160428 citynews

SONYA FLADUN / A GOOD READ OVER COFFEE BEATS CLICKBAIT EVERY TIME APRIL 28, 2016

Of, by and for… the corporates MICHAEL MOORE PS scrambles ahead of starter’s gun

ROBERT MACKLIN Using unity to balance scales

DEAN HALL

Don’t be a gluten for punishment

CLARE WOLSKI Get a workout from weeds!

CEDRIC BRYANT

DRIVEN TO WIN

Mirko Milic and the passion to be more than just a car dealer

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news / volunteers wanted

Growing role of hospital’s helping hands The Canberra Region Cancer Centre treats cancer and blood disorder patients.

KATE MEIKLE finds that the 50-strong volunteering team is at the heart of its operations.

ALEX Worrell and Maddy Graham are university students studying medicine and nursing. They’re also two of the 50 volunteers helping out at Canberra Region Cancer Centre.

“We see a lot of mentoring within the volunteer base, they nurture and teach each other and it works both ways with the younger and older volunteers,” says Volunteers co-ordinator Caroline McIntyre.

The nature of cancer and blood disorders’ treatment is that the volunteers see the same patients on a regular basis. They help build up the patients’ support network and offer support.

They say they receive positive feedback from patients and carers and are thanked so many times, the volunteers feel that they have contributed, she says.

The five-level centre, which opened at Canberra Hospital in 2014, brings together cancer treatment and related services in one purpose-built facility. Patients undergo treatment, day admissions and longer stays in the inpatient ward.

Caroline says the new facility created room for a volunteering program and expansion of their duties.

What started originally as a group of four volunteers serving patients their refreshments and lunches to relieve the nursing staff of this

index

task, has now become a dedicated team of 50 with wide-ranging duties and responsibilities.

“The role of volunteers has evolved to be

much greater,” says Caroline.

From greeting and directing people, to helping the busy clinics run smoothly, explaining

Volunteer positions are available at the Canberra Region Cancer Centre. For more information contact Caroline McIntyre on caroline.mcintyre@act.gov.au or call 6174 8429.

Since 1993: Volume 22, Number 14 22-25 16 24 25 26 27 8 3-14 11 27 15

Cover: Canberra Toyota’s Mirko Milic.

Story Page 13. Photo

by Andrew Finch.

Well written, well read

Ph 6262 9100 Fax 6262 9111 GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Ian Meikle, Level 1, 143 London Circuit, Canberra.

CEO: Greg Jones, 0419 418196, greg@citynews.com.au Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au Journalists: Kate Meikle, kate@citynews.com.au; Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764, helen@citynews.com.au Photographer: Andrew Finch Advertising manager: Greg Jones, 0419 418196 Senior advertising account executive: David Cusack, 0435 380656 Advertising account executives: Kathy Leigh, 0400 293991; Liam Jones, 0400 092095 Sydney advertising sales: Ad Sales Connect, 02 9420 1777 Production manager / graphic design: Janet Ewen Graphic designer: Paulette Leo Proof reader: Glenda Anderson Accounts manager: Bethany Freeman-Chandler accounts@citynews.com.au

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Arts & Entertainment Canberra Confidential Cinema Dining Garden Horoscopes Letter News Politics Puzzles Socials

Volunteers co-ordinator Caroline McIntyre, left, with volunteers Maddy Graham, Alex Worrell, Glenda Anderson and patient Phillip Weatherall.

Photo by Andrew Finch

the system, helping to wash patients’ hair, giving hand and foot massages, to spending time with patients and their families needing extra support, a walk or a chat, the purple-shirted volunteers play an integral role in the operation of the centre.

“The role gives volunteers direct contact with the patients and staff,” says Caroline.

“Our volunteers range from university students to a lovely cohort of retired people, to mums with young children at school,” she says.

One initiative the volunteers spearheaded is the creation of an information lounge, offering an open space for patients to access a range of materials when they want it and use the computer to look up information on their condition or treatment.

Caroline explains that the space was funded by the Dry July charity and the volunteers restock the materials.

Caroline beams with pride when she talks about her dedicated volunteers.

“This program is an example of grassroots volunteering, helping people directly and making a difference,” she says.

“The staff are so supportive of the program and we are so touched to see how engaged the staff are. We all enjoy working side by side.”

“All of us are making the patient’s experience of the centre the best it can be.”

CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 3

seven days

Public servants scramble to stay ahead of the gun WHEN PM Malcolm Turnbull raised the starter’s gun for the Federal election this past week, Canberrans reacted like none other – our public servants were suddenly working overtime to complete projects before he actually fires it.

That’s when he advises the Governor-General to call the double dissolution and “caretaker mode” decrees that no further big decisions can be made and announced.

Departmental secretaries began tearing their hair knowing that more than 80 per cent of their 150,000-strong workforce were still resisting the sweeping workplace changes concocted by Abbott’s Employment Minister Eric Abetz soon after the 2013 election. And it’s part of the reason Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison began popping up everywhere with some new “reform”.

BUT only part. Despite his protestations, Morrison convinced no one when he said the $127 million boost to ASIC’s budget to oversee the banks had nothing to do with Labor’s proposed Royal Commission. And it certainly didn’t help his cause when a banking industry spokesman happily agreed to foot the bill.

TURNBULL’S announcement of $230 million to fight cybercrime was well received, but passed over the heads of most Australians.

Departmental secretaries began tearing their hair knowing that more than 80 per cent of their 150,000-strong workforce were still resisting the sweeping workplace changes concocted by Abbott’s Employment Minister.

“The real impact of cybercrime could be around $17 billion a year,” he said. But so many big figures get tossed around at election time they barely register. Unlike a mere $5000 for chartering a helicopter, for instance.

WHEN Saudi Arabian diplomats refused to pay $140,000 in ACT traffic fines that really hit home. And don’t even mention the Azerbaijanis who imported 2000 duty free litres of beer, 1100 litres of wine, 520 litres of

ROBERT MACKLIN

spirits and 40,000 cigarettes. Who knew Azerbaijan even had an embassy? Oh well, they have to fill the empty hours somehow.

THE Americans, by contrast, are busy as bees explaining the rise of Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump. Ambassador John Berry pleaded with an ANU audience: “Don’t judge American politics too harshly, because voters won’t start to engage until September.” Nice try, John. At last count, Trump had already scored 8,781,907 votes in the primaries!

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Economics this week that the ACT’s “economic pulse has been increasingly looking healthier”. But before the Barr government takes too much credit, they reckon we “dodged bullets” and “that may not be good enough if it turns out there are more bullets to dodge”. So, perhaps we should avoid any big, injudicious spends like, say, a Gungahlin tram?

SPEAKING of poor judgements, the Nine Network’s attempted child-snatching imbroglio in Lebanon saw the release of the “60 Minutes” team after the reported payment of a king’s ransom to the father who cleared out with them in the first place. No one much cares about the jailed operatives who bungled the caper, but surely Nine can’t simply walk away from them.

GREAT news that we’ll get our first live Test match at Manuka Oval in the 2018-19 season. Our Sri Lankan opponents should provide bright cricket and good competition for the big crowds expected. So what better justification for a redevelopment plan for the oval and its shabby surrounds. Now, if only some big, rich footy club would come to the party. Oh, wait a minute… robert@robertmacklin.com

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VOTING RULES HAVE CHANGED?

Make your vote count this federal election.

At this year’s federal election, the way you vote for the Senate has changed and it’s important that you understand how to vote correctly.

If you choose to vote below the line, you must number at least 12 boxes, from 1 to 12, for individual candidates in the order of your choice.

On the large white Senate ballot paper, you can choose to vote either above or below the line.

Voting for the House of Representatives has not changed.

On the green ballot paper, you must number every box, starting with the number ‘1’ for your first choice, ‘2’ for your second choice and so on until you have numbered every box.

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Authorised by the Electoral Commissioner, 50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT. CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 5

news

healthy eating

Don’t be a gluten for punishment A gluten-free label doesn’t mean that a product is a healthy option. Many gluten-free products contain large amounts of sugars and fat.

Vanessa Lovell... “It’s surprisingly not awkward, painting people’s boobs.”

Photo by Andrew Finch.

Nessa’s strokes of fairy magic

By Kathryn Vukovljak

THERE aren’t many downsides to being an adult fairy, says children’s entertainer and body painter Vanessa Lovell, more widely known as Nessa the Fairy.

“Basically my dreams have come true,” she says. “I get to dress up in sparkly wings, have fun and be creative, and spend my weekends laughing and playing with kids. Probably the most wonderful thing about being a fairy is that it always brings a smile.

“You get kids who doubt you’re real and tell you you’re a fake but mostly they’re amazing.”

Mum-of-three Nessa says her career as a fairy started in 2006, when her daughter was seven and fairy-obsessed.

“She had this book called ‘The Secret Fairy Party’, and she said to me one day, ‘I wish I could have a secret fairy party’.

“I tried to find a fairy entertainer for her birthday but I couldn’t, so I decided to dress up as a fairy myself and do a few party games. She loved it, and a few of the parents there said ‘oh, we should hire you’. It went from there.”

Nessa says she started her business Magical Realms in 2007 and began gradually expanding her skillset and employing other fairies.

“I got inspiration from The Fairy Forum online, and ended up buying puppets and acting out stories, and doing glitter tattoos,” she says.

“I’ve always enjoyed making art but didn’t think I had any natural talent in that area. I thought I’d give face-painting a try and it was a lot harder than it looks.”

Self-taught face-painting led to pregnant-belly and body painting, she says, and each brings its own challenges.

“With bellies, I like to personalise the design to the couple, and bring in elements of their lives together and create something meaningful – although sometimes they can’t think of anything they particularly want,” she says.

“But belly painting is a really nice way to remember being pregnant; and you have the photos which you can keep forever even though the paint washes off.

“It’s wonderful to stand back and go: ‘That’s great, I’m pleased with that’, and I also like that it’s gone once it’s done.”

Nessa says that artists’ showcase RAW contacted her about a body painting showcase, in which she painted three

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models – a skeleton, an elf queen and a rainbow top, plus made the accessories.

“The nice thing with RAW was that I felt I could call myself an artist after doing that, because they said I was one,” she says.

“With body painting it’s been mostly faces and torsos for me so far. It’s surprisingly not awkward, painting people’s boobs.”

Adult face painting at parties is popular now, Nessa says, though they are usually more likely to choose a smaller eye design than a full face.

