price trends, investment potential, future development and the local unemployment rate. “We also made sure the LGAs we chose had a median price below the average state loan. For example, in NSW the average state loan for the December 2017 quarter was $476,449, while in Victoria it was $410,000 and in Queensland $338,000,” she says. The LGAs highlighted also had positive 12-month price growth, a rental yield on par with, or higher than, the nearest capital city, and rental vacancy rates on par with, or lower than, the capitals. “I have talked to so many investors who are hung up on two things: median price and percentage growth. People tend to look at it from a 12-month perspective, whereas if I was going to look at it from a growth perspective, I would look at the five- or even 10-year average. “Investors get enamoured by the idea of cheap prices and rental yields, but some haven't even heard of vacancy rates before. You need to know what they are, because you need them to be as low as possible." True property hotspots, Mardiasmo says, need to have solid future development prospects. “Without a high level of development, that level of price growth will not be sustained five or seven years down the track. There are people out who will want to flip properties in 12 months or so but, to me, property is still a long-term gain.” The PRD report concentrates on the Eastern Seaboard as these populated states have been most struggling with affordability.

New South Wales

Fast Facts

$1.17m While Sydney’s median house price sits at $1.1795 million, Melbourne’s is $821,000 and Brisbane’s is $530,000.

$769,051 The weighted average house price in Australia’s capital cities is $769,051.

The Ready Set Go Regional Report tipped Tamworth, Goulburn Mulwaree, Orange and Wagga Wagga local councils as hotspots. Tamworth is home to around 60,000 people and has a local initiative in place to hit 100,000 by 2030. The median house price as at April 2018 was $340,000, with a rental yield of 4.9 per cent and a vacancy rate of 2.3 per cent. With approximately $131 million of development planned for the region, the area 400 kilometres north-west of Sydney is looking pretty good to investors. “People ask me what the major industry is in Tamworth and the answer, which is our strength, is that we don’t have one. We’ve got lots of contributors, so that protects the local economy from the boom and bust cycle that can happen in some other regional places,” says Dean Cummins, founder of PRD Nationwide Tamworth. “People see just how well priced our properties are and you can get a pretty good return. You can achieve a 6 per cent return pretty easily or even better,” he says. Cummins, whose office manages 1,800 properties, said his current vacancy rate is sitting at a very low two per cent, with homes renting out in just 2 weeks on the market. Also pegged as a hotspot, Goulburn’s median house price was $420,000, while there are returns of 3.4 per cent, with vacancies at just 1.7 per cent. The Orange median house price was $387,000, while the yield was 3.8 per cent, with vacancies also at 1.7 per cent. In Wagga Wagga, the median sat at $345,000 and the yield was 5.5 per cent, with the vacant rate at 2.8 per cent.  JUNE/JULY 2018

Property

Queensland For Queensland the regional councils of the Whitsundays and Southern Downs, as well as Ipswich and Toowoomba, were highlighted as solid investment spots. In Toowoomba, which is 125 kilometres west of Brisbane and home to approximately 160,779 people, the median house price was $380,000, while rental yields were sitting at 4.7 per cent and the vacancy rate at 2.7 per cent. With almost $2 billion worth of development given the green light in the greater Toowoomba region, local agents have reason to sing its praises. “We have a steady growth rate and low vacancy, and obviously you get a lot more bang for your buck in Toowoomba than you do in any of the capitals. You’ve also got a much better rate of return,” says Simone Files, cofounder of Blackbird and Finch, a real-estate business based

in Toowoomba. Files says despite an oversupply of units in the area in recent years that has since corrected itself, houses are hot property and there is no shortage of tenants. “As soon as a property goes up for rent, it generally only takes about two weeks to get it leased. But we don’t have very many for rent — we’d dearly love some more,” she says. Other promising areas in the Sunshine State include the Whitsundays region, where the house price median was $375,000, the rental yield was 4.5 per cent and the vacancy rate 1.6 per cent. Further south and Ipswich’s median is $347,500, while the local rental yield was 4.8 per cent, with vacancies at 2.9 per cent. In the Southern Downs the median house price was $280,000, with a yield at 4.6 per cent and vacancy at 1.6 per cent. 

JUNE/JULY 2018

Property

Victoria In Victoria the Ready Set Go report pinpointed the Mitchell, Bass Coast and Moorabool shire councils. Moorabool Shire Council has a population of around 32,000, a median house price of $433,750, a yield of 4.1 per cent and a very low vacancy of 0.8 per cent. There is approximately $40 million worth of investment set to be pumped into the local area in the short term, so values are looking up. Matthew Edwards, senior country and lifestyle consultant at PRD Nationwide Ballarat, sells in the Moorabool Shire to a number of Melbourne-based investors keen to cash in on the high growth in the Moorabool region. With a median house price of $410,000, the Mitchell region had a rental yield of 4.6 per cent and a vacancy rate of only 0.6 per cent.

