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Nick Samaras
EDITOR Vincent Samaras news@newstimemedia.com.au
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Mohit Gaur mohit@newstimemedia.com.au
MARKETING DIRECTOR Bianca Naoumidis
ART DIRECTOR Phoebe Yiamkiati
Andrew Barr and his partner Anthony met at the first SpringOUT Festival 25 years ago.
Photo by Jordan Mirchevski. See cover story, page 06.
Thousands gather at Australian War Memorial for royal visit
About 4,000 people gathered at the Australian War Memorial on 21 October to catch a glimpse of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The King and Queen travelled directly from the Defence Establishment Fairbairn after spending a few days in Sydney since touching down in Australia on Friday evening, 18 October.
Anti-monarchy protestors could be heard as the media gathered waiting for the arrival of the King and Queen at the AWM on Monday.
Meanwhile, the cheers of the crowds waiting outside the memorial echoed through the area, eagerly awaiting the royal couple’s arrival.
The royals arrived at the memorial with Camilla wearing a white dress, and a diamond
and pearl brooch worn previously by Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother. While the King wore a blue suit with medals pinned to his chest on the left.
The royal couple were greeted by Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General, and His Excellency Mr Simeon Beckett SC upon arriving at the AWM and were joined by other guests.
The royal couple made their way through the War Memorial, walking on either side of the Pool of Reflection, to the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, where they laid a wreath and floral tribute in the Hall of Memory.
The King and Queen laid a wreath in front of the tomb before the Last Post could be heard from outside the tomb. This was followed by a
minute’s silence by all.
The Royals were escorted out of the tomb to place a poppy on the Roll of Honour – The King’s poppy was placed next to World War I soldier Punch WJ, while the Queen’s was placed next to Johnson WJ.
The couple made their way down the stairs to a table that was placed at the end of the Pool of Reflection to sign before exiting the memorial to greet members of the public on the way to the For Our Country memorial.
Their Majesties last visited the Australian War Memorial for the Remembrance Day Ceremony in 2015.
Aunty Lorraine Hatton OAM, the first Indigenous female member of the Council of the AWM, said they were honoured Their Majesties chose to visit For Our Country and to learn about Australia’s proud Indigenous military service.
“Their acknowledgment is significant, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, many of whom were forced to hide their Indigenous heritage last century in order to serve their country,” Aunty Lorraine said.
AWM director Matt Anderson said: “The King and Queen’s visit is a powerful reminder of the value they attach to the service of Australia’s military and peace-keeping personnel across many decades and of the Memorial’s mission to lead remembrance and understanding of the wartime experience of all Australians.”
Following on, hundreds of well-wishers welcomed the royal couple at Parliament House.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were on hand for the o cial welcome, ahead of a parliamentary reception in the Great Hall.
On arrival, the King received a 21-gun salute, a Royal Salute and inspected the Royal Guard of Honour, accompanied by the Royal Guard Commander and His Majesty’s Australian Equerry.
The parliamentary reception was disrupted by a protest over Indigenous rights by Victorian independent senator Lidia Thorpe.
Thorpe strode up the central aisle of the Great Hall of Parliament House after the King’s address to an o cial reception to tell him she did not accept his sovereignty.
“You are not our king … Give us our land back … You destroyed our land … We want treaty,” Senator Thorpe could be heard shouting as she was escorted away.
- Llillian Altman
King Charles III and Queen Camilla placed two poppies on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on 21 October. Picture: Getty Images
Live large
Live large
for less.
SPRINGOUT CELEBRATES 25 years in Canberra
Canberra’s 25th SpringOUT Pride Festival is not only a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, but also a reflection of how far the city has come as one of Australia’s most inclusive and progressive capitals. Held each November, SpringOUT is Canberra’s only pride festival, showcasing the diversity and strength of the city’s diverse community. From free and low-cost events to extravagant celebrations, this year’s festival marks a significant milestone in its history, with a lineup of events that reflect the festival’s evolution.
“SpringOUT had humble beginnings,” says ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, reflecting on the festival’s roots. “It started as a small march in Glebe Park, but from the start, it did attract media and community attention.”
Over the years, the festival has transformed into a month-long celebration, with events such as Meridian and SpringOUT Fair Day, the Famous Pink Tennis Bush Dance, and even a second Pride Rugby Match hosted by ACT Veterans Rugby.
“It’s got much bigger over the years… but it’s still retained its community base,” Barr adds.
Barr’s connection to SpringOUT is deeply
personal. It was at the festival’s first event on 13 November 1999, that he met his partner, Anthony.
“That date is the date we first met, the date of our civil partnership, and the date we got married as well,” Barr says.
“If SpringOUT hadn’t been on, we may never have met.” The couple now shares their 25th anniversary with the festival itself, a unique parallel that highlights the importance of the event in Barr’s life.
As Barr reflects on his involvement in the festival over the years, he emphasises the importance of political figures supporting LGBTQIA+ events.
“From the first event to now demonstrates extraordinary progress,” he says. “It was probably a controversial decision for the then chief minister to attend the first event, but we’ve moved from that to a point where having an openly gay chief minister is largely unremarkable.”
However, Barr acknowledges that the journey is
Enjoy a range of diverse events as SpringOUT celebrates 25 years.
Photos: Jordan Mirchevski
far from complete, especially for the trans and gender-diverse communities. “The gay and lesbian component of the LGBTI community has much greater acceptance and inclusion than trans and intersex communities,” Barr explains.
“There’s still a journey ahead, especially around community understanding of gender issues. At the moment, we seem to be in a period where gender issues are being weaponised as part of culture wars by those who want to create conflict and controversy.
“So I think we need to consider where the next 25 years will take us. There’s still unfinished business regarding sexuality, but much more work, engagement, and education are needed for the journey of acceptance and inclusion in the gender-diverse area.”
SpringOUT 2024 isn’t just about pride for Barr and Anthony; it’s about the progress of Canberra as a whole. And as they mark their own 25 years
together, Barr reflects on the secret to a long-lasting relationship.
“I think the key is finding a balance between shared interests and activities you can do independently, so you can still be your own person,” he says. “We’ve found a way to pursue our individual interests while sharing experiences together.”
For Barr, who admits the demands of political life can be all-consuming, finding that balance has been key to making their relationship thrive.
“It would be difficult being in a relationship with a politician. One of the most frequent conversations is me saying, ‘I should be home by 8:30,’ which Anthony knows really means 9:30. I’ve had to learn how to switch off, but it’s hard when politics is a lifestyle, not just a job. I’ve been on call for 10 years, even during our honeymoon. Anthony’s incredibly patient—he’d definitely be a nominee for the most patient man in Canberra!”
With Canberra more vibrant and inclusive than ever, this year’s SpringOUT Pride Festival offers a chance to celebrate both the past and the future. From the Fair Day to workshops and exhibitions, SpringOUT is a testament to the city’s progress as Australia’s most LGBTQIA+ friendly capital.
As Barr and Anthony join the celebrations in November, they not only commemorate 25 years of the festival but also reflect on their own shared journey—one that started with SpringOUT and continues to thrive in Canberra’s ever-growing, inclusive community.
This year’s SpringOUT theme, “PRIDE in the Capital,” brings Canberra’s LGBTQIA+ community together with a diverse lineup of events. From STUN Magazine’s George Michael party to a night of comedy with Jackie Loeb, the festival caters to all tastes. Whether it’s the Pride Run with Canberra Frontrunners or the reunion of Heaven Nightclub DJs, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Canberra grandmother a tough survivor
Agrandmother in Canberra’s north is a bushcraft survival expert who gives Bear Grylls a run for his money, and she’s attracted the attention of reality TV show Alone Australia.
Kelli Jackson, 57, is a resourceful woman who – unlike any contestant on Alone Australia – has managed to survive 23 days without food. As a bushcraft teacher, she knows how to survive alone and she wants other Canberra women to do the same.
“We live in really low-risk times,” Kelli said. “The biggest risk we have now is driving so we’re actually not used to the risks that nature presents to us. You’d be surprised how many people fear nature.
“There’s a ‘Disneyland effect’ where people think that because they’re away on holiday in a national park and on the track, they’re safe. People don’t think much about things like weather risk and how easy it is to get lost.”
Kelli’s teachings are practical and realistic – unlike Bear Grylls’ sensational urine drinking and enemas for our light entertainment.
Because Kelli only teaches women, she utilises things that women are most likely to have on them. For instance, if there’s no combustible wood available to burn, use a tampon and lip balm (both
highly flammable and burn for a long duration). If you need to attract the attention of a search and rescue helicopter, use the magnetic strip on your credit card or your phone screen to catch the sun.
Many people think the key to survival is knowing how to start a fire with a bow drill (just like Tom Hanks on Castaway). It isn’t - just bring a small cigarette lighter with you on every hike.
“In a true emergency survival situation - imagine being cold and wet, in the dark - without a headlamp, and potentially hypothermic, and having to wander around to try and find a Xanthorrhoea tree just to make your bow drill with,” Kelli said.
Bear Grylls once famously used a dead camel for shelter, which was a ratings winner but in reality, you’re better off using Kelli’s shoelace and space blanket. (Incidentally, Bear Grylls wasn’t a survival expert, he hired a female survival consultant for his show.)
“My focus is on what to do in a true emergency survival situation, which is different to wilderness survival,” Kelli said. “I bring in a lot of context from search and rescue that gives people background and statistics around who gets lost, how long they’re likely lost for, and when will they be rescued.”
Kelli’s Bushsafe courses give women the critical actions they need to take to maximise rescue
chances in the ensuing 72 hours. She assures me that we are all able to survive in the bush with nothing, we’ve just forgotten how.
“There aren’t any new survival situations,” Kelli said. “There are only new people making the same mistakes.”
As a child, Kelli was a brownie and girl guide, and used to go remote camping with her family. She also participated in rugged Outward Bound courses and uni bushwalking.
“One of the things I noticed was that there weren’t a lot of opportunities to learn what to do in a wilderness emergency. So, I started testing out some little courses and then my three-day course developed.”
Kelli’s Bushsafe courses are designed, delivered by and made for adventurous women. Participants gain hands-on experience with critical survival tools such as rescue mirrors, fire-starters (including how to make fire through friction and five other methods), water collection and water purification, and emergency shelter.
Seeing as Bear Grylls once drank his own urine, I had to ask.
“If you drink your urine, you’ll survive in spite of it, not because of it,” Kelli said. “There’s actually better things you can do with your urine including keeping yourself cool by wetting yourself so that if the wind blows, the urine on your skin will help cool you down. You’ll still be dehydrated but you’ll be cool and therefore you won’t likely die for a good seven days.”
Kelli also teaches the power of willpower, drawing on real-life scenarios from war-torn Afghanistan to the middle of the ocean, adrift on a life-raft.
“Interestingly, it doesn’t matter how many skills you have,” she said. “What will get you through is actually the will to survive as opposed to any skills,” Kelli said. “There’s amazing stories of people who had nothing and walked through a forest for 10 weeks and survived. There’s people who had everything and died because they gave up.”
For information on Bushsafe courses, visit bushsafe.com
- Georgia Curry
Grandmother and bushcraft expert Kelli Jackson runs survival courses for women.