“I really love working with kids though, they’re gorgeous and so different from adults,” she says.

“I’ve met so many beautiful kids over the years, and the ones that really crawl inside my heart and take up residence are the ones that are ill or having a hard time of it for some reason. They have so much grace and such a great attitude even when facing the constantly invasive procedures, the pain and discomfort, and the possibility of an early passing.

“Kids don’t have the same judgements that we do and they’re very welcoming and friendly.

“I love it – I get to dress up and be a fairy for a living.”

Visit magicalrealms.biz

Session 1 10:00 am 10:15 am 10:30 am 11:30 am

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contain fermentable sugars known as fructans. These sugars are known to cause bloating, abdominal cramping and pain, diarrhoea and excessive wind in some individuals. So it may not be the gluten that your body is reacting to, it may be the fructans.

Individuals with a non-coeliac gluten sensitivity or a fructan intolerance can consume some gluten, but high levels will cause symptoms. For people with coeliac disease, even exposures to minute amounts of gluten (as small as a crumb or granule of flour) can cause an immune overreaction. That’s why it is so important for cafés and restaurants to prepare their gluten-free products separately to any gluten-containing foods.

Should you go gluten free? A gluten-free label doesn’t mean that a product is a healthy option.

Many gluten-free products contain large amounts of sugars and fat, the same as their gluten-containing counterparts. Unless diagnosed with coeliac disease, there’s no urgent need to remove gluten from your diet.

However, if you experience symptoms as a result of eating gluten, it is important to see your GP. If coeliac disease has been ruled out, consider speaking to an accredited practising dietitian, who can help you to determine whether the cause of your symptoms is gluten or other food chemicals.

Clare Wolski is a practising dietitian at The Healthy Eating Hub, call 6174 4663.

CLARE WOLSKI

Session 2

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6 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

GLUTEN has been in the spotlight a lot over the last decade, which is helpful for some but very confusing for others.

Gluten is the protein found in several grains; wheat, barley, rye and spelt. It’s what gives dough its elasticity and allows bread to keep its shape after it rises during baking.

Interestingly, oats don’t contain gluten. They do contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to gluten.

So why is gluten such a big deal?

The simple answer to that is coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition in which the immune system overreacts to the presence of gluten.

This overreaction causes damage, particularly to an individual’s gastrointestinal tract, which can cause reduced nutrient absorption, inflammation and an increased risk of bowel cancer.

For people with coeliac disease, the increased awareness of gluten and rise of gluten-free products has provided a greater variety and choice.

However, there are some challenges for people with coeliac disease, particularly when their condition is confused with gluten “intolerance”.

Many people without coeliac disease report a range of symptoms when consuming gluten. Commonly, bloating, abdominal cramping and pain, diarrhoea, excessive wind, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.

There is evidence to suggest some individuals may have a non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. Researchers remain unsure of the physiological mechanism of this condition.

There is evidence that other components of gluten-containing foods may contribute to theses symptoms of intolerance. Wheat, barley and rye all

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news

Vikings take on ‘wasters’ THE Vikings club group has launched “Don’t Waste Tomorrow”, a campaign to reduce alcohol-related harm and antisocial behaviour in its venues.

Actsmart Business Energy and Water program

A recent ACT government white paper revealed the number of alcohol-related emergency presentations had jumped 32 per cent between 2009-10 and 2012-13.

“The aim is to ensure an enjoyable experience in our clubs, whether choosing to have a drink or not,” says CEO Anthony Hill.

“We understand our role is ongoing in assisting individuals to make socially responsible decisions when it comes to drinking and we are extremely proud to be part of the ongoing solution.”

The “Don’t Waste Tomorrow” campaign concentrates on good times minus the negative, next-day consequences with simple messages such as: • Standard drinks per beverage type.

• Tracking alcohol consumption.

• A lcohol consumption and the body.

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• Free water at the bar.

• Having something to eat.

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CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 7

opinion / unions

Beautiful Gifting

Using unity to balance scales

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AN interesting phenomenon has emerged amongst conservative politicians and commentators.

The thinkers who engineered and promoted the three-word slogan have now set their sights on changing the meaning of five simple, yet significant, letters: CFMEU. As the secretary of the ACT branch of the CFMEU, those five letters hold a significant meaning for me. The CFMEU is not the obscure name of a shelf company bought in the Cayman Islands to dodge paying taxes in Australia. The CFMEU is over a hundred thousand working people.

When the big business lobby group, the Master Builders Association says: “The CFMEU are driving costs up” that’s a phrase cleverly designed to make you forget the true meaning of CFMEU. What they really mean is that the people on the ground, the people with calloused hands and dirt in their boots, are demanding a fair go.

These are the people who live in your world. They pay their fair share of tax and send their kids to school with yours.

I have worked on the ground in construction. I have watched my colleagues lie bleeding on the concrete and dust as the result of a workplace accident.

Construction workers all know someone who has left their family in the morning, and never returned home.

It’s a dangerous, hard industry where highlypaid multinational corporate executives heap pressure on to individual workers through subcontracting arrangements. These arrangements are designed to minimise risk for the building

I have worked on the ground in construction. I have watched my colleagues lie bleeding on the concrete and dust as the result of a workplace accident. executives, leaving everyday workers and subbies with only one way to balance the scales: unite.

Because of the falsehoods of the multinational construction lobby groups, Australia now faces an early election. In announcing his recall of both houses of Parliament on April 18, the Prime Minister said the restoration of the “ABCC is critical to the Coalition’s plan for jobs, growth, productivity and prosperity”. In doing so, Mr Turnbull pushed the Coalition past empty, meaningless sloganism, and straight into falsehood.

The Coalition’s plan for jobs is to drive up casualisation, injuries and deaths, and to drive down apprenticeships and the workforce participation of older workers.

The Coalition’s plan for growth and prosperity is to rely on thoroughly discredited economic modelling while turning a blind eye to sham contracting and rorting that costs the government alone around $487 million in unpaid taxes and charges.

The Coalition and their big business backers say the ABCC will be good for the economy, and that John Howard’s original Building Commission boosted productivity. That’s wrong, according to the Government’s own Productivity Commission.

The Coalition’s plan for construction jobs is to use a Building Code that will impose new rules for government

02 6297 3760 • 02 6297 1570

Dean Hall is the secretary of the ACT branch of the CFMEU

DEAN HALL

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tender. These rules use the government’s buying power to discourage construction companies from negotiating in good faith with their workforces.

The enormous regulation goes into even small things like prohibiting union stickers on hardhats, forbidding inclusion of apprenticeships, making it harder to employ older workers and local workers, and bans on overtime clauses.

They’ll even have the gall to say it’s good for safety. Last time the ABCC existed, with all its coercive muscle, deaths in the construction industry almost doubled (“Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities, Safe Work Australia 2013”, July 2014). That’s what happens when a government body with powers as strong as a Royal Commission is created as a weapon against a union that stands up for workers.

Is this really the cornerstone of Malcolm Turnbull’s vision for the future?

The jaw-dropping hypocrisy of unions

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UNIONSACT myopically complains about political donations to conservative parties (“Donations trail raises questions”, Alex White, CN, April 21) while totally ignoring its own “glasshouse” arrangements.

The hypocrisy is jaw dropping.

In the ACT, the CFMEU, through its poker machines, foundations and other sources, accounts for about 90 per cent of all Labor Party donations.

In return the union gets a secret part in deciding ACT government tenders. An MoU grants the union a formal role “contributing to the decision making process not only in appearance but in fact”. It also gives the union a formal role in deciding pre-qualification as well as ensuring the union is secretly privy to all tender details

including company finances.

All of this despite the fact that the union has direct commercial interests in the outcome of the tender process.

This happens only in the ACT. Here’s how the money-go-round works: union backroom deals, empowered by the MoU, hyper-inflate the cost of construction ($1000 a week above the award on the Majura Parkway, for example) and taxpayers pay.

The union takes a huge cut through its enterprise agreements ($1.2m in 2013-2014), along with extra “memberships” and “donations”. The union then pays the Labor Party ($1,086,854 from the Canberra Labor Club and CFMEU in 2011-12)

and the cycle continues.

All political donations are worthy of scrutiny.

Many stem from a genuine desire, on all sides of politics, to participate in the political process. Most donors, again on all sides, expect nothing further in return than a place in the policy conversation.

It’s not the contribution that’s the real issue. It’s what it pays for.

Where the quid pro quo extends to fundamental power sharing and a secret yet formal role in deciding how tax dollars are spent, serious questions are raised.

Kirk Coningham, executive director, Master Builders Association of the ACT

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news / Med Revue

briefly

Is there an actor in the house?

Salvos call for helpers

By arts editor Helen Musa

WE all know that medical students are accustomed to pacing the hospital corridors late at night, but it may come as a surprise to find many are equally adept at treading the boards.

This will be obvious in the latest edition of the ANU Med Revue, “Murder, She Prescribed”, a title that almost eclipses a former favourite, “The Phantom of the Operating Theatre”.

It’s for a good cause. All proceeds of this, the tenth revue, go to Companion House, assisting survivors of torture and trauma. Last year’s show, “Into the Wards” raised $9000.

Written in the style of film noir by a team of students, it’s based on a game of “Cluedo”.

A struggling detective is approached by the femme fatale to investigate the death of her insufferable diabetic husband Nigel.

For fourth and final-year ANU med student Nicole Casalis, the combination of theatrical and medical talent is nothing new.

Graduating from a musical theatre diploma course at NIDA in 2008, she took out a psychology degree at Sydney University and then in a Damascus Road moment, realised she wanted to be a doctor.

She’s not the only talented one. There are seven main leads this year, she explains, including people from every year group.

“It always amazes me the extra talents that come out of the woodwork beyond the stand-

ard nerdy med student,” she adds.

Casalis is a member of the 10-strong scriptwriting committee. Scriptwriting committee? Does that mean the script will be like a camel? Certainly not, she says, explaining the methodology where the team gets together, agrees on a plot, breaks it down into scenes, all the while maintaining consistency in character.

For the ANU Med Revue, unlike most, normally has a single story, not just a string of skits. All this fastidiousness nearly ruined their summer holidays (Casalis was in Cape Town) when the writers were enjoying medical electives and holidays across the globe.

Luckily there was Skype.

The production is an ambitious affair with a full chorus and a snazzy 15-piece band, and will be the last hurrah for several of the fourth-year med students, who’ll be patrolling the wards before long. Along with Casalis, there’s Madeleine Howard, sharing the role of vocal director with her, Sam Moore as the detective and Luis Paxton, director of the band.