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“We manage close to 1,600 properties and a lot of our investors are coming out of the city looking for affordability and good returns,” says Edwards. “We also have a lot of cranky tenants at the moment because they’re missing out — it’s pretty competitive. Every time we have a rental open, there’s a big line.” “With a vacancy rate that low, you’ve got less risk of waiting for a tenant and you can start getting returns quicker. And not only are you likely to get a tenant quicker, the growth seems to be better year on year,” he adds. Along the Bass Coast the median house price sat at $395,000, with a 4.5 per cent yield and 2.3 per cent vacancy, while the Mitchell Shire Council has a median house price of $410,000, with yields at 4.6 per cent and vacancies incredibly low at 0.6 per cent.

Finance Special

Affordable business bookkeeping from Australia’s oldest and most reliable tax specialists The Income Tax Professionals, Australia’s oldest financial franchise has some great news for all Queenslanders. To some, it’s old news — but surprisingly to many others, it’s largely unknown. For more than 45 years, millions of Queenslanders have been assisted by the famous yellow and black ITP brand for individual returns. However, over this same period, quietly thousands of Queensland business owners have also used the same affordable ITP expertise for their own businesses. Perhaps it’s their worst kept secret but having hundreds of bookkeeping professionals assisting thousands of Queenslanders in over 30 business centres (and 32 kiosks) is a success story that’s going viral. What is no secret is that ITP Queensland can look after any business accounting and taxation requirements in one easy step. With the most up to date technology, business packages can be designed to meet any need — together with a professional and compliant service at an affordable weekly fee. They offer

tailored packages for sole traders, partnerships, trusts and companies starting from only $35 per week (for a sole trader). In more detail, ITP Queensland’s bookkeeping service includes accounting and payroll services; accounts receivable and payable; BAS and tax return preparation; and real time reposting of transactions. In comparison, the business service includes business tax returns (partnerships, trusts and companies); bookkeeping; and accounting services such as month and year end reporting (powered by Sage Business Cloud Accounting to ensure all financial records are balanced before the start of a new month); BAS preparation (reporting on activity statements to fulfil tax obligations such as GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments and FBT); and month and year end reconciliation (managing the balance sheet accounts at the end of any given period). ITP Queensland’s qualified professional consultants can carry out all of these duties and keep

businesses compliant, financially accurate and clearly focussed on what they do best, wherever they are based in Queensland. Looking to re-evaluate costs on accounting? Look no further than the most experienced, trusted, reliable and affordable bookkeeping partner Queensland has to offer. Visit itpqld.com/business and talk to a professional today. Affordable bookkeeping. Without doubt. Visit: itpqld.com JUNE/JULY 2018

Mining Recruitment Special

Work with the best in mining OreWin is an independent mining consultancy based in Adelaide. Our key areas of consulting expertise are geology and mining engineering, but the day-to-day work our consultants undertake can vary widely depending on the nature of the active projects and our client’s requirements. OreWin’s core business is the preparation of studies — the deliverable is generally a technical report describing the analyses that we carry out and the parameters used and results obtained. In going about our work, we always aim to provide targeted advice to each client to help maximise the benefit of their specific project. We provide whole-of-project analysis, from mineral resources and ore reserves, through to economic analysis. Sometimes we may be commissioned to prepare just a part of the analysis, but to ensure we provide value to our client, we will still need to understand how the part fits the whole. Typical work that our consultants

might undertake includes: Geologists • Drillhole planning • Geological interpretation • Statistical and geostatistical analysis • Resource estimation • Resource classification and reporting under several jurisdictions Mining engineers • Mine optimisation and design • Production scheduling • Cost estimation • Reserve reporting • Economic analysis options and sensitivities. OreWin's consultants may be tasked to provide input into any aspect of a study, depending on their core discipline and their level of experience. We work on projects in Australia and around the world. In the last 12 months we have worked on projects located in South Australia, Queensland, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo,

Mexico, Mongolia, South Africa and Turkey. Most of the work is carried out in OreWin’s Adelaide office, with visits to sites and client offices to collect data and present results as required. To keep up with the growth of our business, OreWin is looking for full time senior and principal consultants for Adelaide-based roles. We need people that have the skills and outlook to complement our existing team of consultants; people who can think independently, who can look critically at the data and are able to understand and explain what needs to be done and what results mean. This generally requires high technical proficiency and good communication skills. We are a consultancy in which our people understand accountability and take pride in their work. If you are interested in the type of work we do and think that you have what it takes to become a member of our team, contact us on the OreWin careers link found at orewin.com JUNE/JULY 2018

Agribusiness

Whose land is it anyway? THE OWNERSHIP OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN AUSTRALIA HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS AND RECENT PURCHASES BY CHINESE COMPANIES HAVE REIGNITED THE DEBATE.