Gr p One Residential
F leaving lasting impressions across the ACT and NSW
inding the perfect builder you can trust with your dream home is never easy. But Group One Residential, a new and rapidly growing local company, is already making a strong impression across the ACT and surrounding NSW regions. Whether you’re looking for custom-built homes, home renovations, or house and land packages, the team is equipped to bring your vision to life. What truly sets Group One Residential apart is their ability to take on unique and complex custom builds. No matter how simple or intricate the design, Nathan Exton and his passionate team have the expertise and industry connections to ensure a smooth, timely, and cost-e ective process.
Under the leadership of Nathan, the company has quickly established itself as a trusted name, known for its ability to take on complex projects, providing transparency and maintaining a client-focused approach.
“For us, transparency is the key to ensuring that clients trust us to bring their vision to life. We want relationships that don’t end when the build does—we want to feel welcome in their home forever,” Nathan emphasises.
A core strength of Group One Residential lies in their in-house carpenters and contractors, giving them full control over each build and allowing them to
maintain high standards and meet tight deadlines. This hands-on approach, combined with a personalised touch, ensures that every project not only meets but exceeds client expectations.
Staying ahead in an ever-evolving industry, Group One Residential is committed to embracing new trends and innovations. This ensures that every build not only stands out but also leaves a lasting impression in its neighbourhood. Their ability to tailor each project to meet the unique needs and budgets of their clients has set them apart. As Nathan explains, “We understand the hesitation clients often feel when choosing to build a home due to hidden costs and time delays. That’s why we focus on comprehensive pre-construction pricing and maintaining consistent communication throughout the build process.”
Working with Group One Residential isn’t just about hiring a builder—it’s about forming a partnership. Nathan and his team involve clients at every stage, from the initial design concept to the final walkthrough. “It’s that connection that makes the journey rewarding for both us and the client,” Nathan says. This client-focused approach is at the heart of everything they do, ensuring trust and confidence in every project.
A recent client from Bungendore praised the personal touch provided by Nathan, saying, “What really made it work was dealing one-on-one with
Nathan throughout the process. It went very smoothly, and we were very pleased with the whole thing.”
Their recent projects highlight their capability and versatility. In Googong, they completed a contemporary home featuring clean lines, panoramic views, a custom-designed gourmet kitchen, and an expansive alfresco space perfect for entertaining. Meanwhile, in Bungendore, they crafted a home that blends rustic charm with modern finishes, with standout features like a stone fireplace and sleek black hardware throughout. Both projects demonstrate the team’s attention to detail and ability to tailor designs to client preferences.
With exciting projects ahead, including a custom-built home in Sutton’s luxury estate, Woodbury Ridge, Group One Residential is positioned for continued success. They’ve also launched a new website, providing clients with the opportunity to bring their own plans, choose from pre-designed homes, or fully customise their build.
Whether you’re looking to bring your own plans or are ready to create a fully custom home, Nathan and his team are dedicated to delivering homes that stand the test of time.
As proud members of the Master Builders Association and Housing Industry Australia, and sponsors of the Monaro Panthers and Thoroughbred Park, Group One Residential is as committed to their community as they are to their clients. Their passion for building homes that make lasting impressions reflects a deeper commitment to creating spaces that clients can cherish for years to come.
W: grouponeresidential.com.au
A look at the 2024 ACT election
ACT Labor has claimed its seventh consecutive term in government, beginning an unbroken stretch of 27 years in power.
Andrew Barr said: “We’re the only party in a position to form a government that could be stable and progressive for Canberra. I don’t think the Canberra Liberals are seeing a pathway to form a government.”
At time of publication (Tuesday 22 October), the count is ongoing. Based on first preferences (77.2 per cent of the votes), Labor remains the leading party (34.5 per cent of the overall vote), but has seen a significant swing (3.3 per cent) against it.
The Canberra Liberals trail with 8 confirmed seats, but are expected to reach 10 (a gain of two, now Elizabeth Kikkert has left the party) once final preferences are distributed. The Liberals have received 33.1 per cent of the vote so far (a 0.7 per cent swing against them).
Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee conceded defeat in a speech on Saturday night.
“We didn’t quite get there but there’s much to be proud of,” Ms Lee said. “Thank you for your support, Canberra!”
For the first time since 1998, independents have been elected to the Assembly: Thomas Emerson (Kurrajong), representing Independents for Canberra, and Fiona Carrick (Murrumbidgee). Independents for Canberra received 8.5 per cent of the territory-wide vote.
The ACT Greens have lost two of their sitting members: ministers Rebecca Vassarotti and Emma Davidson. The party received 12.4 per cent of the vote (a 1.1 per cent swing against them), and holds three seats.
Because many Green seats “sit right on the margins”, a 1 per cent drop “had a significant impact”, Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said. He considers the loss of the seats to be a move for the independents, not a vote against the Greens. The two lost seats were those gained by independents.
“There was clearly a desire for change in some parts of the community,” Mr Rattenbury said. “Whilst the Greens pitched a program of change from within, that’s clearly not quite what the community was looking for.”
The Liberals have made gains in Brindabella, but Labor, however, has suffered a substantial decline.
“We acknowledge a small swing against us, and there’s some lessons in that,” Mr Barr said. “But most people were predicting swings much bigger against Labor, and that didn’t eventuate.”
Caitlin Tough and Taimus Werner-Gibbings (who has stood for election before) have been newly elected as Labor MLAs, and Deborah Morris for the Canberra Liberals.
Mr Barr said he and the new Labor MLAs would “work closely together to support this community’s … economic, social, and cultural growth, and ensuring that we would get more housing in Tuggeranong so the population can grow”.
Mark Parton (Liberals) achieved the secondhighest quota in the ACT (1). James Daniels (Liberals) is in a competitive race, with the possibility of losing to either a third Labor or a Greens candidate, according to ABC chief election analyst Antony Green.
• Independents for Canberra: 7.5% – quota: 0.4 Labor leads in Ginninderra despite a slight decline, while the Greens have seen an increase, reaching close to a quota. The Liberals have experienced a modest dip.
Chiaka Barry has been elected as a new Liberals MLA. Returning MLAs include Yvette Berry and Tara Cheyne for Labor, Peter Cain for the Liberals, and Jo Clay for the Greens. Ms Clay’s re-election makes Ginninderra a second safe seat for the Greens, Shane Rattenbury said.
• Independents for Canberra: 13.7% - quota: 0.8 Andrew Barr achieved the highest quota in the ACT (1.3). There were significant swings against both the Liberals and the Greens. Returning MLAs include Rachel Stephen-Smith (Labor); Elizabeth Lee (Liberals); and Shane Rattenbury (Greens). Thomas Emerson has been elected as an Independent for Canberra.
“This has been a remarkable effort from our
community,” Mr Emerson said. “A wide range of people from different walks of life, mostly of nonpolitical backgrounds, came together to prove a new approach was possible. I would have loved to be walking into the Assembly with a few more of our fantastic candidates, and hope this result can establish a platform for next time. For now, I hope to do everything possible to repay our team’s efforts, and our community’s belief in this movement, over the next four years.
“We will push the government hard on the things that matter to Canberrans. Housing, health, education – these are things that we should all have access to, rather than being reserved only for those who can afford it. Let’s adopt a longerterm view of what we want for Canberra and take bold steps now to move ourselves in that direction.
“I look forward to collaborating with all sides of politics, adopting good ideas and discarding bad ones, to achieve better outcomes for our community.”
• Independents for Canberra: 5% – quota: 0.3 Jeremy Hanson (Liberals), Dr Marisa Paterson, and Chris Steel (Labor) are returning MLAs. Independent candidate Fiona Carrick has been elected. Amardeep Singh or returning candidate Ed Cocks (both Liberals) may secure the next seat, according to Mr Green.
Andrew Barr will lead the ACT government for another four years. Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Yerrabi
• Liberals: 36.5% (-4.1%) – quotas: 2.2
• Labor: 30.9% (-3.2% swing) – quotas: 1.9
• Greens: 11.9% (+1.7% swing) – quota: 0.7
• Independents for Canberra: 9.7% - quota: 0.6
The Liberals hold the lead, but have faced a swing against them. Labor is trailing but still close. The Greens have made gains, while the Independents for Canberra are also relatively strong. Re-elected MLAs include Leanne Castley and James Milligan (Liberals), Michael Pettersson and Suzanne Orr (Labor), and Andrew Braddock (Greens), despite competition from Independent for Canberra David Pollard.
Next steps
Mr Barr has said the only pathway to forming government (13 seats) involves an arrangement with the Greens. Labor would seek to have a productive arrangement with the independents and Greens around supply (budget) and confidence (backing to govern) matters.
“Thomas [Emerson] and Fiona [Carrick] would want to play a productive rôle in the Assembly,” Mr Barr said. “They’ve been very clear about that, to not be obstructionist, to support good policy. If you look at Labor’s policy agenda, and some of the areas that they have highlighted in their
campaigns, I think there is certainly a workable alignment there.”
Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said he would sit down and talk to party members for their views on forming government again with Labor.
“Clearly, we need to examine how do we effectively tell our story to the community in a way that highlights the achievements we’ve been able to make in government, whilst recognising that, at the moment, many of those achievements are somewhat invisible to the community, but the negative consequences of being in government have clearly landed with us to some extent – and that is a point of frustration for us…
“We were open in the campaign about expressing our frustration at Labor’s intransigence [and] their caution on some issues. We were very clear in putting a case that we needed bolder changes in areas, that tweaking around the edges was not enough. But that message has not cut through. We now need to see how the Labor party is prepared to play this out as well, in terms of how we address some of these issues that are very real in our community, very substantial for the constituents, and yet we’re seeing incremental change from the Labor party.”
Jeremy Hanson has announced he will run for
leadership of the Canberra Liberals once more, aiming to position the party for success in 2028.
(See story online.)
“I believe that I’ve got the experience, the temperament, the competence and the leadership to take the party forward,” Mr Hanson said.
Following Liberal tradition, after the recent election loss, the leader and deputy leader positions (held by Leanne Castley) will be ‘spilled’ (made vacant). No-one else has yet declared that they will stand.
Mr Hanson led the Liberals from 2013 to 2016, at which election the Liberals received 36.7 per cent of the vote, and won 11 seats, one fewer than ACT Labor. He was the party’s deputy leader from February 2022 to December 2023, but Ms Lee sent him to the backbench in a shadow cabinet reshuffle last year.
Mr Hanson denied that his decision was a reflection on Ms Lee.
“This is about who I think can best lead the party forward to 2028,” Mr Hanson said. “This is about how I feel about the best chance of the Canberra Liberals winning and uniting together as a broad church of the Liberal Party to win in 2028.”
See more results and reactions at canberradaily.com.au. - Nicholas Fuller
Queen Camilla meets charity close to her heart in Canberra
Representatives from a charity with a Canberra branch met with Queen Camilla during the royals’ visit to Australia.
Queen Camilla caught up with GIVIT at the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Monday 21 October - an organisation she became a patron of in 2020.
The national not-for-profit was founded in 2009 by Juliette Wright OAM to offer an online platform that connected donors wishing to give money, time or goods with the charities that needed them.
Canberra-based GIVIT spokeswoman Caroline Odgers told CW when the organisation found out the royals were visiting Australia, Ms Wright asked to be involved – and she received a resounding yes. Staff, volunteers and GIVIT CEO Chris Staines also took part.
“At the Botanic Gardens, we were supposed to do a 20-minute presentation to the Queen, but it went for almost twice that,” Ms Odgers said.