She gets to play a character, not the femme fatale but equally enjoyable, a nerdy lab scientist. For a singing/dancing/acting medico, that should be a piece of cake.

And whodunit? The surgeon with a scalpel or the junkie anaesthetist with an overdose?

No spoilers, you’ll just have to be there to find out.

ANU Med Revue, ANU Arts Centre, May 5-7.

Bookings to anumss.org/med-revue-2016

THE Salvos are looking for volunteers to help with its annual Red Shield charity doorknock on the weekend of May 28-29. The commitment is a few hours collecting in a designated area or looking after a collection bucket at a busy spot such as a shopping centre.

Register at salvos.org.au

Good food for kids PARENTS are invited to attend Good Sports Junior’s free public forum about nutrition for growing children. The forum will provide ideas for healthy meals, drinks and snacks. A Brumbies player will also talk about his experience of good nutrition for sporting performance. Every participant will receive a resource kit and light refreshments will be provided.

At the Riverside Clubhouse, 16 Carinya Street, Queanbeyan, 6.15pm-7.45pm, Wednesday, May 4. Register at nutrition-forkids.eventbrite.com.au

Bikes on blanket run

Fourth and final-year ANU med student Nicole Casalis… “It always amazes me the extra talents that come out of the woodwork beyond the standard nerdy med student”.

THE annual Canberra motorcycle blanket run will be held on Saturday, May 14, in support of the Salvation Army. Organised by the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT, which is asking participants to bring new, warm blankets, cash, nonperishable foods and unwanted motorcycle jackets. The ride starts from Old Parliament House at 10am (with breakfast and coffee available from 8.30am) and culminates in a presentation of goods and cash back at Old Parliament House. More information at mraact.org.au, email president@mraact.org.au or call 0448 336111.

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CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 9

news

King Lear loses his way

By Helen Musa

WE’RE about to experience a little bit of Viennese-Australian artist Justus Neumann’s unorthodox magic when he appears at The Street Theatre in the prizewinning “Alzheimer Symphony”.

It’s a part of “Segue” (May 5-15), a festival exploring the interplay between Australia and Europe that also includes “Swing”, a play from Ireland’s Fishamble: The New Play Company, flamenco dance, jazz and world music in “Bandaluzia” and “stCloud”, an eight-day drawing performance by Gosia Wlodarczak.

I catch up with Neumann as he’s about to take a ferry to Bruny Island on the south-east coast of Tasmania, where he lives. A leading member of the Vienna Schauspielhaus Ensemble in the ‘70s and ‘80s, he migrated to Australia in 1987, and settled on Bruny.

Neumann divides his time between Tasmania, Europe and Victoria. His School of Fantasy, in which he teaches actors, clowns, children, teachers, parents and old and sick people how to regain and discover their own creativity, is world-famous.

“Alzheimer Symphony” is the result of a tight collaboration between Neumann and long-time director and co-scriptwriter, Hans Peter Horner. Backed with a musical score by Julius Schwing, the play affirms his belief in the capacity of all people to achieve “creativity and confidence”. It’s already won three prizes in Tasmania’s “Errol” (Flynn) Awards.

Audiences can expect to see Neumann in a tour-de-force performance as an ageing actor

Justus Neumann in “Alzheimer Symphony”… affirming his belief in the capacity of all people to achieve “creativity and confidence”. trying to play King Lear – one of the actor’s own great roles – while slipping into dementia or, as some would say, “losing his marbles”.

It’s that “losing your marbles” kind of thinking that has Neumann on the warpath. For when he and Horner researched the condition, they discovered that amid the fear and the shame, people experiencing dementia can escape into a more beautiful, less-stressful world.

His character has moments of joy and humour as his “inner child” is released. The Street, joining with Alzheimer’s Australia (national and ACT), will take up this question in Q&As. Neumann is not about to deceive audiences, though, and says that if you’re thinking of bringing a friend with dementia it’s best to talk to them and give them the choice.

“Alzheimer Symphony”, The Street Theatre, May 5-8, bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

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politics / corporate donations

grumpy

Of, by and for... the corporates

Where the sun doesn’t shine

THE concept of “government of the people, by the people and for the people” was extolled by Abraham Lincoln, after the American Civil War battle of Gettysburg.

It was in memory of the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the birth of a democratic nation.

The memory of all soldiers who have ever died in the name of freedom is being tarnished as the Lincoln concept is insidiously replaced by governments of the corporates, by the corporates and for the corporates.

Looming elections, federally and in the ACT, emphasise the façade of government of the people with the most obvious exposé of corporate influence being party political donations from the corporate sector.

The common practice of donating to both major parties tells the story.

For a company to support a party that shared similar goals or views would at least be understandable.

Or financially supporting a party whose policies would provide a better chance for increased business opportunities. However, the common practice of donating to more than one political party simultaneously can only be with the intention to purchase influence.

The memory of all soldiers who have ever died in the name of freedom is being tarnished as the Lincoln concept is insidiously replaced by governments of the corporates, by the corporates and for the corporates.

The corporate sector could point to the government of the unions, by the unions and for the unions.

With about 15 per cent of Australians now active and involved union members, there is no doubt that unions do have a disproportionate influence on Australian politics.

The Liberals kowtowed to the corporates in establishing a Royal Commission into the unions and recent revelations about the ACT government also suggest that the influence is far greater than it ought to be.

The tit-for-tat, Labor-initiated Royal Commission into the corporate sector should at least be broad enough to investigate the insidious influence of the corporate sector in our democracy.

PM Malcolm Turnbull has come from the corporate sector. His “innovative Australia” is about improving business opportunities,

supporting corporate tax cuts and balancing the budgets.

“Trickle-down” economic philosophy is one of the catchcries of the corporate sector. The theory is that tax breaks “encourage investment, increase profits, create jobs and improve the economy”.

The Panama papers illustrate the big lie in the concept. It is simply Orwellian. Even President Barack Obama has scotched this myth saying: “Reality has rendered its judgement: trickle-down economics does not work and middle-class economics does”.

The poor are getting poorer while the concentration of capital in the hands of just a per cent of the world’s population continues to grow at a remarkable rate. In 2015 Oxfam pointed out that “the richest one per cent have seen their share

of global wealth increase from 44 per cent in 2009 to 48 per cent in 2014” at a rate heading for “more than 50 per cent in 2016”.

The corporate sector does play an important role. However, that role should be judged by the government of the people – not the government of the corporates.

Alcohol companies, mining companies, gambling companies and other international corporates all make major donations to political parties. The Nationals even continue to take donations from tobacco companies. Democracy is being seriously undermined by such donations particularly with the lack of transparency and so many loopholes still remaining in the legislation.

Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health

Reader GILLIAN PAINTER is grumpy about her garden getting no sun AM I unnecessarily grumpy? I live in a town house in Macquarie with a back garden facing north.

I love growing my own veggies and other crops, BUT my garden does not get enough sunlight because of the big trees planted on the fence line of two properties behind me. The trees are photinias.

They were supposed to give privacy, but are so tall I look under the canopy into the place behind and the canopy cuts the sun for quite a length of time in the day in the summer and almost completely in winter.

I have asked for one of them to be cut to the height of the garden shed in the neighbour’s garden, but nothing has happened.

Why are untrimmed photinias allowed in suburban gardens on fence lines?

What can I do about them?

They serve no purpose for the neighbours so far as I can see. I have been polite so far but....

Grumpy is an occasional column dedicated purely to things that get up your nose. Readers are invited to vent (no more than 300 words, please) at editor@citynews.com.au

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CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 11

lowbrow

mum in the city

When the machines take over

A good read beats clickbait every time

LAST week the Prime Minister launched Australia’s Cyber-Security Strategy, which in its way is a good thing to have.

From a Prime Minister more prone than most to techno-utopianism, not to mention insecure online behaviour, it was refreshing to see some acknowledgement of the risks.

Let us not forget that only late in the Godwin Grech affair did the then-opposition leader’s office realise that email headers are easily falsified.

There’s a fundamental flaw in our technological future as we hurtle towards an unpredictable future.

That failing is that humans are incapable of writing secure software.

I realise this is a big call, but I can offer some very tangible evidence of this.

Between Google, Apple and Microsoft we have some of the biggest companies in the world, hiring the very best software writers they can find, to write products that their businesses depend on.

Despite this, several times a year, we need to update that software because the biggest and the best have discovered crucial flaws in their software.

It’s been thirty odd years since some of these products went mainstream and there’s no sign at all that any of the big players are close to producing a secure product.

This is something we all need to have a little think about the next time we enthusiastically sack the little man, who used to drive out to the reservoir in a van to open and shut valves, with a SCADA system that lets the CEO control the dam with his mobile phone.

12 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

T he challenge we face is that the same qualities that enable us freely to harness cyberspace for prosperity can also provide an avenue for those who may wish to do us harm.”

– Malcolm Turnbull The reek surrounding cyber-security only grows when you consider Edward Snowden’s revelations that the same security organisations that are now supposed to safeguard us online deliberately infiltrated flaws and weaknesses into key software decades ago to make it easier for them to snoop on us.

Oddly enough, the Prime Minister in his recent announcement made mention of Snowden, but chose to ignore the more salient points: “Authorised working relationships between government and certain private-sector partners were unfortunately damaged in the release of stolen documents by Edward Snowden”.

The issue with the Snowden revelations is that agencies of the governments of Australia, the US, UK, Canada, and NZ have acted completely outside of “agreed legal frameworks and appropriate oversight” as the Prime Minister hopefully described them, this illegal behaviour is what motivated Snowden to blow the whistle.

Yours truly is not going to be the first in line suggesting a return to Luddism or the bad, old days.

But when it comes to our IT security we’re going to need better than “trust us, we’re the government”, when the government has demonstrably acted in untrustworthy ways in the past.

“Trust us we’re a huge software company and we know what we’re doing,” similarly has a vast tide of history against it.

As with everything else we do; things might be better when we let the machines take over. Most recent railway and plane crashes would not have occurred if the machines were fully in control.

Machines will potentially write less error-prone software in future.

It’s just a pity we’ve done such a bad job making the machines safe up until now.

John Griffiths is the online editor of citynews.com.au

JOHN GRIFFITHS

While we’ve got better access to the news and current affairs than ever before, we’re actually reading less of it than at any time since our university days more than a quarter of a century ago.