Darren Baguley An agriculture, tech, mining, energy and business specialist.

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Arguments about foreign investment and ownership of Australian agricultural land are almost as old as white settlement. With a large land mass and sparse population, the costs of developing vast plains west of the Blue Mountains couldn't be borne by the fledgling colony so development of Crown land leases was financed by Britain. For the next 150 years, foreign investment in Australian agriculture was an issue that bubbled to the surface of Australian politics at intervals. Few politicians, except those on the extreme left, challenged the high level of British investment in Australian agriculture, but a burst of American investment in mining and agriculture in the 1960s provoked some disquiet. Overall, however, mainstream Australia seemed to accept that in a big country with a small population, some foreign investment was inevitable. In the early 2010s, however, the national debate surrounding foreign investment in Australian agriculture reared again. This time, however, the concern was not about British or American investment but Chinese. At first there were rumblings of discontent in rural electorates as people noticed that Chinese-owned corporations had bought up some large-scale agricultural properties. Everything changed in 2012, when the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approved the sale of Cubbie Station to Shandong Ruyi Scientific and Technology Group Co Ltd, a textile and garment company owned by Chinese and Japanese investors. Shandong initially bought 80 per cent of the Cubbie Group in consortium with the Lempriere Group, an Australian family-owned company with a 150-year history

Agribusiness

in wool trading and agricultural property management. Cubbie’s status as the largest irrigation property in the Southern Hemisphere attracted media coverage, which ensured the issue received major attention from the public and both sides of politics. Voters in electorates dominated by the National Party may have been the most vocal, but according to a 2012 Lowy Institute poll quoted by the Australian Farm Institute (AFI), 63 per cent of those surveyed were strongly against “the Australian government allowing foreign companies to buy Australian farmland to grow crops or farm livestock”. By 2016, it was up to 69 per cent. To allay public concern — and shore up National Party support — the Coalition went to the 2013 election with a promise to establish a register of foreign-owned farmland. The Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Register, managed by the Australian Tax Office, produces an update after the end of each financial year. Nevertheless, concerns remain. Not only does the system require individuals to self-register, the penalty for not doing so is $9,000. Another concern unrelated to the register is that the threshold of $15 million required for referral to the FIRB is too high. A further concern is the source of the investment. Cubbie Station may have been the first landmark agricultural property to be sold to a Chinese-owned company, but it certainly wasn’t the last. When the FY2017 findings from the Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Register were released at the end of September 2017, certain factions of the National Party, mainstream television, radio and newspapers worked themselves into a lather when it showed that Chinese

investment had increased tenfold over the previous year. Little mention was made regarding the agricultural land owned by British, American, Netherlands and Canadian companies and individuals. Independent-minded specialist agricultural publications and websites were quick to point out that the tenfold increase was accounted for by one single pastoral company — the sale of S. Kidman & Co to a consortium mainly comprised of Gina Rinehart and a Chinese company, Shanghai CRED. That sale added 7.8 million hectares of grazing country to ledger of Chinese interests alone. In addition, a further 1,390,095 hectares of Kimberley cattle country was acquired by Hong Kong billionaire property developer, Hui Wing Mau, when he bought the Yougawalla Pastoral Company. To further put foreign ownership in perspective, while the report showed that offshore investors owned 13.6 per cent of all Australian agricultural land, the AFI asserts that 99 per cent of Australian agricultural businesses are entirely Australian owned. Nevertheless, the AFI also noted that one of Australia’s largest superannuation fund managers has no investment exposure to Australian agriculture despite managing 10 per cent of Australia’s trillion-dollar-plus investment pool. To some extent, this simple fact supports the assertion made by proponents of foreign investment in the Australian agricultural sector — there is a massive gap between the capital available and the capital required domestically. According to the ANZ Bank, it’s about $850 billion; 