“She was very generous of her time.”
Ms Odgers said they discussed two areas of the organisation’s work: disaster recovery – it has responded to 25 disasters across Australia –and domestic and family violence.
“They’re two causes that are close to our heart and a huge part of our work,” she said.
Ms Odgers said the Queen asked lots of questions and was “very conversational”.
She said Camilla received a very “Australian experience” while at the gardens with sightings of brown snakes and water dragons.
Ms Wright told the Queen her attention on the organisation would help donations flow.
“You were so tiny in 2020,” the Queen replied, recalling when she first got in touch with GIVIT.
Ms Wright said the operation had been based at her dining table at that time.
“I’m so glad I’ve been able to see you in person not just looking at you on a screen. It’s never the same as face-to-face,” the Queen said.
Camilla also met two of the organisations the platform worked with Fearless Women and Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher.
In 2020, Camilla gave GIVIT a “generous donation” of an undisclosed amount, she also donated money to its flood appeal in 2022.
In 2023, some of the GIVIT team, who all paid for the trip themselves, were invited to Buckingham Palace to attend the King’s Coronation.
- Lillian Altman
SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER
10AM–3PM
Come along to our iconic celebration of connection and cheer. Now in its incredible 97 th year, experience one of Canberra’s biggest, well-known and much-loved annual school fetes. Join in on the fun and see what makes our century-old community so special.
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Queen Camilla is greeted by GIVIT chief executive officer Chris Staines and GIVIT founder and director Juliette Wright as she arrives at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
New initiative aims for defibrillators in every Canberra suburb
A new initiative aims to see a defibrillator installed in every Canberra suburb.
That’s approximately 120 extra automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the ACT for community members to access 24/7 to use on someone who has gone into cardiac arrest.
The SERVICE ONE Mutual initiative is sponsored by Bendigo Community Bank Canberra and Regions, in partnership with St John Ambulance.
SERVICE ONE Mutual chief executive officer Ivan Slavich AM said the organisation aims to install an AED in Canberra’s 120 suburbs to give back to the community and potentially save lives.
“We believe every street in Australia should have an AED, as without one, the chance of survival from cardiac arrest drops dramatically after five minutes,” Mr Slavich said.
“We’re going to start with one in every suburb and build from there.”
Under the initiative, the public is invited to raise $2,500 to install an AED in their suburb.
SERVICE ONE Mutual will then cover the cost and installation of a weatherproof cabinet, sourced through St John Ambulance, to house the AEDs.
“StreetBeat is a great example of how we can make a positive difference using local money for local people,” Mr Slavich said.
“To help fundraising efforts, we’ve created an easy-to-use online platform where community members can create accounts, nominate the suburb they wish to raise funds for, share their sponsorship pages with family and friends and track their fundraising progress.
“To kickstart the campaign, we’re challenging fundraisers to complete at least 10 minutes of physical activity each day throughout November and record their efforts on the website.
“In the first week of the campaign, any contributions of up to $100 will be dollar matched by Bendigo Community Bank Canberra and Regions up to the value of $10,000 helping them quickly reach their $2,500 target.”
StreetBeat was launched by SERVICE ONE Mutual on Wednesday 16 October, head to streetbeat.life for more information and to donate.
- Lillian Altman
Colleen McGrory, Val Dempsey, Ivan Slavich and Dr Kashif Kalam at the StreetBeat launch.
Photo: Lillian Altman
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Election washup
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Congratulations to all reelected and new members of the Assembly. Special congratulations to Tom Emerson and Fiona Carrick, our first independents elected since 1998. On a personal note, that’s it for me. Clearly, there was no need for an old former member when there were perfectly good and exciting new ones who were standing for election instead. So, I will now step back, and my colleague Angela Lount will take over as convenor of the Belco Party in the next few weeks.
It should be noted that in the not-too-distant past (2012), when the Assembly still had 17 members, the Greens lost three out of four members and the Liberals and Labor went to eight each. The conservative Zed Seselja Liberals actually had 43 votes more than Labor, but of course, the surviving Green, Shane Rattenbury, went with Labor.
In 2016, when the assembly first went to 25 members, there were 12 Labor elected and 11 Liberals. The Liberals under Jeremy Hanson almost got 12, but Caroline Le Couteur won the last seat in Murrumbidgee to take the number of Greens to two. Jeremy Hanson is right wing, but is a very experienced and capable politician.
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I would encourage Andrew Barr to take up my suggestion of a slimmed-down ministry. He only has 10 ALP members, and, if the Greens won’t take ministries this time around (which in my view would be sensible), he could run with six ministers, a speaker, and three backbenchers. He could also have a Green speaker perhaps (possibly Shane Rattenbury, who has done it before).
I think Tom Emerson and Fiona Carrick have the potential to be very e ective members of the Assembly. Both have been around and have definite views on what they want to achieve. So overall, despite the Liberals being disappointed, this assembly is an improvement on the last one.
I do not agree with my old boss Kate Carnell that the Liberals should move further to the left. Nor would I agree they should move further to the right. They should just be themselves, work hard, and get on with the job of holding the government accountable. They need to concentrate on service delivery issues. When they do that, as they did in 2012 and 2016, they do well. Indeed, in this election, if David Pollard had won in Yerrabi, it would be 10 Liberals and three independents and a possible change of government. The result was closer than you think.
@lbsc_clinic | www.drdamienbezzina.com.au
It is interesting that Labor continually tries to paint the local Liberals as some kind of extreme right-wing group. This is just plain rubbish.
The local Liberals should not
One message to Mr Barr. — Andrew, you really do need to stop borrowing money and have a really good look at things like the tram. To stop stage 2B would be the most sensible, fi scally responsible measure you could take at this point in time.
Underground Canberra:
What’s really lies beneath ANU?
Rumours of secret passageways linking buildings, lizard people dwellings and spy headquarters beneath Canberra have been around for decades. On a mission to dig down to the truth of what lies below our city, CW has sought to uncover some of the most mentioned theories, starting with the rumoured underground tunnels of the Australian National University.
Guiding us on this journey is senior archivist Sarah Lethbridge, who clarifies that the so-called tunnels are not tunnels at all, but a repository storing the ANU Archives. Originally constructed in 1980 as a carpark, the structure also housed university resources on its upper levels.
“Parkes Way is actually underneath us, that is the tunnel. When this space was built, the choice was either to have a road cut through the hill and split the campus, or create a cutting, place the road below and build this structure above it.
Spanning 23km, Sarah avoids using the word tunnel when she describes her workspace as it tends to raise eyebrows and spark some probing questions into what is going on down there. She says if there are any underground dwellers around, they aren’t pulling their weight doing any work or cleaning. Interestingly, the archive isn’t her first encounter with these mumblings.
“I used to work at the National Archives and there were rumours of tunnels all around the parliamentary triangle connecting buildings,” says Sarah. “Like
they were a remnant of the Cold War where it was important to get from Parliament House to foreign affairs in secret.”
However, Sarah notes that tunnels connecting buildings would be practical for avoiding harsh winter winds. While secret underground workings are usually harmless and can add some fun and colour to a sometimes grey, planned city, they only become problematic if taken too seriously. Like most of us, she admits she has her favourite theory.
“The stories about ASIO occupying the top floor of a funeral parlour opposite the Russian Embassy in the early days. I hope it is true,” she smiles.
No spies are hunkering down in this bunker-like building which creates the perfect climate for storing the paper, photographs and memorabilia that fill the archives’ 23,000 shelves.
“It’s actually an excellent space for storing archives because it’s quite large, though not big enough for our entire collection. The airflow underneath and the dirt above help slow down temperature changes, which is ideal for preservation.”
What is actually in the large bunker? Sarah explains that the archive can be broken down into a few different parts. The first is the largest and the one they have been collating the longest, which began in the 1960s and is an archival history treasure chest of Australia’s 19th-century economic records.
“Our first collection was the Australian Agricultural Company, which was established in 1824 with a grant of a million acres around Port Stephens to run
sheep,” says Sarah.
The collection plays a part in telling the story of business in Australia, showcasing how people communicated, how much trade came in and out, and how they dealt with difficulties. There is also an enormous amount on labour unions, including forgotten trades like bootmakers, seamstresses, and felt hat makers, who all had their own unions.
“Along with unions come records of activists, people advocating for superannuation, safer work conditions, the eight-hour day. It expanded, we’re still adding to that collection, we are still getting records of companies that are nationally significant and unions that are federally registered.”
It is easy to forget in this modern age how large big industry employers were, Sarah says they required a huge amount of manpower to operate which comes with membership records. These are particularly important because many of these workers didn’t leave a lot of written records throughout their lives.
“As a group, they’re known, individually they can disappear from history; blue-collar workers, women, Indigenous people, the disabled - people who don’t fit the mainstream can sometimes not be recorded.”
Broadening their collection in the mid-2000s, they sought records from companies who traded and worked in the Pacific region. Along with company records, Sarah says they have received donations from descendants of missionaries and colonial administrators.
These tie in well with the university’s own archives, along with council, building and policy records and building plans, they also have research from academics. Including that of people from the Pacific and our own First Nations People, Sarah says some of these groups have not survived or been widely known, nor have their languages.
“We’re much more respectful now of the peoples whose information it is, working with them to give them access and help them rebuild languages and cultures that have been diluted. It has been lost and overtaken by the dominant culture.”
The final part of the collection is a snapshot into Australia’s response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, including public awareness information and firsthand accounts. Sarah says they have been sourced from advocates, activists, the department of health and from groups who were most likely to be impacted; homosexual men, intravenous drug users, sex workers and people living with hemophilia.
The archive welcomes inquiries, Sarah says even if they aren’t the people who can help, they will often be able to direct you to the right archive or history society. Contact the archives via email; archives@anu.edu.au
- Jessica Cordwell
Sarah Lethbridge, Senior Archivist at ANU Archives in the repository. Photos: Jordan Mirchevski.
Trump hands out french fries as Harris goes to church
With the US presidential election little more than two weeks away, Democrat Kamala Harris visited two churches while her Republican rival, Donald Trump, visited another kind of American temple: a McDonald’s.
Both candidates were scrambling for votes in the most competitive states, with Harris appealing to early voters in Georgia and Trump campaigning in Pennsylvania ahead of the 5 November election.
At a McDonald’s in suburban Philadelphia on Sunday, Trump removed his suit jacket, put on a black and yellow apron and proceeded to cook batches of french fries, something he said he had wanted to do “all my life”.
He dipped wire baskets of potatoes in sizzling oil before salting them and handing them out to customers through the restaurant’s drive-through window.
“I like this job,” said Trump, whose adoration for fast food has been well-chronicled.
“I’m having a lot of fun here.”
Trump has said the McDonald’s visit was intended in part as a jab at Harris, who says she worked at the fast food chain during her college years in California. Trump claims Harris never worked there.
Harris, who marked her 60th birthday on Sunday while campaigning in Georgia, participated in two worship services outside of Atlanta.
At Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro, music icon Stevie Wonder performed, singing his hit Higher Ground and a version of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. Harris said she had checked off a “whole big one” on her bucket list when Stevie Wonder sang Happy Birthday for her.
Harris, who was raised in the teachings of the Black church and sang in a church choir, earlier spoke at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia.