WHEN was the last time you bought a daily newspaper? I can’t remember precisely when – but I think the last time I did was at least five years ago, probably longer than that.

Things were once very different.

Some 20 years ago my husband and I bought newspapers by the truck load. Both of us were working at Parliament House and keeping up with the news was essential, and indeed addictive. During the week we’d get “The Canberra Times”, the “Sydney Morning Herald” and “The Australian” home delivered.

On the weekend we’d collect a huge pile of the Saturday papers from the local newsagency and work our way through the news, analysis, opinion, features and all the supplements over a leisurely brunch.

Reading the papers was both work and pleasure. The only downside seemed to be the vast piles of newsprint that would accumulate in our study and beside the kitchen table.

Then, bit by bit, we stopped buying the papers. The daily papers were the first to go as we increasingly read all the news we wanted online, free of charge.

We still kept buying the Saturday papers, mainly for the opinion pages and all the magazine sections, but over time our demand for weekend print also faltered.

Our local newsagency folded and it wasn’t as convenient to drive to another suburb to get the papers before settling down for a cuppa. We also had new family commitments and weekends weren’t as leisurely as they once were. Instead, we started reading the weekend news on our laptops and tablets while watching at the kids’ Saturday morning sporting activities.

The interesting thing now is that while we’ve got better access to the news and current affairs than ever before, we’re actually reading less of it than at any time since our university days more than a quarter of a century ago. Truth is, I barely keep up with politics and current affairs these days. I certainly read stuff that relates directly to my work, but most of the time I just let it all slide past.

My husband – a former political staffer and journalist – says the keeping up with politics is pretty

much like looking in an open sewer – it’s disgusting and after a while it all looks the same anyway. He might have a point, but I think there’s a broader pattern involved.

Thanks to the wonder of the internet we’ve moved from a weekly and a daily news cycle to a 24-hour news cycle and now to a 3600-second frenzy in which a torrent of news, opinion and speculation is delivered to our screens via Twitter and Facebook.

It’s no surprise that one’s eyes glaze over after a while.

Nor is it any surprise that there’s a downward spiral in quality as the newspapers churn out more and more clickbait rather than real news and quality analysis.

Sometimes I’m just astonished at the superficiality of so much of it. It’s little wonder that so many people are turning off from the mainstream media. Before long some of the daily newspapers may not be printing seven days a week and maybe not printing at all. And they won’t be employing anywhere near as many journalists to keep their web pages turning over.

I’m not sure where this will end. I don’t think it’s good for democracy – though it’s probably the case that democracy really isn’t a factor in the digital-media business models of the future.

We’re drowning in information, but much of the deluge doesn’t seem worth reading.

I do still like to read something as I have my coffee on a Saturday morning, and a weekly such as “CityNews” keeps me well up to date with the local Canberra arts scene and a heap of other things that I wouldn’t have the time to hunt down on the internet. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from reading a magazine or book that you just don’t get from a tablet or some other device. Maybe we all need to slow down a bit and take the time to enjoy a good read – a book, magazine, or just something thoughtful and considered, and let the clickbait pass by.

SONYA FLADUN

Canberra Toyota

advertising feature

‘We want to keep in touch with our customers and create lifetime relationships’

Winning team’s heart is in the community “PEOPLE are looking for and expect desirable service, but our goal is to deliver unbelievable service, to over deliver and give them a surprise at the end!”

That’s the promise of Canberra Toyota’s dealer principal Mirko Milic. And that’s how the local company has just won recognition as the Toyota Dealer with the best Service Department in the Eastern Region as well as the Gold Award for winning the Toyota Financial Services Dealer of the year for Fleet Management.

As well, the team picked up gongs for excellence in Sales and Parts and Accessories at a recent awards event in Sydney.

Canberra Toyota was also accepted as a top 20 dealer nationally for the fourth year in a row.

Mirko, who has 20 years in the car industry and five years at Canberra Toyota, says he loves the rewarding nature of his work and the awards recognise his team’s hard work to provide customers with “unbelievable” service.

He says that as well as standing out as a winner from 62 other dealerships in the region, Canberra Toyota’s awards also recognise the growing business fleet service, which accounts for half of the company’s car sales.

“For us, it’s all about the relationship. We work with our business customers to manage

Winners are grinners… Dealer principal Mirko Milic, centre, and the award-winning Canberra Toyota team. the whole process, over and above the vehicles themselves,” he says.

“We make sure the fleet runs smoothly, from servicing and maintenance to the urgent roadside breakdown service; there’s lots of little things we do that are over and above.

“Price is important but what is more important is the experience. People don’t forget their experiences and at Canberra Toyota we want to keep in touch with our

customers and create lifetime relationships.”

Part of the Canberra community since 1961, Mirko attributes the company’s success and longevity to the quality of Toyota vehicles, but most importantly the team at Canberra Toyota.

“From the car washers out cleaning the cars in minus five degrees in winter, to the workshop team who get the cars ready, to the sales and service department – everyone

plays an important role,” he says.

“It’s handy having a great product to sell – Toyota is one of the world’s most admired brands – but what distinguishes us from others is our people.”

Canberra Toyota operates across four sites at Belconnen, Fyshwick, Phillip and Gungahlin, employing 247 staff and selling more than 4000 vehicles a year.

Last year it underwent a comprehensive

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relocation from Mitchell to Fyshwick with the creation of a new business centre.

With 48,000 cars serviced across the four sites each year, Mirko says Canberra Toyota is the sixth largest Toyota servicing department in Australia, out of 209 dealerships.

He says that the large volume of vehicles they service and the retention of their customers is testament to their commitment to providing that “unbelievable” customer service.

Canberra Toyota is also a proud supporter of the community.

“We have sponsored the Raiders for 20 years. We are also long-time supporters of many sporting clubs, St Vincent de Paul and Ronald McDonald House, to name a few,” he says.

“It’s very important to us to give back to our community. Canberra is in many ways a big country town, and you have got to be a part of it, do the right thing and support our community.”

Other charities and sporting groups the company supports include Camp Quality, the Tara Costigan Foundation, UN International Women’s Day, the GWS Giants, ACT Softball, AFL ACT, Canberra FC, CBR BRAVE Australian Ice Hockey team and the Gungahlin Eagles and Jets to name a few.

Canberra Toyota is at Belconnen, Fyshwick, Phillip and Gungahlin, visit canberratoyota.com.au

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canberratoyota.com.au CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 13

opinion / youth justice

briefly

Success at keeping kids out of jail

Garden’s early history

OVER the last three years there has been a 47 per cent drop in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in detention in Canberra.

This means more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young men and women growing and developing into strong, proud members of their community.

As a Gamillaroi man, this is particularly heartening to me. But these results aren’t limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth detention.

For young people to reach their full potential they need to be supported by their community.

Keeping young people, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, out of the youth justice system means we contribute to a safer, more inclusive community and can prevent that young person falling into a negative spiral.

I attended Patrick Dodson’s recent speech to the National Press Club where he spoke powerfully about the tragedy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander over-representation in our nation’s prison and youth detention networks.

It is a national issue that all governments must take seriously.

The ACT government is currently three years into a 10-year reform program called the “Blueprint for Youth Justice”. Key to it is an aim to help young people get their lives back on track before it’s too late.

Already, the benefits of these reforms to Canberra are substantial. In the last three years we have seen: • a 20 per cent reduction in the number of young people apprehended by ACT Policing;

Our focus on restorative justice is having a real effect in reducing the number of youths offending and – importantly – the numbers reoffending.

•a 28 per cent reduction in young people under youth justice supervision; •a 29 per cent reduction in the number of young people under community based supervision; •a 35 per cent reduction in the number of young people in detention; and a 60 per cent reduction in the average number of days young people spent in detention.

These are incredible figures. We’ve achieved significant reductions in the level of youth offending and the number of young people in contact with or becoming further involved in the youth justice system.

The figures show our restorative justice based policies are working. This concept of restorative justice is central to what the ACT government is setting out to do with our youth justice system.

It is evidence based, informed by the views of stakeholders and includes the voices of young people and families.

Our focus on restorative justice is having a real effect in reducing the number of youths offending and – importantly – the numbers reoffending.

Those who have offended are being reintegrated into society more effectively than ever before.

I’m sure all Canberrans would be happy with this news.

It is clear that the “Blueprint for Youth Justice” is delivering great results for Canberra. One of the fundamental reasons has been the understanding that youth justice outcomes must not be seen in isolation.

Instead, shared efforts and a shared responsibility involving services and supports across health, education, justice and the community are recognised as being the most effective way to getting better outcomes for young people involved in or at risk of coming into contact with the youth justice system.

Building on these improvements is the next step. This means delivering a youth justice sector that builds on the government’s commitment to provide better services and reinvest in community based crime prevention to contribute to a socially inclusive community.

Dr Chris Bourke is the Minister for Children and Young People.

CHRIS BOURKE

THE Qing imperial garden known as the Mountain Estate to Escape the Summer Heat is the subject of Stephen Whiteman’s lecture in the theatre of the National Library, 6pm, on Friday, May 13. A lecturer in Asian art at Sydney University, Dr Whiteman will explore the Chengde garden’s early history under the Kangxi emperor. A joint event of the Australian Garden History Society and Friends of the National Library of Australia, bookings to nla.gov.au/bookings/friend or 6262 1698 ($15 Friends and members of AGHS, $20 non-members). More information via email to judy.pearce@netspeed.com.au

Sparkling for charity ACT national finalist for the Mrs Australia Quest Natalie Hargreaves is organising a fundraising “Sparkle with Wings Dinner” in aid of the ovarian cancer awareness group Teal Wings of Hope. It’s at the Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club, Nicholls, on Saturday, May 21. Tickets for the two-course meal are $55 for adults ($30 children) and available via charitydos.com.au

Time for woollies WINTER woollies, including socks, hats and scarves will be for sale at “Swathe”, the Canberra Spinners and Weavers Inc autumn display and sale of work at “Kurrajong”, a property on a battleaxe block on the corner of Angas and Sherbrooke Streets, Ainslie, 10am-4pm, over the weekend of May 13-15. Visitors will be able to watch members dye fibres, spin fine yarns, weave fabrics, make garments, throws and grannie rugs and have a go at spinning, rug making, weaving, knitting and crochet. Handmade garments, accessories, shawls, hats, bags and rugs will be for sale. More information from lynnejohnson@grapevine.com.au

Melrose High School Marr Street Pearce

Melrose High is an inclusive school that embraces diversity. We value and nurture individual differences and welcome students from all walks of life.