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Agribusiness

a figure that National Farmers Federation CEO, Tony Mahar, annualises to $9 billion; that’s $9 billion that could be spent developing Australia’s land that’s not being spent. While there is no doubt there are extensive agricultural properties all over Australia that could benefit from investment, for the extensive cattle properties of Northern Australia the calculation is simple. More investment means more fencing, more water points and more yards; other key infrastructure means beef producers can run more cattle on the land they have, which improves profitability. Foreign investors are often innovators as well. In 2015, Singaporean businessman Bruce Cheung bought Pardoo Station in the Pilbara for $13 million because he had been told there was a hitherto untapped underground river flowing beneath the 200,000-hectare station. After investing a further $20 million on 18 centre pivot irrigators across 840 hectares of pasture, Pardoo Station’s herd of Wagyu cattle are reaping the benefits of the Pilbara’s year-round growing season. What then are the disadvantages of foreign investment? And is Australia’s resistance to Chinese investment just a rerun of the 19th and 20th century’s fear of the ‘Yellow Peril’? While some sectors of the Australian community — One Nation supporters for example — may well be motivated by racism, the AFI has listed some legitimate concerns about foreign investment, some of which apply more to Chinese investors than others. For example, China’s agriculture is living on borrowed time. Production may be sky high now but that has come

from wholesale degradation of the country’s land and water resources, including over-extraction of the North China Plain’s fossil groundwater. As a result, Chinese companies have deliberately been buying up farmland all over the world. The concern is that the production of that farmland may be diverted when Chinese agricultural production begins to fall. Other concerns include sustainable management. The argument goes that foreigners who own the farmland but don’t live on it have no incentive to look after the land. While the environmental sustainability concern is not groundless, there are plenty of Australian-owned agricultural properties that are not being operated sustainably. As foreign investors usually buy high value properties, there is no incentive to degrade the asset base by running it unsustainably. The final concern is that of foreign workers. While Chineseowned farms in Africa have become ‘Little Chinas’ t here is little evidence that is happening in Australia. The reality is that Australia has strong labour laws that are usually enforced, and the harshness of the Australian environment also mitigates against wholesale importation of foreign workers. Despite the legitimate concerns, it’s clear that foreign investment in agricultural land is here to stay. It may be nice to think that Australia has the financial resources to develop its own farming land, but the reality is that the world is beginning to realise that Australian agriculture has many competitive advantages, not least being on the doorstep of Asia’s burgeoning middle class. Given this trend, it would be unusual if foreign investors weren’t keen to invest. JUNE/JULY 2018

Infrastructure

Down by the boardwalk BEING ON THE WATER’S EDGE IS HIGHLY DESIRABLE FOR AUSSIE BUSINESSES. HERE WE EXPLORE SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AUSTRALIAN WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS AND THE REASONS BEHIND THEIR SUCCESS — ALONG WITH FACTORS THAT SANK A FEW PROJECTS.

In 2016 Michelle Grand-Milkovic moved her successful restaurant love.fish from Sydney's inner west to a new 160-seat waterfront location at Barangaroo. A former container port and cruise ship terminal on the western fringe of the CBD, it’s been reinvented as a worldclass dining, retail, residential and business park, with gleaming waterfront towers, a new ferry terminal and a supersize promenade. “Making the move was a risk but a calculated one, because we knew we could strike a chord with the larger CBD audience the same way we did in the suburbs,” Grand-Milkovic says. “It paid off. The dining destination and community that's been built at Barangaroo is more than we could have hoped for. We now turnover more in one day than we used to in a week.” Grand-Milkovic is one of scores of Australians migrating to our bays, rivers, beaches and harbours to capitalise on the natural beauty of the waterfront. To meet the demand, government and developers are investing billions to dredge rivers, beautify old ports and build brand-new waterfront precincts that are changing the faces of our cities and towns. In this special feature, AusBiz. looks at some of Australia’s most successful waterfront developments and a few that have fallen below the waterline. We also explore the latest in waterfront architecture, innovative new finance models and the supercomplex environmental MICHELLE GRAND-MILOVIC WITH HER HUSBAND, considerations for building E X E C U T I V E C H E F, M I C H A E L M I L K O V I C on the water’s edge.

AusBiz.

Ian Lloyd Neubauer With nearly 20 years’ journalism experience, Ian is abreast of global news as it happens.

Infrastructure

The stepped approach

Did You Know?

18m Barangaroo is projected to receive 18 million visits per year — 10 million more than Sydney’s iconic Circular Quay.

Twin

A new twin-tower project featuring Australia’s first-ever elevated hotel lobby is now being built at Perth’s Elizabeth Quay.