Harris will need strong results in the majority non-white cities of Detroit and Atlanta and their surrounding suburbs to repeat President Joe Biden’s 2020 wins in Michigan and Georgia.
Trump is seeking to take advantage of what he felt was an improved position for him in opinion polls that show a deadlocked race. Some voters already have sent mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, the biggest prize on Election Day among battleground states.
- AAP with Reuters
US Presidential nominee Donald Trump serves fries at a McDonald’s in America. Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times
The People’s Choice Prize is generously provided by the K&S Langley Fund. A travelling exhibition developed by the South Australian Museum.
David Braun: The Brolgas Return (detail), ink drawing
Local doctor spotlight: Consultations continue for patients of fire affected medical practice
On the morning of Tuesday 20th August, an electrical fault caused a serious fire at Ochre Medical Centre Kippax at 76 Hardwick Crescent in Holt. Emergency crews did a fantastic job, evacuating approximately 30 people and ensuring no injuries. The building, however, suffered structural damage and is currently undergoing repair. Kippax Practice Manager Peter Bradley praised ACT Fire and Rescue for their swift response: “Although the fire was intense, they were able to quickly contain it allowing us to salvage what we needed from the practice to continue to look after our patients with minimal disruption.”
The Ochre Health group, with over 65 medical centres across Australia and ten centres in the ACT alone, acted quickly to ensure that Kippax patients could still access their doctors. Within days, Ochre Medical Centre Casey was able to step in and accommodate almost all the Kippax doctors. Kippax patients are now being directed to this practice, a short drive away, at 15 Whitrod Ave in Casey. The only exception is Dr Ric Chan, who is now consulting out of Ochre Medical Centre Bruce, off Ginninderra Drive on the University of Canberra campus.
The Regional Manager for Ochre Health, Melissa Menzies had this to say: “I would like to
express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the doctors, nursing and admin team members from Casey and Kippax who have come together so smoothly during such a difficult time, and our patients for their understanding.”
Nirasha DeZoysa, Practice Manager at Casey, welcomed the Kippax doctors and patients: “We are excited to welcome our Kippax colleagues and patients to Casey. Our team is dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition and providing the highest level of care. With our experienced staff and well-established systems, we are fully prepared to handle the influx and support everyone during this time. Together, we are stronger, and we are supporting all pa-tients, old and new, with compassion and commitment.”
The online booking system for Kippax patients is operating as per normal, and the phone number is still the same. The Casey centre itself is easily accessible off Horse Park Drive and there is also ample free parking.
Peter Bradley also assures patients that there has been no loss of patient records and that all normal services are still being provided by their usual doctors and nurses.
Bookings for services at Ochre Medical Centre Kippax can be made online via ochrehealth.com.au or by calling the practice on 6259 7216. Ochre Medical Centre Casey is located at 15 Whitrod Avenue, Casey.
Champion Canberra Paralympian’s day with the king
Growing up in Germany, Canberra’s world champion athlete Vanessa Low didn’t grow up around the Monarchy.
But on Monday, the Paris Paralympic long jump T61 gold medallist and world record holder was a guest at the Parliamentary Reception for Their Majesties, hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancé, Jodie Haydon.
Low said it was a privilege to be invited to the event.
“It’s really special to think that I play a representative role as an athlete,” she told CW.
“The way that I got involved means I’m part of the bigger society and representatives, so that is really special.”
She said she got to share her experience of competing at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
“I was also selected to shake hands with Camilla,” Low said.
She said it was interesting to be part of the day because
the monarchy was not part of German life.
“It was so nice to see how excited Australia gets,” she said.
“Germany hasn’t had a monarchy in a very long time, so I don’t think anyone (there) really grew up around that principle.”
Low was at Parliament House’s Great Hall for the King, Mr Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton’s addresses.
Other guests at the reception included former prime minister John Howard and his wife Janette, former prime minister Tony Abbott, former deputy prime minister Julie Bishop, horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, mining executive Andrew Forrest, Linfox founder Lindsay Fox and Olympic kayaker and gold medallist Jess Fox, and Australians of the Year, Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scolyer.
- Lillian Altman
Canberra Paralympian Vanessa Low inside Parliament House for the royal visit to the country’s capital. Picture: supplied
HAUNTED HOUSE Next to Kathmandu SATURDAY 26 – SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 11am – 3pm
LAST SHOW SATURDAY 2 NOV
‘I wanted the world to know’:
Lidia Thorpe on tirade
ndigenous senator Lidia Thorpe has justified her roundly criticised protest action against King Charles, saying she had written to the monarch multiple times and he ignored her.
The independent from Victoria confronted the King and Queen Camilla during a welcome reception at Parliament House on Monday, before being kicked out.
“You are not our king. You are not sovereign,” she shouted.
“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us - our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.
“You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want treaty.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Senator Thorpe said her repeated written requests for a meeting and a “respectful conversation” with the monarch had been ignored every time.
“That wasn’t afforded to me, so I did that for my people. I did that for my grandmother, and I wanted the world to know that we need a treaty here and we want an end to this ongoing war against first peoples in this country,” she told ABC radio.
“I don’t subscribe to assimilating myself into the colonial structure.”
Senator Thorpe doubled down on her accusation the King was complicit in the genocide of Indigenous people by remaining silent.
“Why doesn’t he say, I am sorry for the many, many thousands of massacres that happened in this country and that my ancestors and my kingdom are responsible for that,” she said.
Asked about her affirmation of allegiance to the crown when she was sworn in as a parliamentarian,
Senator Thorpe said she did that under duress and to fulfil her duties.
Senator Thorpe demanded the UK hand back Indigenous artefacts and remains that had been taken.
King Charles spoke quietly with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while they sat on a podium in the Great Hall, as security officers stopped Senator Thorpe from approaching further and escorted her from the room.
Senator Thorpe, who was a guest at the event, was criticised by other guests at the reception including former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott and Victoria Cross recipient Keith Payne.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton labelled the senator’s protest an act of “self-promotion” and said she should consider resigning.
“People need to express themselves respectfully and sometimes people make it all about themselves and I think that’s what yesterday was,” he told the ABC.
Labor minister Amanda Rishworth said Senator Thorpe’s actions were “pretty disrespectful and not just to the King, but to the many great Australians that had gathered in the Great Hall”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns, who will on Tuesday host a community barbecue for the royal couple, said Senator Thorpe’s protest was “grossly disrespectful”.
“Everything that particular senator does seems to revolve around herself, as if she’s attempting to make herself, that senator, the focus of all attention,” he told Sydney’s 2GB radio.
The coalition is considering raising a censure motion against Senator Thorpe in the upper house when it next sits in November.
The federal opposition is considering raising a censure motion against Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP Photos
Restoring Australia’s competitiveness
Although a familiar name to Canberra political insiders, Van Jones is generally not well known in Australia.
He was the green jobs czar in the Obama administration and has made the easy transition to being a CNN host, where he campaigns for Kamala Harris. During a discussion on green energy, he made a remarkable admission, saying, “Early on in my career, we thought we were going to be able to get all the way to our clean energy goals with no fossil fuels. It turned out that wasn’t true.”
Contrary to the view expressed by Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen, Van Jones is now toning down the renewable goals that have featured so prominently in the US with subsidies under Build Back Better, as is the case with our own Future Made in Australia.
Australia has actually travelled further along the path of forcing renewables into the electricity
smelting in general expanding and an absence of the vast expansion of land intensive bird-killing and visually intrusive wind and solar and their associated need for more transmission lines.
The propaganda against coal is preventing the Opposition from embracing this energy source at the present time. Mr Dutton is instead opting for a nuclear-powered energy future.
Energy Laboratory estimates storage costs by 2030 at $US200,000 per megawatt hour. This cost means reliability-proofing Australia’s network at an outlay of $6 trillion, three times the nation’s GNP. This is an expense that is not required for coal, gas or indeed, nuclear
system than the US and all but a few EU countries. The $30-40 per MWh price prevailing in Australia when renewables were under fi ve per cent of the market has escalated to over $130 per MWh as the forced injection of renewables increased to over 30 per cent.
The same pattern is evident across countries. There is a strong correlation between prices and the per capita consumption of wind and solar. The nations in Europe with the highest solar and wind capacity (Denmark and Germany) have the highest prices while those with the lowest wind/solar capacity (Hungary, Poland and Turkey) also have the lowest prices.
Coal is far and away the cheapest source of energy for Australia. However, we have embarked on eliminating it from the system due to a combination of spurious fears about it causing global warming and unfounded optimism in a wind/solar system.
Had we not followed this course, we would have been progressively bulding new capacity, as we did 20 years ago. Today, we would not be facing the loss of the aluminium smelting industry former jewel in the nation’s industrial crown. Indeed, our low-cost energy would see metal
Mr Bowen has put the cost at $387 billion for one Peter Dutton option that would require 71 small modular reactors, each producing 300 megawatts. Others put the cost of nuclear at one third of this. Thus, four recent nuclear installations in the United Arab Republic (UAR) each with 1,400 Megawatts 24/7 capacity and with an 80-year life cost $9.5 billion a piece. At that cost the 21,000 MW of capacity to which Mr Bowen was referring would cost little more than $100 billion.
Under the present government policy Australia spends some $16 billion a year in subsidies to renewables and, as the renewable facilities will only last 15 -20 years, that cost will be incurred forever. Coincidentally $16 billion a year comes to $380 billion between now and 2050, the same cost as Mr Bowen puts on the Dutton nuclear plan.
But the di erence is that the Bowen plan will give us a highly unreliable network.
One solution is to massively overbuild wind/solar power and store the surplus in batteries. A di culty in this is that additional supply decreases with each increment of intermittent capacity – in low wind or low sun periods it is just very di cult to climb from the “normal” 26 per cent no matter how many turbines are present.
An alternative is to embark on a vast additional set of spendings on storage in the form of batteries and Snowy 2 type hydro pumped storage. But even with highly optimistic assumptions, Paul McArdle of Global Roam (not an opponent of the “transition” to renewables) came to an estimate of 9,600,000 megawatt hours. The US National Renewable
What we see across the world is two contrasting economic management models - that of the Euro-US-Australia world, and that of the Asian countries, principally China and India.
The Western world seeks to force a substitution of wind and solar for the fossil and nuclear fuels that have powered economic development. The Asian countries’ focus is on growth underpinned by using the proven energy sources: coal, gas, and nuclear.
Thus, since 2020 China and India have added 1,588 GW of coal capacity compared to only 63 GW in the rest of the world (with only Poland building significant new supply in the EU-UK-US and Australasia Western nations). With nuclear, China, Russia, and India have 36 new plants underway. The rest of the world has 23 with only 4 in the UK-EU-US.
The Asian nations are enjoying much faster growth and industry is gravitating towards the lower cost energy their strategy is founded upon.
A Trump victory would steer the US in that direction, while, as the remarks by Van Jones indicates, even a Harris victory is likely to see some tempering of the current headlong dash away from coal and gas that has been the US approach under Biden.
Australia could join success evidenced in the Asian economies. This would be especially the case if we were to revert to a coalbased system in which we enjoy tremendous advantages in low polluting coal that is inexpensive to mine and feed into power stations. Even with the second-best alternative of nuclear, as long as we adopted the sensible regulatory practices that are in place in India, China, the UAR and elsewhere, we could avoid the deindustrialisation that is presently occurring.
CO N T R IBU
DR ALAN MORAN
have you heard?