We have a strong focus on nationally and globally linked education. We offer innovate teaching and learning programs like our 21st Century Fluencies learning environment and Big Picture Academy to help our students succeed.

We place high expectations on ourselves and our students. We foster a culture of achievement in academic, creative and sporting fields while 14 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

promoting effective school and student leadership. To learn more, come along to our Open Night on 19 May, find us on Facebook, search for ‘Melrose High School’ or call us on 6205 7588.

Year 6 Orientation Tue 17 and Wed 18 May Bookings essential for all out-of-area students.

Open Night Thu 19 May 5:30-7:30pm

scene / around canberra Cocktails for the Queen’s 90th birthday, Dickson

Glenys Cameron, Anne and Geoffrey Sibly

Eddie Hanger and Eddie Johnston

Dr Malcolm Beazley and Fleur Wimborne

Darrin Wheeler and Olli Puhakka

invite us / scene@citynews.com.au

At the launch of Capital Brewing, New Acton

Megan Smith, Kim Thomas and Victor Tawagi

Scott Coleman with Suthida and Brendan Whyte

Silas Brown and Laurence Kain

Danjela and James Ellis

Marilyn Hertel, Tim Kain, Tesh Patel and Andrew Parsons

Andrew Fox, Ian Stott and Richard Coombs

Bronte Costello and Emma Taylor

Shannon Crocker and Jessica Mitchell

Abby Clarke, John Bennett and Sophie Clarke

Paul Wu, Jacqui Janczukowicz, Gabie Jowsey and Jason Northcote

Megan Edgar, Cameron Blagdon and Hannah Gobbett

sundayROAST Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.

It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.

Be part of the conversation and call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon.

CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 15

Canberra Confidential Butchers in for their chop IN its increasingly effective “education” campaign to remind Canberrans of the value of community clubs (and doubtless keep the casino’s 500 pokiemachine grab at bay), ClubsACT has unearthed the fact that an astonishing $1.8 million a year is spent by 30 Canberra clubs with local butchers... and that’s just for their weekly meat-tray raffles.

One grateful beneficiary is Evatt butcher Darren, who has supplied raffle meat trays to clubs, such as the Labor Club, Yowani Country Club, Belconnen Soccer Club and the RUC in Turner, for more than 20 years and says it represents half the butchery’s revenue.

“The income I receive from clubs makes up a huge component of my weekly transactions, so it’s difficult to imagine how the business would survive without it,” he says, clearly sending a pre-election message to the Labor government, which is being bedazzled by the bright lights of a casino redevelopment that is reckoned will come at the direct expense of community clubs – and their suppliers.

Know something? / confidential@citynews.com.au

All excitement for bubbling Brooke IF you haven’t heard of Brooke Curtin yet, especially anyone in the new centre electorate of Kurrajong, CC predicts you will.

The aspiring Liberal candidate and first woman pilot to be qualified on military jet aircraft is strafing the hustings, styling herself as the “Top Gun Mum” (she has a domestic brood of three) and confusingly channelling Labor by describing herself as: “The most exciting new person in Canberra politics since Katy Gallagher”.

Senator Katy, much as CC loves her, could have never hoped to match the astonishing energy of former Liberal Chief Minister Kate Carnell, a much more ideologically appropriate role model for bubbling Brooke.

Evatt butchery crew… held together by club revenue.

Coughing up for cake A WATSON snout got a birthday party shock the other day when he and his happy party of five discovered “cakeage”, the charge restaurants apply if you bring a cake in lieu of buying desserts from the menu.

“I know restaurants charge corkage, but have you heard of charging a cakeage fee?” he asks.

Well, yes, we have but CC is curious to know if his group’s charge of $2.50 each is fair.

Anyone know of a restaurant charging more?

“Top Gun Mum” Brooke Curtin.

Eggstrordinary eggs

Silas snapped!

LOCAL film critic Stefan Kussy is of Ukrainian background and wrote to say that while Easter might appear to be over, it’s still on its way for Ukrainian Catholics.

According to the Julian calendar, Easter doesn’t start until May 1 and that’s when Ukrainians turn to making traditional “pysanky” from raw eggs. That is Ukrainian Easter eggs intensely decorated with traditional folk designs.

“The word ‘pysanka’ comes from the verb ‘pysaty’ (to write), as the designs are not painted on, but written in hot wax on the eggshell with a special stylus,” he says.

The photographed eggs are the amazing work of his sister, Irena Schorsch, who learnt the exacting and painstaking skill over many years.

Reassuringly, Stefan says: “Pysanky are decorative rather than edible.”

WE’RE sure that all the hundreds of thousands of Canberran faces former “CityNews” Snapper to the Stars Silas Brown took over many years would be pleased to see him finally make this week’s social page. Successor snapper Andrew Finch spotted the latter-day landscaper at the launch of Canberra Brewing.

These days Silas lives in Binalong and specialises in permaculture through his company Thriving Foodscapes.

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16 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

All about Mother’s Day advertising feature It all started with a salute to Anna’s mum

Celebrated internationally, Mother’s Day, held on Sunday, May 8 this year, is a time to show your appreciation and love to your mum!

Whether it’s through sharing a meal, enjoying a family outing or spoiling her to a special pamper session, here are some ways you can treat her…

SUZIE Hoitink, owner and founder of Clear Complexions, is very much part of Canberra’s community and, being a mother of two daughters, understands the journey of being a working mum.

She says her passion to help people feel confident is her driving force to educate and inspire women of all ages about their skin.

Suzie had skin problems until she was 30 and this experience is what has led her to create a service that, she says, will change women’s lives in everyday living.

Now Suzie is always on the forefront of innovative skin treatments with the ethos to be a mentor to her children, her staff and to the wider beauty and health industry.

“I know what it’s like to have your confidence impacted by skin issues. That’s why l’ve made it my personal mission to help others achieve beautiful healthy skin for life,” she says.

“We are all about holistic care and promoting the health of skin. I want our clients in five years’ time to look in the mirror and say: ‘I look this good and my skin looks this healthy because of Clear Curves is at Gungahlin, Weston, Wanniassa and Belconnen.

Complexions’.”

Call 1300 287837 or visit curves.com.au Clear Complexions’ Suzie Hoitink… “We are all about holistic care.”

This Mother’s Day, Suzie is asking her clients to remember our mums’ wisdom on life and beauty regimes, as a tribute to the wonderful role mums play in our lives.

Suzie shares the words of wisdom from her own mum, a piece of advice passed on from Suzie’s grandmother…

Nordic Walking poles and BungyPumps (with built in resistance) offer huge “Always spend as much time as you want before you go out and then, when you are out, don’t worry about how you look; just focus on having advantages over regular walking: they use and tone over 90% of the body’s a great night out!” muscles, increase cardiovascular work by up to 25% and burn between 45

Turbo-charge your walk with fitness poles – 77% more calories. They also reduce impact on ankles, knees and hips, promote upright posture and help ease back and neck pain.

To find your nearest Clear Complexions Clinic, visit clearcomplexions.com.au

Spoil your Mum

with what she really wants!

Non surgical facelifts 10am till 8pm* Monday to Saturday *Later times by appointment

Come and experience BungyPump and Nordic Walking during Heart Week in May: SUN 1st 3pm, TUE 3rd 5.00pm, THU 5th 12.30pm and SAT 7 11.00am – meet at Lake Burley Griffin at the Patrick White Lawns at the National Library.

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Introductory sessions are free, bookings essential.

Phone Duncan on 0404 373 157 www.bungypump.com.au

Dine with us on Mother’s Day

BOOK NOW and receive a complimentary bottle of bubbly

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Great food & great service is Blu Ginger’s recipe for a memorable dining experience. With a chef of over 35 years experience, the dishes use only fresh local produce & authentic Indian spices to combine tradition with a modern twist.

YS

By 1911 all US states observed the holiday and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honour mothers.

MELISSA Cameron was given an introductory pass to Curves Belconnen by her mother-in-law, when her youngest son was two months old. She says after the 10 sessions, she was hooked!

“The people at Curves are a wonderful community. All the trainers are so friendly and encouraging. They were so accommodating and supportive when I brought my baby along to my workouts,” she says.

As a new mum, Melissa says that working out at Curves gave her extra energy, especially when she was sleep deprived.

“As a mum of two active boys, I realise that I have to make the effort to keep fit, as I don’t want to be a mum who sits on the sidelines,” she says.

Melissa says that Curves helped her ease back into training and she feels stronger and fitter than ever before!

“I have lost 18 kilograms and dropped two dress sizes. I am the fittest I have ever been in my adullt life!” she says.

Melissa says she loves Curves’ holistic approach to health and wellbeing and enjoys the extra programs it offers such as group boot-camp training to prepare for fun runs and challenges such as Miss Muddy and the Mother’s Day Classic.

“I’ll be running in my first fun run at the Mother’s Day Classic this Mother’s Day, thanks to Curves!” she says.

7 DA

Anna wanted to continue the work Ann had started as well as set aside a day to honour all mothers because she believed that they were “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.

Mum feels fitter than ever

ATO 2 | 5 Genge Street | Canberra City

0 2.3 2- late 1 h 5 nc er Lu inn D CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 17

6247 2228

EN

She began a campaign to honour her mother, who was a peace activist and cared for wounded soliders on both sides of the American Civil War.

Suzie’s passion is to help people feel confident

OP

Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother, Ann Jarvis at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia.

Mother’s Day Luncheon

All about Mother’s Day

at your local Canberra Labor Club SUNDAY 8 MAY 2016 DELICIOUS BLACKBOARD MEAL SPECIALS AT ALL FOUR CLUBS EVERY MUM WILL ENJOY A FREE GLA SS OF SPARKLING WINE OR SOFT-DRINK AT ALL FOUR LABOR CLUB VENUES!

LUCKY DOOR PRIZES TO BE WON ON THE DAY #CLCmothersday2016

Clubs promise fun for mum WITH four venues at Belconnen, Civic, Ginninderra (Charnwood) and Weston Creek (Stirling), the Canberra Labor Club is a great place to treat mum for lunch or dinner on Mother’s Day. The clubs will be offering blackboard specials at their bistros, with a complimentary glass of bubbly for mum and lucky door prize draws.

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CLUB FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND BOOKINGS

WITH more than 28 years’ experience, the chef at Blu Ginger Indian Restaurant draws upon the many culinary regions of India to create a modern and authentic menu, one that reflects the cosmopolitan India of today.