With Barangaroo, it appears Sydney’s politicians and planners finally recognised the full value of the city’s magical waterfront — not just in financial terms, but as a cultural and social asset that matters to the community. On completion in 2024, more than half of the 22-hectare site will have been relegated to public spaces. There will be a new amphitheatre, a park modelled after Bryant Park fronting New York’s Public Library, a walkway connecting to a new metro station, and a new boardwalk with sandstone steps leading into the water. “Successful models for waterfronts seem to involve partnerships between the public and private sectors, to create a series of active and passive precincts that provide something for all generations of residents and visitors alike,” Nicholas Brooke, Chairman of the Hong Kong Harbourfront Commission, tells AusBiz. “But at the end of the day, it all boils down to accessibility and getting people to the water.” Brooke and his team have also learned about the importance of limiting all buildings on the water’s edge in their continuing mission to beautify Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. “A stepped approach is preferable as it reduces visual intrusion and creates a much more permeable waterfront,” he says. “In this context, Sydney is very much one of our role models. We’re very envious of what you've achieved.” Kim Dovey, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Melbourne, agrees a stepped approach is critical. “In principle, you want as much density as possible close to the water’s edge as long as that doesn't damage the attraction. You want lots of activity close to the water with relatively small setbacks, but heights should then be stepped back to prevent overshadowing and wind effects,” he says. “The best examples of this in Melbourne is probably Southbank on the Yarra River,” says Dovey. “While the buildings are poorly designed, this is a highly active waterfront, with very good promenade design.”  JUNE/JULY 2018

Infrastructure

Sustainability report

Perth has its own Barangaroo in Elizabeth Quay, a $2.5-billion project transforming 10 hectares of underutilised foreshore on the Swan River into a thriving recreational and commercial hub built around a newly excavated 2.7-hectare inlet. “Elizabeth Quay has literally changed the face of Perth,” says Vanessa Toncich of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA), overseeing the delivery of the 15-year project which, over the next decade, will include commercial, residential and hotel accommodation. “Retailers are registering record sale days: Gusto Gelato served up a tonne of ice-cream in one week over summer. Ferry patronage increased 300 per cent in the first few weeks after the precinct opened in 2016, and Deloitte Access Economics predicts it’ll attract up to 50 million people over the next decade.” Given the scale of inlet creation, the MRA went to extraordinary lengths to ensure a sufficient level of flushing to keep the water healthy. Silt curtains were installed to manage turbidity and suspended sediments in the water. A temporary limestone wall was built on the riverfront to shield the river from construction, and only biodegradable oils were used in machinery and tools. But only three months after Elizabeth Quay opened, the swim leg of a triathlon that was to take place in the inlet had to be cancelled after faecal coliforms were found in the water. The problem was caused by birdlife droppings following a big storm. But ecologists pointed out at the time that the MRA’s monthly water monitoring program was wholly inadequate and the inlet should be tested weekly, as the Swan River is, to identify flare-ups before they become an issue. There have been no further reports of contamination. However, the incident shows the infinite complexities of constructing — and managing — waterfront properties.

AusBiz.

Show me the money

Mega-waterfront projects like Elizabeth Quay are usually underwritten by government and too big to fail. But the private sector in Australia has a spotted record navigating the financial roadblocks that are part of waterfront projects with multiple stakeholders. Hinchinbrook Harbour, a residential marina north of Townsville in Far North Queensland under construction since the mid-1990s, is a textbook example. Plagued by problems since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007–2008 and sucker-punched by Cyclone Yasi in 2011, the marina has sent two different management companies into administration. It’s also left dozens of small investors high and dry, including a resident who bought a two-bedroom apartment for $565,000 in 2007 only to sell it for less than $170,000 a decade later. Meanwhile, dodgy environmental planning has seen the marina filled with half a million cubic metres of mud, with crocodiles now trying to move into the seaside community. “It’s a crazy, complicated story. I’m learning more about it by the day,” says Nick Dametto, Member for Hinchinbrook. “Everyone has an opinion and/or a vested interest in the outcome.” Melbourne's $500-million Wyndham Harbour project was also hard hit by the GFC. However, Wyndham Harbour has become a case study in achieving innovative funding solutions for complex marinas. “We turned traditional marina funding strategies on their head by mapping a funding solution that saw the profit from the land development fund the marina delivery,” said Michael Kark, CEO of Monark Property Partners, a Wyndham Harbour financier since 2009. The masterplan was concurrently adjusted and scaled back. When Wyndham Harbour was launched in 2003, it comprised 500 finished homes. Version 2.0 has only 350 plots, all of which have finally been sold.