GIVIT donation of the week: Taxi vouchers
GIVIT is requesting the donation of taxi vouchers for a young mother and her baby. They are currently being supported by an organisation in the ACT that offers support to young people, children and families who are experiencing homelessness or crisis. This young mum has no family support and needs to travel frequently for her baby’s medical appointments. These trips to the hospital have been challenging as this mum does not drive and takes the bus. GIVIT is requesting taxi vouchers to help them travel safely with ease as this young mother continues to prioritise her baby’s needs. Generous Canberrans can donate taxi vouchers or fund the purchase these vouchers. 100% of your financial donation will be used to buy taxi vouchers. To help please visit: GIVIT. org.au/what’s-needed, search Category: ‘taxi voucher’; Location: ‘ACT’.
ANBG Thursday Talks
On 31 October, Dr Mitzy Pepper from ANU Research School of Biology will discuss how geomorphology controls biodiversity (especially lizards) in the desert. She will touch on case studies in the Pilbara Region of West Australia. Bookings recommended at trybooking.com/CTFGX.
Friends welcome donations of gold coins, notes or EFTPOS to support specific Friends programs at ANBG.
Belconnen Seniors Club Singers
We are looking for more singers, aged 50 and above, to join us at the Belconnen Seniors Club. Membership is $15, with a $7 fee per session. We sing karaoke from the 1950s onwards and also perform at other senior and nursing homes. If you’re interested, please contact Roz Saunders at roz. saunders8@gmail.com. Sessions are held at the Belconnen Seniors Club, Chandler Street, and morning tea, along with song lyrics, are provided.
St Ninian’s Grand Fete
The event will take place on Saturday 2 November, from 9am to 1pm at the corner of Brigalow and Mouat Streets, Lyneham. There will be a wide range of stalls, including homemade cakes, jams, pickles, pre-loved clothes, and white elephant goods. You might discover a hidden gem among the jewellery collection. Craft items, craft remnants, books, garden plants, and flowers will also be on sale. Enjoy delicious food while soaking in the festive atmosphere with live performances from the Cyrenes Choir and Raio de Sol Brazilian band.
Boorowa Community Markets
The markets are on Saturday 26 October, from 9am to 1pm at Old Courthouse Park (corner of Marsden & Queen Streets). Enjoy live music from local buskers Carol & Mal, plus a BBQ by the Rye Park Soldiers Memorial Hall Committee.
Red Dove Op Shop
There are two upcoming openings in November: Thursday to Saturday, 31 October - 2 November, and 21-23 November from 9am to 1pm at Tuggeranong Uniting Church, Comrie Street, Wanniassa. Please note, there will be no openings in December or January. Visitors will enjoy plenty of parking and easy access to an auditorium filled with great buys, especially women’s summer dresses, tops, shorts, trousers, shoes, and bags. There are also fantastic bargains for men’s and children’s wear, bric-a-brac, plus books and DVDs for just $1! Don’t miss the special rack of period costumes from a retired performer (size 12) and delicious morning tea treats.
news@newstimemedia.com.au with ‘HYH’ in the subject field
South Canberra Community Markets
Save the date! Canberra’s newest markets are opening Saturday 2 November! Browse the stalls in the relaxing country atmosphere of Westwood Farm. Over 70 registered stalls! Lots of local craft, produce, food, entertainment and Christmas shopping ideas. PLUS there’s a great family-friendly Westwood Farm Open Day on site run by Lions Youth Haven with animal feeding, buggy rides and more. Bring your family and friends!! 10am-2.30pm, 244 Kambah Pool Road (opposite Murrumbidgee Golf Club). Google ‘South Canberra Community Markets’ to find out more.
Coffee/Op Shop at Christ Church Hawker
Join us on Saturday 2 November for our next Coffee/Op Shop at Christ Church Hawker (corner of Beetaloo Street and Belconnen Way, Hawker) from 9am to 12 noon. On sale: Trash & Treasure, books, clothes (featuring summer fashions), jewellery, craft items with ideas, and a well-stocked cake stall offering a variety of cakes and slices. Visitors are treated to free tea/coffee and biscuits. For enquiries, please call 0428 266 658. All are welcome!
Kambah Community Garden Open Day
Join the Kambah Community Garden Open Day & Seedling Sale on Saturday 2 November, from 10am to 3pm at the corner of Springbett Street and O’Halloran Circuit, Kambah. Explore over 40 plots, enjoy guest talks, stalls, a sausage sizzle, and more. Free entry with parking available. Visit cogs.asn.au for details.
Discover the perfect blend of comfort and flavour at Patissez. From our signature Freakshakes to savory tacos and delightful French toasts, there’s something for everyone.
Visit us for a cozy meal or follow @patissez on Instagram for updates.
Carlotta opens in the city
Carlotta, the highly-anticipated Mediterranean eatery by acclaimed restaurateur Chris Lucas, opened in the Scott’s Crossing precinct at the Canberra Centre last week.
The establishment is Lucas’ first venture into Canberra, and judging by the preview dinner CW attended last week, it is set to be a popular one.
Carlotta’s fi t-out is stunning, o ering 120 seats, making it perfect for larger groups or an intimate date night. The open kitchen allows diners to watch the chefs in action and admire the giant woodfire oven at the centre of the room.
While the setting is supreme, it always comes down to the food. The menu centres on ‘rustic Italian’ cooking and we were able to try a range of dishes they o er.
For appetisers, the two varieties of house-made
focaccia were delightful. Carlotta has gone the extra mile to source the finest mozzarella, importing it fresh from Italy every week to ensure the best quality. And it went down a treat with the prosciutto.
Then it was time for some house-made pasta with crab in lobster oil, enhanced by a subtle kick of chilli. The flavours were rich and well-balanced, making the dish satisfying without being overwhelming. Other pasta dishes on the menu that we didn’t try include ravioli caprese and mafaldine with slow-cooked beef ragu.
The main dish was a beautiful cut of rib-eye steak served with a bearnaise sauce, a variety of mustards and side dishes. The pick of the side dishes was the prosciutto and peas.
For dessert, tiramisu was on o er, and it was delightful. The espresso-soaked layers were
perfectly balanced with a light sweetness and a hint of cocoa, making each bite irresistible.
Lucas is best known for his Chin Chin restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney but remained coy on whether he would bring one of those famous venues to Canberra. However, Lucas did announce that he will be opening up a French bistro in the nation’s capital next year where Botswana Butchery used to be. So, stay tuned for more info.
Carlotta is now open for bookings. To learn more, follow @carlotta. cusina on Instagram or head to carlotta.com.au
Moowing
bringing restaurant-quality steaks to the streets Steak
For many, indulging in a perfectly cooked steak often means paying restaurant prices. But one food business in Braddon is shaking up that perception with a unique, a ordable, and mobile solution. Moowing Steak, a trailer kitchen, brings high-quality steaks to the streets, o ering customers restaurant-level meals at takeaway prices.
The inspiration behind Moowing Steak comes from a simple belief: steak should be a ordable and accessible for everyday dining. “We believe that good quality, well-seasoned, and perfectly cooked steaks should be a ordable for daily takeaway and delivery, or even just to walk and eat,” the owners, Manoj and Subash, explain.
By choosing a trailer kitchen, Moowing Steak is able to keep costs down, making it feasible to o er quick, tasty, and a ordable meals. Without the high overheads of a traditional restaurant, they’re able to o er restaurant-quality steaks at prices that make daily eating possible.
When it comes to the quality of the steak, sourcing is everything. Moowing Steak proudly sources its meat from 56 Degree, known for providing high-quality cuts from regions with ideal conditions for raising cattle. Their specialties include tenderloin, sirloin, and ribeye—popular cuts that appeal to a wide range of steak lovers. And, for
that perfect flavour, Moowing Steak uses char-grilling as their cooking method, ensuring each steak is cooked to perfection.
But what sets Moowing Steak apart from other food trucks is their house-made basting sauce, a unique blend of ginger, soy, and other secret ingredients. This gives their steaks a distinctive, flavourful touch that keeps customers coming back for more. “We draw on our years of chef experience and use our own basting sauce to elevate the taste,” they add.
Moowing Steak also caters to customers with dietary preferences and restrictions, ensuring that their menu is inclusive. With clearly marked items for allergens and dietary needs, they provide options for gluten-free customers, vegetarians, and more. Although their focus is on steak, they o er other beloved dishes, including Nepalese MOMO dumplings, reflecting their heritage and adding a special touch to their menu.
The dining experience at Moowing Steak is designed to be flexible and casual. Customers can grab their food to enjoy at home, in the park, or even while strolling through the city. For those who want to stay and eat, a few outdoor tables are available. “We aim to provide restaurant-quality food at a better price for daily enjoyment,” they emphasise.
In addition to providing top-notch meals,
Moowing Steak is committed to sustainability. They use eco-friendly packaging, including sugarcane boxes, wooden cutlery, and paper bags, reducing their environmental impact.
As a new business, Moowing Steak is already making waves, but they’re just getting started. The owners are dedicated to continually improving, learning from each day, and building toward future success. With strong local support and encouragement from interstate customers, Moowing Steak has its sights set on expanding to cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
“Our goal is to o er better deals for the community,” they say. “With high standards in quality, quantity, price, and service, we’re building a loyal customer base and staying true to our Nepalese culture of hospitality.” As it grows, Moowing Steak aims to maintain the same commitment to quality and community that has defined its journey so far.
REVIEWS
Tom Fielder: This place deserves its almost 5-star rating. I am an avid steak eater and this would rank in my top 5-10 steaks ever. 10/10 recommend the Jus sauce. My wife and I are from Melbourne but will be coming here every time we can on our trips to Canberra.
Steven H: Nowhere have I seen this quality of steak offered out of a truck. We tried both the fillet and the ribeye and they were equally excellent. The quality and value is superb – I hope they maintain it because this food truck is a great addition to the neighbourhood. Beside the steak, I have tried the peri peri wings, and the momo - it’s all well above expectations! UPDATE: We have returned a number of times and have found the food consistently excellent.
Moowing Steak is located at 17 Lonsdale Street, Braddon.
To find out more, follow @moowingsteak on Instagram or head to moowingsteak.com.au
PUZZLES & STARS
ACROSS
1 Distress caused by being away from residence (8)
5 Vinegary (6)
10 Bucolic (5)
11 Painting of the countryside (9)
12 Time of the year (6)
13 Indefinable but important element (1,6)
14 Animal (8)
15 Sleeveless jacket (6)
18 Snuggle (6)
20 Disable (8)
21 Narrow strip of land (7)
24 Man’s name (6)
27 Pathological selfadmirer (9)
28 Classic race for threeyear-old horses (5)
29 Stable (6)
30 Fierce storms (8)
DOWN
1 Star (4)
2 Female killer (9)
3 Vends (5)
4 Of the kitchen (8)
6 Waterfall (7)
7 Treatise; acreage (5)
8 Major sale (9)
9 Ornamental quartz (4)
14 Reflects upon (9)
16 Input devices (9)
17 Song of praise (8)
19 Member of ancient Germanic tribe (7)
22 That group (5)
23 Spinnaker (4)
25 Result (3,2)
26 Peepers (4)
BRAIN BUSTERS
1. Angora wool comes from which type of animal?
2. What is the name given to the smell produced when rain falls onto dry soil?
3. For which film did Irish actor Barry Keoghan receive an Academy Award nomination?
4. Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin was known for his close relationship with which Russian emperor?