Located in a large, open-plan space along Genge Street, Civic, Blu Ginger’s high ceilings and edgy decor add character to the dining experience.

For Mother’s Day and the following Monday, the restaurant is offering a free bottle of bubbly with a two-course meal banquet for four people and a glass of bubbly for two diners.

Owner Reddy Manne says: “We have been operating for 17 years and love hosting mothers and their families on their special day, giving them a wonderful dining experience.

“At Blu Ginger we use only the freshest, locally sourced produce, combined with authentic spices imported directly from the subcontinent, to offer classic, traditional recipes with a modern twist, creating a unique and memorable dining experience for you.”

For the information of members and their invited guests. WWW.LABORCLUB.COM.AU

Louise McMahon.

Treat Mum to a Lunch Date at National Portrait Gallery Spoil Mum with the ultimate day out at National Portrait Gallery with a grazing feast lunch. Mum will also be treated to a glass of wine on arrival! Sit down to a grazing feast for lunch and indulge in cold and hot selections, plus a dessert station. $76 per adult | $25 per child (12yrs and under) Bookings for lunch from 11.00am Book online or phone: 6102 7162 or email: npg.manager@trippaswhitegroup.com.au *This offer applies to Mother’s Day only. T&Cs do apply; please contact our reservations team for terms and conditions.

18 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

Canberra Labor Club, visit laborclub.com.au

The wide flavours of India

CANBERRA LABOR CLUB CHANDLER STREET, BELCONNEN....... PH 6251 5522 GINNINDERRA LABOR CLUB LHOTSKY STREET, CHARNWOOD... PH 6258 8616 WESTON CREEK LABOR CLUB TEESDALE CLOSE, STIRLING....... PH 6288 5047 CITY LABOR CLUB PETRIE PLAZA, CANBERRA CITY.................. PH 6230 0404

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“Our Weston Creek club will also be offering barefoot bowls as a fun family activity for Mother’s Day,” says promotions and functions co-ordinator Matt Michel.

“Come and enjoy some family time with your mum with our great service and relaxed atmosphere,” he says.

Beauty centre to pamper mum LOUISE McMahon, owner of Deziner Beauty in Queanbeyan, says that Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to pamper your mum.

“Mums need spoiling because they always spoil you! Send her our way for a special Mother’s Day gift and the Deziner Beauty girls will pamper and spoil her as she deserves, she will be floating out of here!” says Louise.

With 18 years in the beauty business, Louise says her salon prides itself on its expertise in skin care.

“We are welcoming, warm and, above all, knowledgeable on any skin type or condition,” she says.

“We can take 10 years off your skin with all the amazing treatments and products we have, including a nonsurgical face lift,” says Louise.

Deziner Beauty also offers make-up, waxing, tinting and teeth-whitening services.

Deziner Beauty, Shop 18, Cassidy’s Arcade, 72 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan.

Visit Deziner Beauty on Facebook or call 6299 5792.

Blu Ginger Indian Restaurant, 5 Genge Street, Civic. Booking is recommended to 6247 2228 or visit bluginger.com.au

FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST… FAST NEWS FIRST…

FAST NEWS FIRST

advertising feature Pole-walking to healthier hearts for mums

Sunny spot for a sumptuous lunch MOTHER’S Day lunch at the National Portrait Gallery is becoming an annual ritual for some families.

Seated in the sunny Terrace Rooms with balcony access to the adjacent parkland, this year guests can enjoy a sumptuous, grazing-feast lunch catered

by Australia’s leading restaurant and catering company, Trippas White Group. Afterwards, take a stroll through the gallery.

The buffet features hot and cold selections and a

desserts station, plus a complimentary glass of wine for mum on arrival.

The buffet costs $76 and $25 for children 12 and under. Bookings available between 11.30am and 2pm.

The National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes. Reservations to 6102 7162 or email npg.manager@trippaswhitegroup.com.au

HEART disease is the single biggest killer of Australian women, but the good news is that many of the risk factors can be reduced with positive lifestyle changes such as being active every day and maintaining a healthy weight.

In the lead up to National Heart Week (May 1-7), Capital Nordic Walking and BungyPump Australia are working together to raise awareness of the benefits to be gained from walking with fitness poles.

“Research concludes that Nordic walking allows healthy people and patients with heart failure to safely increase the intensity of exercise and gain additional cardiorespiratory benefits from exercise,” says Duncan Craig, ACT Representative for BungyPump Australia.

Kristen Pratt, of Capital Nordic Walking, is an occupational therapist and certified Nordic walking instructor. She says that millions of people globally are enjoying terrific results from walking with fitness poles by using and toning over 90 per cent of the muscles in the body, which is more than walking, running, cycling and swimming, as well as increased cardiovascular workout and higher calorie burn.

“It also significantly reduces load on ankle, knee, and hip joints, strengthens core, improves posture, and can ease back and neck pain,” she says.

“Walking with fitness poles is a simple, cost-effective, low-impact and fun way to keep fit. It’s suitable for all ages, fitness levels and goals,” says Duncan.

Kristen and Duncan are running a series of free “comeand-try” sessions during Heart Week. Visit bungypump. com.au or capitalnordicwalking.com.au or call Duncan on 0404 373157 or Kristen 0499 993215.

Terms & Conditions: This offer must be redeemed by 31 May 2016.

CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 19

All about Mother’s Day / Gold Creek

Family fun, lots of it!

ENJOY a fun family day out this Mother’s Day at Gold Creek Village.

Just 15 minutes up the Barton Highway from Civic, Gold Creek is home to an exciting array of attractions including Cockington Green Gardens, the Canberra Reptile Zoo, the Canberra Walk-in Aviary and the National Dinosaur Museum.

Cockington Green Gardens COCKINGTON Green Gardens offers visitors a delightful and fascinating display of meticulously crafted miniature buildings set within beautifully landscaped gardens.

On Mother’s Day, mums can visit the iconic Cockington Green Gardens for free, taking in the beauty of the old-English style and international themed gardens and minitaure exhibits that Cockington Green is famous for.

Director Sally-Anne Sarah says that mums will love being spoilt at their Mother’s Day

mini morning tea, which features bite-sized versions of their scones and muffins. There is also a Mother’s Day special pack available.

Sally-Anne says that Cockington Green Gardens has been operating for 37 years and was created by her parents who were inspired by quaint British villages and brought the concept to Canberra in the 1970s.

Canberra Walk-in Aviary

Canberra Reptile Zoo

MUMS will love a trip to the Canberra Walk-in Aviary at Gold Creek and enjoy strolling through 1000 square metres of gardens filled with about 400 birds from more than 50 different species, natives and their beautiful cousins from overseas.

Visitors can spend time in the colourful company of free-flying wrens, finches, doves, quail, pheasants and parrots, including cockatiels, budgerigars and every type of Australian lorikeet.

Owner Mick Logan says the crowd favourite is the big flock of rainbow lorikeets that flash around the spacious enclosure.

“We give you a small plate of apple and some of the birds will come and take the food from you,” Mick says.

“Babies are fascinated by all the squeaks and squawks, bright colours and flapping of wings, and the aviary is a safe environment where slightly older kids can run around and have fun.”

WITH more than 52 exhibits of reptiles and frogs and with a very strong approach to giving vistiors the chance to get up close with the animals, Canberra Reptile Zoo at Gold Creek is a fun day out for the whole family.

Head keeper and information officer Peter Child says the zoo is opening a new outdoor interactive area with a playground, ampitheatre and large statue of a goanna for kids to explore.

“Mums can sit back and relax with a coffee while the kids enjoy the exhibits and play outdoors,” he says.

Peter says the Reptile Zoo has numerous drawcard animals such as the resident saltwater crocodile called Charlie and the world’s most venomous snake, the Inland Taipan.

“Entry includes hands-on interaction with

Canberra Walk-in Aviary, unit 13, Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, Gold Creek Village, Nicholls. Call 6230 2044 or go to canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

Cockington Green Gardens, 11 Gold Creek Road, Nicholls. Visit cockingtongreen.com.au or call 6230 2273.

Belconnen Weston

advertising feature

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Canberra Reptile Zoo, 29 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Call 6253 8533 or go to canberrareptilezoo.com.au

National Dinosaur Museum A TRIP to Gold Creek is not complete without seeing the amazing National Dinosaur Museum.

The museum is home to Australia’s largest permanent dinosaur collection, showcasing 23 complete skeletons, moving animatronic dinosaurs and more than 300 displays of individual fossils.

Manager Ben Wardle says: “All our staff are enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable, they love to answer questions about dinosaurs.

“We have some exciting new additions this year, including the skull of a mosasaur – the star of the recent ‘Jurassic World’ film!”

The National Dinosaur Museum offers free guided tours on weekends and school holidays

Gungahlin Wanniassa

6255 5916 6296 7415

*Offer valid from 1/4/16 until 31/5/16 at participating clubs. Available to new18+ members who sign up to a 6 week fitness package for $99. Package payable up front in full at the time of signing. Fitness access only available at the club where the package is purchased. O m.au or ask in club for full terms and conditions. ©2016 Curves. All rights reserved.

20 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

our live animals, it’s more than just coming and looking at things through glass.”

between 11am and 3pm.

National Dinosaur Museum, corner of Gold Creek Road and the Barton Highway, Nicholls. Call 6230 2655 or go to nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au

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THE HOME OF THE HARD TO FIND! Rose Riley as Laura, and Luke Mullins as Tom in “The Glass Menagerie.

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Ira Levin’s

Making the most of ‘Menagerie’

By Helen Musa

THE lilt of the voices and the sounds of the streets in 1930s St Louis makes Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” unforgettable.

Then there are the archetypal characters – the domineering but insecure mother Amanda; frail daughter Laura; poetically-inclined, gay son Tom and the decent, homely gentleman caller – as real in 2016 as they were in 1944 when director Elia Kazan first staged it.

20/04/2015 1:57 pm

Belconnen Theatre Bookings: Phone 6275 2700 Canberraticketing.com.au

May 20th – 28th

By Arrangement with Origin Theatrical, on behalf of Samuel French Ltd 22 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

Photos by Brett Boardman.

Belvoir Theatre’s artistic director Eamon Flack… “I love ‘The Glass Menagerie’ – it’s one of the great plays of all time.”

In early May the Helpmann award-winning version of the play that made Williams famous will play in Canberra.