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Mining Technology Special

Position Partners welcomes Andrew Jones to the Monitoring Solutions Team Position Partners is pleased to announce that Andrew Jones has joined the company as the second Business Development Manager in the Monitoring Solutions Team. In his new role, Mr Jones will be responsible for the New South Wales and Southern regions. Mr Jones has built a 20-year career as a geologist in the mining industry and comes with an extensive array of operational experience both domestically and abroad. With a background in mines rescue and emergency services, Mr Jones is passionate about providing solutions contributing to the safe operation of projects. Whilst in Mount Isa, he gained experience in both underground and open cut mining processes whilst catering for challenging geotechnical conditions requiring various monitoring solutions. This included mining an open cut over a historic underground operation whilst needing to guarantee the structural integrity of nearby critical surface infrastructure. Mr Jones has since consulted throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East to companies in a variety of commodities and extraction techniques. He also gained exposure to the civil engineering industry whilst consulting to quarrying and cement companies. Mr Jones holds a Bachelors Degree in Applied Science and a Masters in Mineral Economics. He has a strong appreciation in both the technical and commercial aspects of operating a project safely. Position Partners centralised Monitoring Solutions Team supports customers with tailored solutions for the civil, geospatial, mining and building industries. Position Partners offers two industry-leading monitoring solutions including Senceive, an innovative wireless platform and Topcon Delta, a comprehensive optical and GNSS-based system with advanced reporting and integrated communications technology. Mr Jones added: “I’m excited to be a part of the growing team at Position Partners and look forward to providing clients with solutions from the vast range of products we supply. I’m keen to draw on my varied operational experience to assist clients with their onsite strategies.” positionpartners.com.au JUNE/JULY 2018

abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au An Anglican Pre K-12 day and boarding school for girls

Board at Abbotsleigh Our specialty is country and regional NSW In Sydney? Come and visit us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to show you around Please contact Colleen Fenn on 02 9473 7744 or registrar@abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au We empower amazing girls to do amazing things

Education Special Feature Mining

Chooks away BY CARRIE KABLEAN

For most of us, eggs at Easter mean the chocolate variety, in all their sugary delight — but the girls at Abbotsleigh’s Ag Club have a different agenda. In the run-up to this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show students were busy raising meat chickens, taking care of Light Sussex hens, and learning about egg and meat production. It was the first time the girls from Abbotsleigh, an Anglican girls' day and boarding school in Sydney’s north, had competed in the show. Three of the hens were entered in the Purebred Layers Competition, which involves selecting well-matched birds and putting together a project about husbandry and laying. Four students competed in the Junior Showmanship Schools division, presenting birds to a judging panel to demonstrate handling skills and breed knowledge. Others competed in the Steggles Meat Pairs Competition. These girls picked up their day-old chicks in February, 16 little 45 gram balls of fluff that would eventually bulk up to more than three kilograms each, during which time the students were required to track the growth and feed

consumption, document husbandry and calculate feed conversion efficiency. While some Abbotsleigh girls come from a rural background, that’s not true for all of them. So, how did the students do? In the Steggles Meat Pairs, their male meat birds placed second as a live bird pair, and they came fourth in the carcase competition; their Light Sussex hens placed third in the Purebred Layers. As the competitions drew entrants from 75 schools, the Ag Club girls were delighted to be placed. As for the Junior Showmanship, the four girls had no idea what to expect and were competing against Agriculture students! Nerve wracking, to say the least — and not just for the entrants. After the event, the girls’ teacher Susan Filan was sought out by one of the judges and shown how to properly handle a caged bird. “She was very helpful,” said Filan. “She thought the girls must have a bad Ag teacher! When she learned that we are a club with a Science teacher in charge, she took the time to help us out. Now that we know what happens in a competition, we look forward to improving next year.”

Want to know more? Visit www.abbotsleigh. nsw.edu.au | 02 9473 7777 JUNE/JULY 2018

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We knew that Nudgee College could provide so many more opportunities. Not just in normal everyday education, but in a way that would expose Tom to new challenges, that could help him to grow into a young man who will leave an indelible footprint on his surrounding world.â&#x20AC;?