5. In which decade was the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary published?
SOLUTIONS
SCORPIO OCT 24 – NOV 22
Surprise news and a change of routine at work or at home may draw on your inner resourcefulness, but will spell upbeat changes to come. It’s a romantic, creative week but you must avoid power struggles with someone close.
SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 – DEC 21
You may experience a surprise change in shared areas of your life such as work collaborations or joint finances. You may need to renegotiate certain arrangements and this will require tact. Romance can thrive, as can the arts and creativity.
CAPRICORN DEC 22 – JAN 20
You’ll enjoy being spontaneous and organising get-togethers. Someone you admire will wish to connect. However, it’s important to maintain realistic expectations to avoid over-estimating outcomes, especially if you’re negotiating fresh arrangements.
AQUARIUS JAN 21 – FEB 19
A change of pace at work and an enjoyably fresh environment this weekend may carry a surprise. Some talks and communications will be intense or complex, so be prepared to be tactful. It’s a good week for a fresh budget.
PISCES FEB 20 – MAR 20
Romance could thrive, so take the initiative, especially this weekend and on Monday. If you need support or advice, be sure to reach out as there will be someone to help you. You may need to treat someone sensitive carefully.
ARIES MAR 21 – APR 20
You’ll gain the chance to make changes regarding work and health matters. Good news regarding property or finances could be on the way. Be prepared to voice ideas, but avoid conflict this weekend and on Tuesday.
TAURUS APR 21 – MAY 21
A welcome change of prognosis within a key relationship will be refreshing. You’ll enjoy an impromptu trip or get-together. You may receive unexpected news from someone close or at work. A difference of opinion will require a little patience.
GEMINI MAY 22 – JUN 21
You’ll find a change of pace revitalising. You may also receive unexpected news from work, regarding health or from someone close. Developments could boost your finances and self-esteem, but you must avoid a personality clash next week.
CANCER JUN 22 – JUL 22
You’ll appreciate an impromptu get-together and may hear surprise news from someone close. You may reunite with someone special. However, you must avoid allowing a difference of opinion becoming conflict towards Tuesday.
LEO JUL 23 – AUG 23
Coming events will be exciting and could open doors to new developments. You may receive a visitor or plan a trip. Find ways to boost your situation, but avoid arguments at home or regarding property as these could quickly cause conflict.
VIRGO AUG 24 – SEPT 23
This will be a romantic and creative weekend. You’ll enjoy a change of pace and socialising. This could take you outside your usual sphere, but it’ll be worthwhile. Be sure to keep conversations on an even keel and avoid overspending.
LIBRA SEPT 24 – OCT 23
A financial or work development could delight. Equally, a change of pace or of environment will do you a power of good. Consider a diplomatic approach regarding health, your work or family, as this will facilitate smooth paths ahead.
IN THE STARS with PATSY BENNETT
For personal readings, contact Patsy through her website to make an appointment, or call 0448 808 333. Facebook: facebook.com/patsybennettpsychicastrology Instagram: instagram.com/patsybennettastrology www.patsybennett.com
Brain busters
Four decades of youth coming together through the arts
Across four decades, more than 50,000 students have danced across the Youth Dance Festival (YDF) stage.
The anniversary will be celebrated this year with the return of three alumni who all now run their own dance schools in Canberra: Francis Owusu, Kagiso Tshepo Ratlhagane (KG) and Caroline ‘Leena’ Wall.
The shows, run by Ausdance ACT at the Canberra Theatre Centre from 6-8 November, will explore the theme ‘What Do You Dream?’
The trio are working with students to create an opening piece.
YDF encourages a student-led approach to dance-making, choreography, theatre and filmmaking, while providing a shared artistic experience.
Owusu, the 2013 Australian of the Year ACT Local Hero Award winner, and founder and CEO of Kulture Break, was first involved in the festival in 1992 and 1993 through St Edmund’s College.
He likened the experience to being a “rock event in the rehearsal room”.
“It was just crazy mayhem,” Owusu said. He returned in 2006 with the boy band 925.
KG, also a former St Edmund’s College student, was a choreographer for the 2001 festival, before performing the following year.
He said he was “forced into it” by one of his cousins and a friend, and his teachers encouraged him to get involved.
“I was an aspiring professional basketball player,” KG said.
“Dancing was very taboo at Eddie’s (St Edmund’s) because I hung around a lot of sports boys.”
KG said once he was thrown into the dance world, he never looked back.
“I just continued to really love dance, and I think it gave me a different confidence that sport doesn’t give you,” he said.
Leena was involved from 1997 through to 2000 with Erindale College, through to her first few years at university.
She said the memories that came to mind were from the years following, rather than from the time during the festival.
“It was more after that. It was, I guess, a changing
period of my dance journey,” Leena said.
YDF creative director Dr Cathy Adamek said that, in celebrating 40 years, the festival gives young people in Canberra the opportunity to express their creativity through a collaborative process.
“They get to get together and pick their favourite music and choreograph to it, and they get some support from their teachers and us as a producing body,” Dr Adamek said.
YDF runs at the Canberra Theatre Centre from 6-8 November. Tickets can be purchased here: canberratheatrecentre.com.au/show/ausdance-actyouth-dance-festival-2024/ - Lillian Altman
Returning Youth Dance Festival alumni Francis Owusu, Caroline ‘Leena’ Wall. And Kagiso Tshepo Ratlhagane (KG) at the Canberra Theatre Centre. Picture: Lillian Altman
Take 6 with Frank Bongiorno AM
Moving to Canberra in 1991, Frank Bongiorno is a massive fan of history.
Bongiorno will take part in the Canberra Writers Festival’s Young Hawke event on Friday 25 October at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House at 10am.
He will be back at MOAD on Sunday 27 October at 3:30pm, to talk to former Labor Senator and minister Kim Carr about the former politician’s memoir A Long March.
1
What is your favourite historical moment and why?
It might make sense to choose a moment in my lifetime from the vast number I could consider.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was such an extraordinary moment for anyone of my age, 55, or older.
It had been there all our lives, both as a means of oppressing real people and as a symbol of a world divided into two economic and political systems.
One did not have to buy into the propaganda of either the west or the communist world to understand how important it was at that moment when it was breached late in 1989.
I was doing my third-year exams at the University of Melbourne on a subject called International Relations. But there were other students who had a rather harder job – they were being examined on Politics in the Communist World!
2
What’s the most important historical moment in Canberra and why?
I’m not sure whether it was the most important but the dismissal of the Whitlam Government on 11 November (1975) is one of those events that reminded everyone in Australia that Canberra was not some kind of sleepy, overgrown country town trying its best to be a national capital.
It could be a place of high drama, on the streets as well as in the parliamentary chambers and over in Yarralumla.
The event was traumatic for so many who had placed so much faith in the Whitlam government, and who had looked to Gough Whitlam himself as someone who could articulate and even embody their hopes for the country.
Next year is the 50th anniversary so we’ll hear a lot more about it.
3
Why should people be interested in history?
History provides a way of looking at the world. It helps us to understand ourselves as well as others.
It is really about the only guide we have for acting in the present and future – however rough that guide might be!
People also engage with history because most of us enjoy stories, and the best historians are also skilled storytellers.
Those stories can contribute to our sense of identity and belonging. But understanding history is also about unravelling meaning, a way of understanding how the world works, and of why people behave the way they do.
In Australia, one of the great changes of the last half-century has been wider awareness that First Nations peoples’ understanding of time can be
Frank Bongiorno
very different from conventional western understandings. That has allowed many of us to reflect more carefully on what is at stake in the way we ‘do history’.
When you think about history as a sequence of events with a forward momentum, that might well embody a particular way of understanding the world that works out better for some – a coloniser, for instance –than for others, the colonised.
But, historical knowledge has also acted as a political resource for oppressed peoples, a source of lessons, inspiration and identity.
4 What piqued your interest in history?
I think the first thing that grabbed my attention was a publication (a magazine) you could buy from newsagents in the 1970s called Australia’s Heritage. You were supposed to collect
each part and then put them in bindings to make a kind of encyclopedia.
I don’t think I ever got that far but I recall reading some of the ones that my mother bought for me and looking at the illustrations – most of them on colonial Australian history.
I recently had a look at the 30 or so copies that I had and it’s a rather old-fashioned look at Australian history but it was fascinating then and even now as a snapshot on a way of understanding the past.
5 When did you move to Canberra and what do you love the most about living here?
I moved here for the first time early in 1991 to study for my PhD in history at the ANU.
It was a smaller, less busy city, and Civic was full of open car parks. I had come from years in
Melbourne, and it was obviously a very different kind of place. It took me about a year to begin loving Canberra and I have now clocked up about 20 years, although not in one go, and very much live here by choice.
As the national capital, it has so much to offer culturally and intellectually, and especially in the kinds of things that interest me most – galleries, libraries, archives and museums, or GLAM, as they now call it.
The restaurants and bars are great, too, but my life here has always revolved around the university – and books!
6
How does it feel to be part of an event at Canberra Writers Festival?
It’s such a privilege to be involved, as a board member as well as conversationalist.
In my own case, I’m speaking with historian and biographer David Day on the Friday 25 October at 10am at MoAD on his book Young Hawke, about Bob’s first 50 years, before he entered parliament (no publisher or author would call a boom(er) Young and Middle-Aged Hawke!)
And then, on Sunday, 27 October, at 3.30pm, it’s back to MoAD to talk to former Labor Senator and Minister Kim Carr on his memoir, A Long March.
Two stories about Australian politics, about two very different kinds of Labor politicians. I’m very much looking forward to it and have a bunch of other great sessions I’m looking forward to attending: Beejay Silcox as artistic director, and Travis Green as CEO have brought together a splendid program.
- Lillian Altman
Your local, independent bookshop in
Kingston
Canberra’s newest independent bookshopstocking a large range of quality new books for readers of all ages.
We sell pages for all ages
time out
Booktalk
This week, Jeff Popple reviews three exciting crime novels from Australia and overseas. More of Jeff’s reviews can be found on his blog: murdermayhemandlongdogs.com
The Ledge by Christian White Macmillan, $34.99
Australian author Christian White has been described as Australia’s ‘master of misdirection’ and his latest book is another twisty tale of surprises and suspense. The book opens with the discovery of old human remains in the forests of regional Victoria. The police are baffled, the locals are shocked, and one group of old friends start to panic, fearing that their long-held secret is about to be uncovered. White’s dual timeline of 1999 and the present day quickly unfolds, and the book combines a good coming-ofage story with an absorbing mystery that builds to a final memorable twist.
The Waiting by Michael Connelly Allen & Unwin, $34.99
Michael Connelly’s latest novel, The Waiting, starts with Reneé Ballard, head of the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit, waiting for an early morning wave. When she returns to the shore, she finds her car broken into and her badge, gun, and ID gone. Reluctant to report the thefts, she works the burglary alone, but when her solo mission takes a dangerous turn, she turns to Harry Bosch for help. Meanwhile, two cold cases take Ballard and her team down some unexpected paths. This is stellar crime writing, with great characters, good excitement, intelligent plotting and a sharp view of American society. Highly recommended.