It’s staged by Belvoir Theatre’s artistic director Eamon Flack in his first full season at the company’s helm. But it’s not his first time with the play.

“I love ‘The Glass Menagerie’ – it’s one of the great plays of all time,” Flack tells me by phone from Sydney.

“And it’s not just the smell, the sound, the characters, it’s a huge vision played out on stage.

“It’s a perennial, it’s done all the time by both professionals and amateurs, it’s a much clearer play than all of the other works put together.”

The narrator, Tom Wingfield, tells us that it’s a “memory play” but Flack prefers to see it as “a sort of battleground of visions – each character is steeped in a vision of their life and the need to be free”.

“Tom is artistic, but caught in a capitalistic society where his sexual orientation is anything but normative,” Flack says.

“Laura is a fragile, gentle soul in a brutal society and Amanda is losing her vision and self-respect – the ideas feel so contemporary.”

In approaching Williams’ first famous play and his most autobiographical – almost certainly Tom represents the young Thomas Lanier Williams before he adopted the name “Tennessee” – Flack had in mind the need for a strong visual element, to show the lives of little people.

In Kazan’s original production image projections were used but nowadays no one does it.

Flack does though. Noting the playwright’s years

as a screenwriter with MGM, he and designer Michael Hankin emphasised the visuals, using video and screens to turn the script into “the play as a soundtrack”.

They started out with three or four designs, but eventually they decided they wanted to put the entire house on the stage, “like “eavesdropping on the life of a family,” he says, even down to the detail of Tom and Laura sharing a foldout bed.

“The house is like a film set; with an obscene amount of props it’s naturalistic,” he says.

“We wanted to show that this family was on the edge of poverty, that capitalism for people like this is a brutalising system.”

As for those characters, Amanda is the “hugest presence” inside the play and Pamela Rabe, he says, is a tall woman whose height coincidentally accentuates the battle between mother and son.

Tom nurses the darkest secret. Williams would never have been game to put the label “gay” on him, but when Luke Mullins turned up to rehearse the part, he insisted it be clear in this production that he was indeed gay.

Flack believes that Williams, an outsider, engages in a subtle feminist critique. So Laura, usually pictured as a fragile little thing like the glass unicorn in her menagerie in the hands of Rose Riley, becomes a “ferocious fighter”.

All this makes the play sound simple and yet, Flack says, “it’s also a play with a lot of secrets in it… we kept being caught out by Williams’ slyness”.

“The Glass Menagerie”, The Playhouse, May 3-7, bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

“Play On! is the manifesto I should have written.”

KARL MARX

Whodunit ‘MURDER MOST FOUL’

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10–21 MAY 2016

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The Q - Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre Call 6285 6290 or visit www.theq.net.au

arts & entertainment / cinema

The truth is, she can’t sing “Marguerite” (M)

“Pawno” (MA)

“Eddie The Eagle” (PG)

IN a French chateau, a small instrumental group accompanies soprano Hazel (Christa Theret) flawlessly performing a classical song.

Hold on to that experience as you watch writer/director Xavier Giannoli’s fictional facsimile of a notable American lady (of whom more below). Marguerite, Baroness Dumont, has the money; her husband Georges (Andre Marcon) has the title.

When she indulges her passion for singing, her audience of selected friends generously shields her from the awful truth. Her singing is dreadful. And Georges so loves her (or is it perhaps her money?) that he works hard to protect her from discovering her secret.

Catherine Frot gives a sublime performance as Marguerite in a powerful film that combines strong drama, gentle comedy, shameful exploitation by most of the characters of a woman unaware that she’s being exploited, a convincing replication of 1920s place and social and cultural classes and an enduring love between Marguerite and Georges.

Giannoli’s film comes two weeks ahead of Stephen Frears’ bio-pic in which Meryl Streep plays Florence Foster Jenkins, the real-life inspiration for Marguerite.

WHAT sort of setting for a feature film do you reckon a day in a Footscray pawnshop would be?

Actually, quite effective. Damian Hill’s screenplay, sometimes flawed but not greatly thereby damaged, provides director Paul Ireland with no real plot in the traditional sense as it introduces a collection of losers and bottom feeders.

Les (John Brumpton) can calculate at a glance the potential profit on anything. His customers have their own tales to tell, seldom joyous, intensely human and inevitably pathetic.

A middle-class woman (Kerry Armstrong) comes in to enquire whether her errant son has pawned her jewellery. A well-built thug, wanting to borrow $9000 on a Breitling watch, gets stroppy and physical. A pretty young woman from the local bookstore needs a repair to her spectacles and Les tells Danny (Damian Hill) to look after her. Someone wants a gun. The Asian girl from the takeaway gives Les a little light relief more physical than emotional.

“Pawno” is a collection of vignettes that took four weeks to film for a reputed budget of $12,000. It’s a bit rough. It’s inclined to telegraph its intentions. But neither of those qualities diminishes its acceptability.

THIS feel-good little movie purports to tell how Michael “Eddie” Edwards became the first Pom to represent Britain in ski-jumping at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Eddie was already British amateur ski-jumping record holder and world number nine amateur speed skier. In their screenwriting debuts, Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton set director Dexter Fletcher’s film in motion with Eddie (Taron Egerton) telling his parents that he’s decided to compete at the Olympics.

So off he goes to Germany to train. There he meets morose, alcoholic American former ski-jumping champion Bronson Peary, who agrees to coach him.

Peary is a total invention by the writers. For Hugh Jackman, playing him is a doddle.

The screenplay presents British officials as poltroons, British crowds as so starved for sporting heroes that they rejoice excessively at Eddie’s every success and British Olympians as so mean-spirited toward Eddie that they try to sabotage his preparations.

The action sequences look real enough, bespeaking some clever camera placement.

The film leaves us with mixed feelings about Eddie, who by all accounts is a fame-seeker by whatever means. Egerton’s portrayal of him wins no prizes.

At Palace Electric

At Palace Electric

At all cinemas

EXPERIENCE THE MUSIC ADVENTURE 28 APRIL – 8 MAY 2016 FEATURING Joseph Tawadros Tambuco Percussion Ear of the Cat, Children’s Concert Chocolate Factory, Mother’s Day Concert ....and much, much more

TICKETS ON SALE cimf.org.au

24 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

arts in the city A nostalgic beer with Henry and Banjo MAX Cullen and musician Warren Fahey have joined forces to create a 90-minute play that sees the two legendary literary characters, Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson, having a drink at the Leviticus Bar and Grill just near the Pearly Gates while yarning about the old days. Cullen plays Lawson and Fahey plays Paterson.

“Dead Men Talking”, at the National Theatre, Braidwood, 7.30pm, Saturday, May 7 and a Mother’s Day matinee, 2pm, on Sunday, May 8. Bookings to 4842 1700 or tickets at the door.

THE Australian Theatre for Young People is coming to town with “Sugarland”, a play that follows the lives of five teenagers and their local youth worker in remote Australia.

Playwrights Rachael Coopes and Wayne Blair undertook a series of residencies in Katherine, NT, and the result is this optimistic new play.

At The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, 6pm, on May 6-7.

Bookings to canberratheatrecentre. com.au or 6275 2700.

MUSICAL entrepreneur Carl Rafferty’s “An Affair to Remember” (May 6-8) is his last Albert Hall concert for the year. He is heading to Vienna to launch a similar venture.

Bookings to operabycandlelight.net

Max Cullen, as Henry Lawson, left, and Warren Fahey, as Banjo Paterson.

THE Australian Chamber Orchestra is taking on what it calls the “Mighty Three” – Bach, Beethoven and Mozart – for its third national tour this year. The concert features Mozart’s “Turkish Violin Concerto”, JS Bach’s “The Art of Fugue” and Beethoven’s “Grosse Fugue”. At Llewellyn Hall, Saturday, May 7.

Bookings to aco.com.au ACTOR, teacher, rock musician and footy coach George Huitker is launching his new book “Big Life” at the Radford College Senior School, 6pm, Tuesday, May 3. Huitker will answer questions and his band Junk Sculpture will play a short set.

dining 23RD APRIL - 14TH MAY

The gnocchi… Soft, fluffy pillows of deliciousness, with a generous serve of creamy goat’s cheese, pumpkin, rocket and pear.

Photos by Andrew Finch

Pretty meals that are plated to please THE playful Scrabble letters used to spell out the menu items, displayed on the wall, tell the tale of the new Vincent restaurant and wine bar in Barton.

Not too serious on the personality side, but seriously good on the food and wine side.

Share snacks, small plates, large plates and dessert are all on offer – whatever tickles your fancy. Have one dish with a glass of wine or dive into several to form a full meal. Vincent isn’t about big meals, but it is about pretty meals, with plating to please.

The wines are carefully sourced from around the world. If you’re confused about what goes with what, just ask. The staff are knowledgeable and happy to chat options.

A fair few of the menu items inspired us… it took us some time to decide.

Snack plates include a cheese plate and shaved, cured meats. Small plates include prawns with avocado mousse and citrus salad, and a mini lobster burger.

Large plates feature baby snapper, pork belly and lamb rump. Prices vary up to the mid-$20 range.

We shared the scallops with celeriac, chorizo and apple from the small plates menu. The scallops were cooked beautifully and the combination of tastes

Lamp rump with date chutney, aubergine puree and fetta cheese.

The wines are carefully sourced from around the world.

If you’re confused about what goes with what, just ask. The staff are knowledgeable and happy to chat options. fabulous. I was expecting chunks of chorizo, not crumbled bits on top. The way the dish is described on the menu was a bit deceiving. Still, I’d order the dish over and over again. The three scallops were pretty on the plate – note “three”, so if you’re four at your table, ask if Vincent will up the ante or order two serves.

The gnocchi was a winner. Soft, fluffy pillows of deliciousness, with a generous serve of creamy goat’s cheese, pumpkin, rocket and pear. Congrats to the chef.

Sometimes (no, often) I’m disappointed with gnocchi when dining out.

Slices of tender Wagyu sirloin served with Pommes Anna, that classic French dish of sliced, layered potatoes cooked in an unhealthy, but essential, dose of beautiful butter. I could have ordered an entire plateful of just that! The Wagyu came before the gnocchi, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

The décor at Vincent is clean, cool and contemporary; no doubt a bit “dark” for some. The lighting is soft and warm, and the long, communal bar a great space in and of itself.

The wines aren’t a huge pour, but that’s by design so you can select different drops for different dishes.

Prices range from $8.