Education Special Feature

Guiding the next generation St Joseph’s Nudgee College has a rich history that dates back over 125 years, with a grand reputation built by successive generations of students, staff, parents and community members. Located only 16 kilometres from Brisbane, the College’s campus sits on 136 hectares of sprawling bushland and ovals. The founder of the College, Ambrose Treacy, recognised the need for a Catholic boarding school for rural Queensland in the 1880s, as boys from the region were sent to boarding schools located far away in New South Wales. To achieve his vision, Treacy raised money for the College and gathered boarding enrolments while travelling on horseback around regional Queensland. “We say that Nudgee College was originally built by funds from the bush, for boys of the bush,” says Principal Peter Fullagar. Since those early, humble beginnings,

the College has continued to grow from strength to strength throughout the years. Today Nudgee College has 1,300 day-school enrolments and 280 boarders. At Nudgee College, students are taught, cared for and challenged by teachers who want the best for each student. A focus on the holistic education, personal development and wellbeing of each student remains important for the college. Offering some of the best facilities in the country, Nudgee College has everything available to students on ‘one footprint’– modern, technologically advanced classrooms, an exceptional agricultural centre (that includes cattle yards), state-of-the-art science labs and a trade centre designed for vocational education learning areas. “In any one day, boys can move from one of our many Google classrooms, to the agricultural centre to tend to the on-site cattle, take a P.E class on our Olympic-grade athletics track, or perform on stage in our purpose-built 400-seat auditorium,” says Principal Fullagar. The most outstanding facility the College has to offer however – and one of their proudest achievements – is the newly redeveloped boarding village that

was completed in 2015. “The boarding community has been at the heart of the College since its founding, and is a valued and thriving facet of Nudgee College, with plenty of fantastic opportunities to further all aspects of a student’s development,” says Principal Fullagar. The Bathersby Boarding Village features spacious individual rooms, shared common areas for study and recreation and a large communal courtyard with eco-friendly design. It also offers a health centre staffed with skilled nurses, doctors and physiotherapists that are available 24/7 and a kitchen staffed with chefs that prepare nutritious, well-balanced meals. Boarders include students from all over Australia, the South Pacific and beyond. “Our focus in Nudgee College Boarding is to help boys to find and develop their strengths. We do this by creating a safe, supportive environment where boys have multiple resources and opportunities to cater for their interests,” says Principal Fullagar. “Ultimately at the end of their Nudgee College journey we hope that we have moulded an independent, empathetic, culturally aware young man who is able to fulfil his potential.” nudgee.com. JUNE/JULY 2018

The Catholic residential college for university students in Adelaide, under the care of the Marists.

AQUINAS COLLEGE Now accepting 2019 applications.

(08) 8334 5000 www.aquinas.edu.au admin@aquinas.edu.au 1 Palmer Pl, North Adelaide SA 5006

Education Special Feature

Aquinas: giving uni students the edge Decades of experience in working with beginning university students from regional Australia has allowed Adelaide’s Aquinas College to develop both the expertise and support networks that foster success, both while they are studying and when they begin their professional careers. It’s all about people and culture according to College Rector, Brother Michael Green. “Aquinas is a like a great family,” says Brother Michael. “That’s what I hear from our students and alumni time and again.” “First, we go out of our way to create a genuine home for everyone, somewhere where they are known, feel safe and can belong. People matter to each other. No-one falls through the cracks.” “Second, as in any good family, everyone wants the best for one another,” he explains. “At Aquinas, that translates into such things as a comprehensive tutorial program, oneon-one mentoring, academic support, and career advice and opportunities from former Aquinians.” Student President, Eliza Boulton

from Mildura who is in her fourth year at Aquinas, points to the academic culture that pervades the College. “It’s cool to want to achieve highly at Aquinas — and we do,” she says. “Over 75 per cent of our students have a credit average or better, and over 35 per cent a distinction average or better. That’s way ahead of the bell-curve and doesn’t happen by accident.” Brennan Lockwood, a second-year resident from Mount Gambier, relishes the positive vibe that defines Aquinas. “People really do look out for each other,” says Brennan. “It’s a very people-oriented place. Right from day one I felt that I had made a smart choice.” “Just about all of us are from country areas or from interstate,” adds Brennan, “so we’re all in the same boat at the start. The seniors really helped us feel at home immediately. That’s in the Aquinas DNA.” Eliza describes Aquinas College as a super-active environment. “There’s always something on,” says Eliza. “Lots of social activity and fun, absolutely, and plenty of

sport and also opportunities for social outreach. We form great friendships and have epic times together. But everyone knows why they are here, and that’s to do well at university.” Brother Michael believes that for any young adult residential community to be a nurturing and safe environment then it needs to be unequivocal about its valuebase. “We’re confident at Aquinas that we’re in touch with what young people of the 21st century want and expect, things such as mutual respect, inclusion, intellectual honesty, choice, and critical engagement with the discourse of the times. That’s all consistent with the Marist educational tradition that underpins Aquinas. Our students have all that and they share it with good companions. “I think they are very fortunate to have both the opportunity and the support that they do.” aquinas.edu.au

JUNE/JULY 2018

Tec-NQ’s Senior School serves a niche market in the boarding school arena. With an integrated focus on trade training, Tec-NQ is the market leader amongst boarding schools in establishing work placement and apprenticeship opportunities. Y10 Tec-PREP “Try-Every-Trade” JULY START. Y11 & Y12 JANUARY START. FULL TIME APPRENTICES – Start any time. Boarding available at the Townsville campus. Website: tecnq.com.au Virtual Tour: tecnq.com.au/school#virtual-tour Contact us today for more information on career focused pathways and apprenticeship opportunities.