Midnight And Blue by Ian Rankin Orion, $34.99
Ian Rankin’s John Rebus series ranks alongside Connelly’s Bosch books as the most significant crime series of recent years. Each of the books are masterpieces of crime writing that impress with their depth and insight. Midnight And Blue opens with Rebus in jail alongside many of the crooks he put there. Apart from the threats to his wellbeing, his life has become a drudge, until a murder occurs at midnight in a nearby locked cell. Suddenly, Rebus has a purpose again, but it is hard to find a killer in a place that is full of them. One of the year’s best crime novels!
Canberra Weekly competition winners!
The winners in Canberra Weekly’s latest round of competition draws are:
Ecco: R. Ford, Ngunnawal
Lee: A. Handberg, Chapman; N. Fisher, Aranda; J. Vasta, Kaleen; A. Baynes, O’Connor; H. Cobuccio, Fisher; L. Raddon, Tuner; S. Watt, Macgregor; D. Casey, Franklin; M. Hughes, McKellar; S. Grimshaw, Kaleen
Love from a stranger: M. Di lulio, Ngunnawal; S. Kong, Karabar; D. Scotney, Wanniassa
Building a community event brick-by-brick
LEGO enthusiasts will be given the opportunity to marvel at the artwork of others or create their own masterpieces at the Canberra Brick Show.
The event will be held at Thoroughbred Park on 26-27 October, featuring more than 300 tables of LEGO on display.
Canberra LEGO User Group (CLUG) president Jake Radloff said there were a few highlights at this year’s event.
“One which is fascinating is they (exhibitors) built wearable LEGO cosplay costumes to wear, the most recent being Wolverine and Deadpool,” he said.
“They’ve also done Mandalorian and lightsabers (from the Star Wars franchise).
“We also have people that bring very intricate buildings, which are quite fascinating.”
Mr Radloff said another feature of the show was the dual track train, utilising between 60 and 100 metres of track, that showcased a variety of trains from passenger and freight to novelty.
He said a scene from a Bluey episode would also make an appearance, and wearing a LEGO print or themed t-shirt is encouraged.
There will also be a VIP 18+ event on the Saturday, offering exclusive access to LEGO displays from 6pm with music entertainment, beer, wine, soft drinks and canapes, door prizes, LEGO-themed games and an after-dark LEGO session.
“We have the lights out – a lot of people are putting in lights or (white) glow-in-the-dark pieces,” Mr Radloff said.
“We did trial it last year but it’s a bit more formalised this year with more to see.”
Mr Radloff said LEGO appeals not just to children, but also to adults.
“We’re all quite busy and have very stressful lives,” he said.
“Building LEGO can often take that away; it can be cathartic.
“For me, it’s quite symmetrical and quite relaxing and the fact you can build with others, come together with friends and put a show together like this is great.”
He said LEGO could also be challenging for adults, with some people featuring curvatures in their
designs, while also giving them the opportunity to be creative and bend the rules.
The Canberra Brick Show will run on Saturday 26 October from 9am-5pm and Sunday 27 October from 10am-4pm. The adult session runs on the Saturday from 6-9pm.
Proceeds of the show will go to four Canberra specialist schools, the Marymead CatholicCare Autism Centre and Roundabout Canberra as either cash or LEGO set donations.
For more information on the event, visit canberra.brickshow.au.
- Lillian Altman
What’s on
Peter and the Starcatcher Winner of five Tony Awards™, this hilarious swashbuckling prequel to Peter Pan, originally developed by Disney Theatrical Group, flies into Canberra from 15 October. A spectacular masterpiece that will hook you from the moment you let your imagination take flight. A magical adventure the whole family will enjoy!
Canberra Theatre Centre, The Playhouse, 15 to 27 October; canberratheatrecentre.com. au/show/peter-and-thestarcatcher-2024/
Canberra Writers Festival
Join them for an array of events across various venues for a joyful collision of artmakers, big thinkers, and storytellers as they kick off the national literary calendar this spring.
Various venues, 23-27 Oct; canberrawritersfestival.com.au
Rockspeare Henry Sixth Part Two
This one kicks off with King Henry’s marriage to the penniless Margaret and the English court’s reaction. The nobility and Margaret herself plot against the King. As tensions between the houses of York and Lancaster build, the Duchess of York gathers supporters for her claim to the throne.
Mill Theatre at Dairy Road, until 26 October; milltheatreatdairyroad.com
Spookfeast
Canberra
A Halloween Food
Festival set to bring the ultimate spooky experience for families. Prepare to be immersed in a world of ghoulish delights, devilish rides and wicked games. Experience the Trick or Treat Lane, with gifts at each house. Ride the Giant Ferris Wheel and see the LED Robot Show on the main stage. Stop by the food trucks for eerie eats between your adventures.
Canberra Greyhound Racing Club, 25–27 Oct 5-10pm; spookfeast.com.au
Tempo Theatre presents Agatha Christie's Love from A Stranger Intrigue, mystery, murder. Don't miss it! On stage at Belconnen Community Theatre from 25 Oct to 2 Nov. Nine shows only. Tickets from canberraticketing.com.au or at the door.
Belconnen Community Theatre, 25 October to 2 November; tempotheatre.org.au
The Wharf Revue
After 25 years in the harsh and unforgiving spotlight of politics, The Wharf Revue is coming to an end. Known for its incisive and witty satire, and featuring a mix of sketches, musical numbers and hilarious parodies, this high energy revue of the year in politics is an absolute must-see.
Canberra Theatre Centre, 25 October to 2 November; canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Open Gardens
Canberra Fairview is a planned garden surrounding a 1927 Heritage Cottage. A range of trees, shrubs groundcovers, art pieces and water features are set in various garden rooms. The Heritage Cottage will also be open, providing direct views of focal points of the garden.
71 Euree Street Reid, 26 and 27 October,10am-4pm; Opengardenscanberra.org.au
showingNow
Smile 2 (MA15+)
Picking up where the last Smile left off, the smile curse is forwarded onto young drug dealer Lewis (Lukas Gage). In New York City, troubled pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is addicted to pain medication she must take after suffering a back injury from a deadly car crash. After sneaking out to get an illegal hook-up from Lewis, the dealer starts acting very strangely, passing the curse to Riley.
Starting life as a successful short movie, the original low budget Smile (2022) was a comparable success. Riffing off of Asian horror hits like Ringu/The Ring (1998) and Ju-On/ The Grudge (2000), the movie follows the viral spread of a supernatural curse. Upping the budget a smidge, the sequel takes a
Boorowa Rotary October Market
Food and drinks, local arts and crafts, gifts and homewares, live music and a barbecue.
Old Courthouse Park, Boorowa, 26 October, 9am-1pm
Diwali Mela Lantern Festival
Dust off the picnic set and start practising those Bollywood moves for this year’s festival at Waniassa Park, Queanbeyan, 26 October, 6-10pm, with a lantern parade running approximately 8:30pm.
For more, visit qprc.nsw.gov.au/ Events/Diwali-Mela-LanternFestival
Find more listings at canberradaily.com.au
To advertise here, contact Mohit on 0402 377 603 or mohit@newstimemedia.com.au
page from Perfect Blue (1997), itself influencing Black Swan (2011), by exploring the shadow self in the world of a pop star.
Riley has suffered a personal loss after a deadly car crash and in her attempt to relaunch her career, she falls prey to the dark side of being a celebrity. Over the course of the curse's incubation period, Riley suffers hallucinations, paranoia and self-doubt. Not being able to trust those around her, Riley's life collapses onto her, isolating her from the grander world around her. The relocation of the story and pop star rehearsals, music videos and performances increase the movie's production value which is a world away from the dark scenes of Riley's former life that still haunts her. Verdict: A stylish psychological horror that adds a new dimension to the franchise.
- Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net
Viewed at Dendy cinemas.
Canberran wins fashion award hundreds of kilometres from home
A Canberran has come out on top in the fashion field at a horse racing event in country Victoria.
Peter Keast won the men’s category in the Fashions on the Field at the Manangatang Cup earlier this month.
Manangatang is a small country town more than 700 kilometres south of Canberra.
Mr Keast wore a mix of clothing he purchased second-hand, in Canberra and on trips overseas.
“The jacket came from St Vinnie’s (op shop) a few years ago and the pants I bought second-hand as well, it’s a soft material,” he told CW.
He purchased the shoes in the
German town, Passau, the tie from Maasai (pastoralist) women in Tanzania and the shirt from Canberra shop Rodger Bartholomew.
Mr Keast said the “cheap hat” he wore was accompanied by a band made by his wife, Trish, to match his tie.
“I won $500 but that wasn’t the motivation,” Mr Keast said.
The 71-year-old said he wanted to show the younger men in his family that age doesn’t diminish a person.
“I’ve always dressed well but to put myself in front of a crowd like that was unnerving,’” Mr Keast said.
“It’s not the thing blokes do at
my age.”
It was the first time Mr Keast had attended the races.
Manangatang only has a population of several hundred people which swells to the thousands for the annual racing event.
The first horse racing meeting at Manangatang was held on Easter Monday, 9 April 1917, as a fundraiser for the construction of a local hall, according to the Manangatang Racing Club website.
More than 500 attended in that first year, where six races took place, and £100 was raised. An athletics carnival was held on the same day.
- Lillian Altman
Suited for persons who are retired or semi-retired looking for additional
Applicants need a driver’s licence and one tonne ute, van or equivalent.
Trish and Peter Keast at the Manangatang Races where Mr Keast won the men’s category in the Fashions on the Field.
Coping with boredom
CO N T R IBU
VIVIENNE LEWIS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AT UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA
Feeling bored is a common emotion that arises when we are not interested or engaged in an activity. It’s seen as a negative experience and most of us have felt it. An example is when you are in a work meeting or in class and are not interested in listening and are getting frustrated and restless with the content or delivery.
Although boredom is normal, for some, this feeling can have negative consequences. For instance, it can
make it hard to concentrate when we need to pay attention, stop us learning and make us feel angry. This, in turn, can a ect our interactions with others and our behaviour such as expressing our boredom in a way that gets us into trouble. Think for example, where a child may get told o for not paying attention or where we might express anger and irritability verbally.
Another problem with boredom is that people feel unmotivated and become unproductive. We can then engage in meaningless and mindless activities. Boredom can, for some people, increase their likelihood of being disruptive. When we feel bored, we crave stimulation, and some people may seek it in ways that lead to trouble, such as engaging in risky behaviours like substance use or making impulsive decisions in an attempt to find
ONE STOP SHOP
something novel and exciting. It’s not possible to always be entertained and never be bored but it’s important that we have ways to cope with it when it happens and also minimise its occurrence. Here are some strategies:
Do mentally stimulating activities at work and play. Finding what we are interested in and passionate about is important to make our lives meaningful and interesting. It might be a hobby, a type of work, a research interest or a sport.
Do activities that you enjoy and are mentally stimulating regularly. Find things you find please in and can access for di erent amounts of time. For example, what can you do if you only have a few minutes if you don’t have hours to do something?
Know what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you’re not good at sitting still for long periods, have regular breaks and move your body
health & wellbeing
regularly. Try not to expect others to do this either, such as children.
Set time limits for activities with rewards for completion. This helps motivate us to continue with tasks we don’t enjoy such as household chores.
Do regular, mentally stimulating things but also allow downtime. We have to teach our brains to cope with relaxation and lack of stimulation so our brains can revitalise and replenish. Resting is actually productive.