We didn’t end on a sweet note (meaning we didn’t indulge in dessert), although it was tempting to be enticed by the white-chocolate mousse, with raspberry, shortbread and pistachio.

And the name? It’s a blend of vino and cent.

Why not?

Vincent, 38 Macquarie Street, Barton. Call 6273 7773. Open Tuesday to Saturday.

CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 25

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26 CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016

A great project for children to build… spotted in Victoria, the “ants” have been seen in garden centres and toy shops.

Get a workout from weeds!

I LIKE to think of gardening as a great form of exercise.

In fact, there’s increasing evidence that those who garden live longer!

Gardens cannot be neglected because weeds will take over and plants will die from a lack of water and feeding. The trick is to keep on top of it.

Take weeding, for instance; it’s important to have a program of planned maintenance, not doing a bit in the front, then at the back, then back to the front. It’s best to tackle one bed at a time, dealing first with the weeds, followed by dead heading and then feeding plants.

Mulching at this time of the year is normally considered a no-no.

The conventional wisdom is that by not mulching now the winter sun is allowed to warm the soil. I believe it doesn’t matter when you mulch, so long as you actually do it.

With frosts due any day, mulch acts as a blanket to keep the soil

warm. In addition, it reduces the effect of frost. Always remember to water the soil thoroughly before applying mulch, just after rain is ideal.

Provided mulch is applied at least 75mm thick, there will be no weed problem for the next six months.

For years, I have recommended Canberra Sand and Gravel’s Organic Compost. The only complaint is that it smells for a couple of days, but I always like to think if it smells like manure it must be good.

TO have a little fun in the garden consider something from the seemingly limitless range of statues and sculptures.

One way to get children involved in the garden is by letting them choose some of the items or even help build them, such as a bug house.

Cats have been a favourite in real life and statues since the time of the pharaohs where they were found in the burial chambers in the Pyramids.

We had a large pond in Yass and

sundayROAST Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.

It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.

Be part of the conversation every Sunday – call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon

Cats… a favourite in real life and statues since the time of the pharaohs. the herons would arrive from Lake Burrinjuck for breakfast. I placed a grey, stone cat with blue eyes at the side of the pond and had no more fish-eating birds.

START thinking about fruit trees. Local garden centres are the best place for qualified advice, especially regarding pollination. Peaches, apricots and nectarines are self-pollinating, whereas other fruit trees require two of the same variety for cross pollination.

Jottings…

• Now’s a good time to plant spring blossom trees such as Prunus mume, the flowering apricot that blossoms in June.

• Plant tulip bulbs now.

• It’s not too late to divide and transplant hellebores.

puzzles page Joanne Madeline Moore

Family Law with Yeend & Associates

General knowledge crossword No. 545

Your week in the stars – May 2-8, 2016

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Are you an Aries spendthrift? With the New Moon stimulating your cash zone, you’re in the mood for a spontaneous spending spree. But is that a smart idea?

When it comes to business matters, if you are patient and put in the hard work required then you’ll be able to capitalise on the lucky breaks that come your way later in the year. It’s all in the timing and preparation. Just remember Rams – with Mercury reversing through your cash zone, slow and steady wins the money race.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Bulls love their dependable routines. But you’ll be jolted out of pedantic predictability on Tuesday, as Jupiter shakes up your perfectly planned day in the most delightful way. New Moon Friday is a fabulous time to rejuvenate your physical appearance, plus revise your plans for the next 12 months. Adventure, travel and personal transformation are highlighted on the weekend, when you share good times with local friends and make some influential new international connections.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Recovery of Children

The astro-emphasis is on formal volunteer work, or just providing spontaneous assistance to people around you who are sick, in trouble, or less fortunate. So your mantra for the moment is from birthday great, Audrey Hepburn: “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” There’s no room for negative self-talk. Mercury might be retrograde but you can still have fun and get a lot done, as long as you are patient.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Are you being a cranky, impatient Crab? With Mars and Saturn both reversing through your work zone, professional projects aren’t progressing as quickly as you’d like. This week’s stars encourage you to perceive delays as opportunities to review, revise and reboot. It’s also a great time to work on group projects and formulate goals for the future. But are you being too stubborn about a relationship issue? Perceptive Pluto encourages you to orchestrate a subtle shift in attitude.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Get set for a wonderful week, as Jupiter boosts luck and your confidence levels go through the roof. So it’s time to think big, especially when it comes to your professional plans for the future. Pluto also helps you power ahead with personal changes that have the potential to transform your life in stunning ways. You must be a brave Lion though! Your motto for the moment is from birthday great Harry Truman: “You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one.”

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

With prosperity planet Jupiter jumping through your sign [until October] a personal project shows great promise. But don’t let negative self-talk hold you back Virgo.

You have to be your Number One fan. If you don’t believe in yourself [and your talents] why should anyone else? Long-distance travel is likely over the next 12 months, as the New Moon activates your adventure zone. If you carefully nurture your international contacts, then the possibilities are endless.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

You have a natural knack for making others feel comfortable but this week, be extra careful when posting comments online. With Mercury retrograde (plus Mars and Saturn reversing through your social media zone) it will be very easy to send the wrong message to the wrong person. And are you having problems with a family member? Superficial solutions won’t work. If you examine the issue in a much deeper way, then you’ll know what to do. Trust your wise inner voice.

Across 1 Who composed “The Magic Flute” in 1791?

8 What do we call one who is employed to gather news for newspapers and their like?

9 Which colloquial term describes Australian English, humorously regarded?

10 What did King Edward VIII do?

11 Which term describes impostors?

13 Name the style of bowling used in softball.

16 Name a fine downy wool from the hair of particular goats of India.

19 What is an account book of final entry, containing all the accounts?

22 Which human being eats human flesh?

24 From which group of animals does the tick belong?

25 What is the act or process of changing?

26 What are trolls also known as?

Down 2 Name an aquatic, furred, carnivorous, musteline mammal.

Solution next week

3 Name another term also known as goodbye.

4 Which word describes any thing or person greatly valued, or highly prized?

5 What is a colloquial expression for a potato?

6 What is a dealer in general supplies for the table?

7 Which word relates to a wise and trusted counsellor?

12 What, in tennis, are legal serves which opponents fail to touch?

14 Which word describes a place of residence?

15 To be astonished, is to be what?

17 Name a calculating contrivance, made up of beads strung on wires.

18 What is a shed for housing aeroplanes?

20 In which place of public entertainment may patrons dance to recorded music?

21 Who directs the entertainment etc, at parties, or their like?

23 Name the prison of a ship.

Imagine you arrive to pick up your children one afternoon, only to find a ‘for rent’ sign out the front of your ex-partner’s house. Or that you are waiting at the airport for your children to return from their overseas holiday, but nobody gets off the plane. All you have is an email from your ex informing you that they, and the children, now live in another country. These scenarios are not unique and there are things you can do if it happens to you.

My ex-partner has taken off with our kids and moved away. Is there anything I can do to bring them back?

If your ex-partner has moved away with your children, or is simply refusing to return them to you, you can make an application to the Family Law Courts for a recovery order.

A recovery order can authorise a person, such as a police officer, to find your child and bring them back to you. If you find yourself in this situation it is important to seek legal advice immediately. The longer you wait, the more settled your children will be in their new home and school and the harder it may be to bring them back.

I’m worried my ex-partner is planning to move overseas with my children. What can I do?

You can apply to the Family Law Courts to have your children’s names placed on the Family Law Watchlist, which is a system designed by the Australian Federal Police to prevent children from being removed from Australia. Remember that it is often easier to stop children before they leave than attempt to have them returned to Australia from overseas.

Sudoku hard No. 172

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

Transformation is the name of the game this week, as Pluto (your patron planet) boosts your personal magnetism, and your ability to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of a difficult situation. Or a close relationship has the potential to be reborn into a much more positive partnership. But you must release old grudges, let go of the past, and move into a bright new future. And you’ll find the right words spoken at the right time, really can transform the lives of those around you.

Is it too late if my children have already been taken overseas?

You should always ensure that you have comprehensive details of your children’s travel arrangements including contact details and travel itineraries. If your children have been taken overseas there are steps that you can take to try to have them returned to you. Those steps, and where they need to be undertaken, will depend a lot on where your children are located and the circumstances of the travel or relocation.

If your child has not returned after an overseas holiday you should seek advice from an experienced family lawyer as soon as possible.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

The focus is firmly on your physical health, as the New Moon activates your wellbeing zone. So it’s the ideal time to shake up your daily routine, improve your diet, plus find fun ways to boost your fitness levels. Professional progress is also a priority, as Jupiter encourages you to power ahead with a challenging work project.

(Nothing ventured, nothing gained!) And some singles will be attracted to a colleague, customer or client. Who said that work and romance don’t mix?

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Capricorns are practical people but it’s your creative side that can really take you places this week. So use delicious daydreams, creative visualisation and active imagination to help you set goals and plan for the future. Don’t dream small, make sure you go for gold! With Mercury and Saturn both reversing through your privacy zone, solitude is soul food for you at the moment. You’ll find solo pursuits – like meditating, reading and writing will help settle your irritability.

Yeend & Associates Family Lawyers is a specialist Family Law Firm located in Gungahlin and Canberra City. Contact an experienced Family Lawyer on 02 6154 5090 for your initial no obligation consultation.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Solution next week

Solutions from last edition

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2016 Daily astrology updates at twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore

Crossword No. 544

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

The New Moon highlights your travel and study zone. But with Mercury in retrograde mode, it’s time to plan a holiday or revise written work – rather than take a trip or launch a brand new project. And with Mars and Saturn both reversing through your career zone, don’t take anything for granted at work. If you want to minimise problems, then check and double-check everything. You’re also keen to help someone in need but don’t promise more than you can actually deliver.

Sudoku medium No.172

Aquarians can be very disorganised. This week’s stars encourage you to establish some sort of domestic routine, which will help you complete tasks in a more streamlined fashion. Thursday’s Moon/Uranus connection increases your impulsive side, and makes you more accident-prone than usual. So avoid rushing! From Friday onwards, you’ll start to see a family member in a fascinating new light. Perhaps it’s time to build bridges with loved ones and let bygones be bygones?

117 Anthony Rolfe Avenue, Gungahlin Phone 02 6154 5090 • Fax 02 6162 1490 Email mail@yeendassociates.com.au www.yeendassociates.com.au Also 5/7 London Cct, Canberra – by appt only CityNews April 28-May 4, 2016 27