Finance

End of financial year tax time tips Tax time. Two words that bring a sense of dread to most people. If this includes you, read on. We’ve compiled our top tips to ensure smooth sailing this financial year.

Start early

If you’re after a stress-free tax return, the best thing you can do is stop procrastinating and lodge your return as early as possible. Get ahead of the ball this year by organising any statements for savings accounts or other investments in advance, as well as ensuring that you have your Pay As You Go (PAYG) Payment Summary or Group Certificate on hand. Having these prepared before you begin your tax return will save time and help you receive your tax refund sooner.

Become a boss at deductions

The thought of adding deductions when filing a tax return often seems like a hassle – but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, once you know what you can claim, the process becomes easy and it could end up saving you thousands. We’ve compiled a quick list of the top deductions that will help you dominate this financial year and put some of your hard-earned tax dollars back into your own pocket. • Mobile phones – Workers can claim the costs of their phone and internet expenses that are work-related. • Electricity – Many people take work home with them. If you don’t want to claim comprehensive home office expenses, you can still claim for electricity used when doing work at home. • Education – If you’re studying subjects related to your

Ryan Watson Tribeca Financial's CEO knows all about money management.

current paid employment, it’s tax-deductible after the first $250. You also can claim travel expenses for the cost of getting to and from your place of education. • Printer ink — There’s a pile of home office items that can be claimed including inks, stationery, printers, computers, chairs, desks, paper shredders and rubbish bins. • Bricks – The most lucrative potential tax deduction for property investors is not the carpets and curtains, but writing down the bricks and mortar. For most people it’s a 2.5 per cent annual tax deduction on the cost of the building – but not the land, which does not depreciate. For an investment property costing $300,000 to build, that’s a welcome $7,500 tax deduction every year. • Your income – If you pay income protection insurance premiums, make sure to claim them. It’s the only form of personal insurance that is tax-deductible.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

An estimated 46 per cent of us spend three or more work hours per week thinking about our finances (PWC 2017 Employee Financial Wellness Survey), resulting in low financial wellness. Add on the stress of a tax return and it’s easy to see why so many of us become overwhelmed. Our financial wellness impacts all aspects of our lives — from our physical and mental health, right through to the relationships we have with our family and friends. So, if you need a little extra help filling out your return, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Accountants can take the hassle out of your tax return, leaving you to live your good life.

JUNE/JULY 2018

Puzzles

CROSSWORD

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MICKEY MOUSE MINNIE PLUTO ROAD RUNNER ROCKY

Find all the words listed hidden in the grid of letters. They can be found in straight lines up, down, forwards, backwards or even diagonally. Theme: CARTOON CHARACTERS

F L L E Q E T I S S E K M

AusBiz.

ASTRO BOY BULLWINKLE DAFFY DUCK DONALD ELMER FUDD

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E I N N I M J M O T U L P

DOWN 1. Rectified 2. Dog or horse 3. Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marble ... 4. Recedes 5. Recurrence of illness 6. ... Sea Scrolls 10. Exclude 11. Fencing swords 13. Divulge 14. Awry 16. Type of cigar 18. Benefit (of) 19. South African currency 20. Scalp growth

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ACROSS 1. Transylvania is there 4. Made slip-up 7. Baby fierce cat (4,3) 8. Steam burn 9. Consumer pressure 12. Adopted (policy) 15. Water removal system 17. Radio interference 18. Embroidery expert 21. Anchorage native 22. Alter (text) 23. Fling, shipboard ...

Learn about the history of the Huon Valley apple industry

Enjoy a Willie Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cider paddle

Take a tour of the Charles Oates Distillery

Visit the Saturday Artisan & Produce market

Visit the home of Willie Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cider where you can enjoy a great meal and a cider paddle, visit the Huon Valley apple museum, get up close and personal with a working distillery, peruse the Saturday Artisan & Produce Market.

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Contact

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Huonville

www.williesmiths.com.au appleshed@williesmiths.com.au (03) 6266 4345 2064 Huon Hwy, Grove, TAS, 7109 25 minutes from Hobart

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