Moving our body regularly can also help with boredom as it releases endorphins that lift our mood and release the frustration we can feel when we are bored.
Socially engage with people whose company you enjoy. Have fun with your friends or engage in an interesting debate.
As adults, we often have to help children explore and find new ways to express themselves, so they don’t get bored also.
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WIN!
$400 Cricut Joy pack
Cricut Joy is a smart cutting machine that will let you make anythingfrom labels to custom tees, personalised mugs, bespoke cards and more! Get your spring cleaning and organising sorted with the help of a Cricut Joy and materials pack to make spice labels, light and dark laundry basket signs and containers for under the sink! Simply choose a ready-to-make project or design it from scratch in the Cricut Design Space app, load your material, let Cricut Joy cut or draw, and assemble!
One lucky reader will win the Cricut Joy and materials prize pack valued at $400.
Products available at Harvey Norman, Officeworks, Spotlight, and BIG W.
Enter to win!
To enter, scan the QR code or visit canberradaily.com.au and click on the ‘Entertainment’ tab to ‘Competitions’, find the competition you wish to enter and follow the entry instructions. Entries close 9am Friday 1 November 2024 and winners drawn same day. One entry per person per giveaway. Entrants must be aged 18+.
A Timeless Sanctuary
The property boasts a peaceful and tranquil retreat, with the oversized master bedroom and parents’ retreat providing a perfect escape from the rest of the home. Both rooms are completely secluded, ensuring privacy and quiet. The sun-kissed lounge room, featuring an original fireplace, is a cosy space to relax, particularly during winter, where you can enjoy a warm co ee while soaking up the sunlight.
Located in Ainslie, this property is set in one of Canberra’s most desirable inner north suburbs. Ainslie o ers a nostalgic charm, with tree-lined streets and beautifully preserved homes that echo classic architectural styles. Residents are treated to the serenity of nearby Mount Ainslie walking trails, while still being just
a short drive from the bustling City Centre.
This home is more than just a place to live; it’s a sanctuary filled with history, charm, and character. The home’s design perfectly balances old-world elegance with modern comfort. Restored windows flood the spacious rooms with natural light, while intricate picture railings and an original brick fireplace add to the home’s timeless appeal. Charming light fittings and railed ceilings further enhance its character, making it a beautiful blend of vintage charm and modern livability.
Designed with family in mind, the home o ers excellent space separation, allowing both parents and children to enjoy their own areas. The classic 1920s cottage-style design makes it
a unique and attractive residence, perfect for those who appreciate the history and elegance of older homes.
4 2 1
Auction On site, Sat 16 Nov, 11:30am
View Sat 26 Oct, 1:40pm-2:10pm Sun 27 Oct, 1:40pm-2:10pm Wed 30 Oct, 5:30pm-6pm
Agent Michael Potter
Mob 0413 830 598
Michael Potter Real Estate
Ainslie 4 Piper St
14 Temple Terrace, Denman Prospect $2,165,000 Belle Property
Available now, this modern light 2-bedroom home which includes:
• Generous open plan living space opening onto balcony
• Modern kitchen with granite benchtops, user friendly appliances and dishwasher
• Large master bedroom with plenty of built-in storage and accessible ensuite
• Reverse cycle air-conditioning and heating for year-round comfort
• Plenty of storage
• Internal access to garage
• Smart metering and community solar power to reduce your energy footprint, and cost of living
• Emergency buttons connected to on site staff 24 hours a day
note, the images are of a
Our residents love calling Bellerive Village home – and you will too.
Our relaxed, contemporary retirement village makes it easy for you to make the most of every day. Ditch the mower and enjoy the social community, neighbours you know, and your own home without the time-consuming maintenance. We’ll even change the lightbulbs.
For your day-to-day needs, Bellerive’s conveniently located close to the Canberra Hospital and the heart of Woden, home to Westfield, the bus interchange and many of Canberra’s premier clubs.
Three bedroom home Available Now $855,000
At Marigal Gardens, you’re not just moving into a home without the time-consuming maintenance where we’ll even change the lightbulbs —you’re joining a welcoming community where every day is a new opportunity.
Enjoy exclusive facilities like Bennet Lodge and the soonto-open Wellness Centre with an indoor pool. With a full calendar of activities, social events, and interest groups, there’s always something to enjoy with friends and neighbours.
Experience the ideal balance of privacy and connection, close to local shops, parks, and medical facilities.
Call Michaela Howard on 1300 884 784 to book a tour now 21 Snodgrass Cres, Kambah ACT 2902 www.marigalgardens.com.au
Ready to move in now is this spacious low maintenance home with:
• Open plan kitchen, living and dining opening onto the balcony
• Spacious kitchen with abundant storage and user-friendly appliances
• Master bedroom with ensuite
• Accessible main bathroom
• Double glazed windows
• Reverse cycle air-conditioning for year-round comfort
• Internal laundry
• Security video intercom
• Secure basement parking with storage
• Emergency call system supported by staff 24 hours a day
• Community solar power to offset electricity charges
www.luton.com.au
AINSLIE 4 Piper
Street
AUCTION Sat 16/11/2024, 11.30am onsite
VIEWING Sat 26/10/2024, 1.40-2.10pm Sun 27/10/2024, 1.40-2.10pm Wed 30/10/2024, 5.30-6pm
CONTACT Michael Potter 0413 830 598
Alisa Lawrence 0404 066 119 4
Number 4 Piper Street is not just an enticing family residence, it’s a sanctuary filled with history, charm and a storied past. A world of nostalgia where original charm meets modern comfort. Showcasing stunning, old-style restored windows, intricate picture railings, a classic old brick fireplace, yesteryear style light fittings and curtains.
It’s a home designed with family dynamics in mind. Offering excellent segregation ensuring both parents and children can enjoy their own space. EER 0
17 Meehan Street
15 Therry Street
SPECTACULAR VIEWS
A location like no other, this impressive residence is perched at the top of town with magnificent views over the Yass River and beyond.
A craftsman-built, one-owner property situated on approximately 4,000 sqm of land, it includes large open-plan living and family areas, a spacious granite kitchen with butler’s pantry, 5 bedrooms plus a study, 2 ensuites plus a family bathroom, 3 lockup garages, a stunning outdoor entertaining terrace, solar power, town services, and, of course, views to die for.
Inspections are a must.
Sale $1,595,000
View Sat 26 Oct and Sat 2 Nov from 1–1:45pm.
Contact Deb Johnson 0427 394 481 deb@yassfirstnational.com.au
MID CENTURY CONTEMPORY
Flooded with natural light, this fabulous contemporary split-level, mid-century design is also a one-owner property, built in the 1970s and immaculately presented, carrying through the era it was built in.
Nestled in a wonderful shaded garden, this home is situated in a quiet area on a large private block of over 1,100 sqm, with distant countryside views.
It includes 4 bedrooms, a master with ensuite, a spacious study/office hub, formal lounge and dining areas, and a supersized family room with sliding doors leading to the terrace and garden. Keen vendors, excellent value.
Sale $789,000
View Sat 26 Oct and Sat 2 Nov from 12–12:45pm
Contact Deb Johnson 0427 394 481 deb@yassfirstnational.com.au
WIN! British Film Festival tickets
The 2024 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival will be returned to cinemas around Australia from 6 November to 8 December. With a line-up of films fresh from international film festivals, and showcasing the best of British talent, both behind and in front of the camera, this year’s slate includes a celebrated collection of tender dramas, action-packed thrillers, comedies, documentaries, and classic retrospectives.
CW has five double passes to the British Film Festival to give away.
Enter to win!
To enter, scan the QR code or visit canberradaily.com.au and click on the ‘Entertainment’ tab to ‘Competitions’, find the competition you wish to enter and follow the entry instructions. Entries close 9am Friday 1 November 2024 and winners drawn same day. One entry per person per giveaway. Entrants must be aged 18+.
MOVE-IN READY - FAMILY HOME
Three spacious bedrooms, two with built-in-robes
16 panel solar system
Timber kitchen with ample bench and storage space
Ducted air-conditioning, gas heating and ceiling fans for year round comfort
Single car garage, plus workshop Approx 600m* from the Boorowa CBD
Featuring an updated bathroom and fresh paint throughout, you will have plenty of time to relax a nd enjoy the spacious living areas in this perfectly maintained and presented property.
Valley Of Dreams!
$620,000
SELLING UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM ANDRE LAKOMY OF AL RESTRUCTURING - ACTING AS RECEIVER
The property has a history going back to the mid-1800s when the Corn Trail was used to transport goods from the coast to Braidwood and back. The property itself has 341 ha with approximately half being natural bush and the balance cleared agricultural river flats with the potential to open more land for agricultural use. The property can run up to 250 beef cattle in a good season, with good feed and permanent water available in the clear flowing creeks at the head of the Buckenbowra river. The comfortable farmhouse was constructed in 1949 using material from the property. The home features high ceilings, a country kitchen, wood fire plus R/C air conditioning in the living space, the bedrooms and bathroom are on a separate wing linked by a Queenslander style verandah. The water supply is by header tank and electric hot water storage run by the solar system. The batteries and the diesel backup generator are in a storage shed away from the house. The property consists of 15 lots on one title all zoned RU1 agricultural use.
31st October at 1pm
Hooker Malua Bay auction room View By Appointment only Agent Rob Routledge 0414 235 976 property.ljhooker.com.au/129gf8f
28 Queen Street, Boorowa NSW
estate
Canberra’s Kakadu up for sale
For the first time in 40 years, Ginninderra Falls – Canberra’s Kakadu – is up for sale and has attracted interest from commercial buyers as far away as Canada and Singapore.
Landowners John and Anna Hyles have decided to sell the Falls, which sit just outside the NSW/ACT border on 55.73 hectares, because it no longer fits in with their core business (agriculture/sand and gravel) and also because of strong demand for public access to the falls.
The rare natural wonder is listed with Ray White Rural Canberra/Yass and the property’s zoning allows for residential, as well as resort, retail and tourism. The waterfall itself has environmental protection zoning for its high biodiversity value.
Ray White agent George Southwell said the rare property received a dozen inquiries since the listing went live yesterday, including significant international interest.
“Most of the inquiry is looking at the tourism aspect of it because of the (SP1) zoning,” Mr Southwell said. “It’s a very public asset and it would be nice to see it opened up again. The Australian commercial market is quite attractive at the moment, obviously because we’re very stable politically, from an investment point of view it’s probably the last frontier for development.”
Ginninderra Falls closed to the public 20 years ago due to public liability and at that time, it attracted about 25,000 visitors annually.
Ginninderra Falls is NSW’s largest privately-held permanent waterfall and the tourist attraction once sat alongside the Australian War Memorial as top attraction for the ACT.
In recent years, the Hyles family has received “droves” of residents from nearby Ginninderry development, trying to gain access to the Falls.
To locals, Ginninderra Falls is considered a part of West Belconnen and it is located just 25
minutes from Parliament House.
Owners John and Anna Hyles said: “This is one of the most beautiful properties in Australia. We have had the privilege of stewarding Ginninderra Falls for over 40 years, it’s now time for new owners to unlock the potential of this site as a world-class attraction, or simply enjoy as we have for so many years.
“The sale of Ginninderra Falls is an opportunity of a lifetime to shape the future of an Australian natural wonder.”
Expressions of interest close 28 November. - Georgia Curry
