CityNews 180809

AUGUST 9, 2018

Well written, well read

Needle ‘veto’ claim offensive and false

JON STANHOPE

Shock as parkland retagged a ‘wasteland’

PAUL COSTIGAN When charity begins at the till

ROBERT MACKLIN A deep look at Heath Ledger

HELEN MUSA

THE

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Pain, politics and sexual power

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NEWS / homelessness prevention week

Helping the ‘hidden’ victims of homelessness, kids

By Danielle

NOHRA ON any given day in Canberra, Toora Women sees about 80 to 100 homeless children in its care, which executive director Susan Clarke-Lindfield says is largely because of domestic violence.

This year’s theme for Homelessness Prevention Week, which runs until August 12, is “ending homelessness together”, and Susan is taking the timeliness of the week to raise awareness to the hidden and innocent victims of homelessness – children.

“Innocent children’s lives are significantly disrupted for reasons beyond their control,” she says.

“They leave their normal behind, their friends, their schools.”

Being a not-for-profit organisation with services to help women in circumstances such as homelessness, escaping domestic violence and the misuse of drugs and alcohol, Toora Women also supports children under the age of 16.

Last year it provided support for 269 women and 200 children, who were homeless due to domestic and family violence.

“Whenever we seem to talk about

women’s homelessness, we veer into domestic violence and that’s because the main cause of women’s homelessness is domestic violence,” Susan says.

The homelessness and domestic violence services at Toora Women overlap and Susan says women with children, who are escaping domestic violence get a priority bed.

“Due to the immediate threat to their safety, women and children in our service are often forced to leave their homes quickly without bringing their belongings,” she says.

“Finding safe and affordable housing becomes their main priority. “[But] many of the children in our care suffer multiple forms of harm and are victims of complex trauma from either witnessing or suffering from violence themselves.”

Toora Women was recently given $100,000 funding from the ACT government, which will get them a child and family specialist.

Susan says the funding is great, but what they also really need is a children’s trauma counsellor.

“In the past, the funding model was that if you look after the mother, she looks after the child,” she says.

“Kids weren’t seen as individuals in their own right.

“But these kids have either experienced domestic violence or witnessed it, which is a form of violence in its own right.

Toora Women’s executive director Susan Clarke-Lindfield… “Many of the children in our care are victims of complex trauma from either witnessing or suffering from violence.”

Photo by Danielle Nohra “On top of that, they’re having to leave their schools and their friends.

“These kids need support in their own right and a lot of them need trauma counselling.”

Toora Women was formed in 1982 as a homelessness service for single women and it wasn’t until 2016 that its funding contracts changed, allowing them to extend services to women and

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children.

“Immediately we could see pressing needs,” she says.

“But if we want to get serious about breaking the cycle of homelessness and domestic violence we really need to address the trauma of children affected by it.

“I would like to see a funding model that recognises the needs of children

as clients.

“If you address the trauma early enough, it can be addressed before it grows.”

Susan says there’s also other needs such as warm clothes, baby formula and nappies.

“A lot of them have to leave with just the clothes they’re wearing,” she says.

“There’s a need to help them get back to normal. A lot of them don’t have money to pay for their child to play sports or don’t have the money for the shoes or equipment needed.

“They don’t have the money to pay for excursions or basic school supplies.

“All these things that normal kids do.”

Susan says these children may also have difficulties at school and need a lot of support whether it is with completing their homework or counselling. “And for mothers who would like to study or work, it is impossible for them to afford early or after-school care for their children,” she says.

While Susan says the government and media have done a really good job in raising awareness of domestic violence, the resources have not grown to match the growing client need.

Toora Women is always looking for donations, which Susan says would go towards buying children small but important things such as school supplies.

Donations to toora.org.au

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CityNews August 9-15, 2018 3

Since 1993: Volume 24, Number 29

INDEX

Arts & Entertainment Cinema Crossword Dining Gardening Horoscopes Letters News Politics Socials

19-21 20 23 20 22 23 7 3-12 12 21

Cover: Joanna Richards and Craig Alexander in “Venus in Fur”. Photo by Shelly Higgs. Story Page 21.

Well written, well read

CEO: Greg Jones, 0419 418196, greg@citynews.com.au Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au

Ph 02 6189 0777 Fax 02 6189 0778 9b/189 Flemington Rd, Mitchell 2911 Responsibility for election comment is taken by Ian Meikle, 9b/189 Flemington Road, Mitchell.

4 CityNews August 9-15, 2018

SEVEN DAYS

Alexander sets the bar for Downer RESIDENTS of the innernorthern suburb of Downer can apparently take some pride in a tenuous link to the building of our great nation.

against Ms Husar continue to mount. Kelly told Sky News that he had “no issue” with the single mother of three using her staff to help “juggle life as a Federal politician”, suggesting it was “a small price to pay for having a truly representative democracy and facilitating the ability of women to participate in our parliament”.

The suburb is named for former SA Premier Sir John Downer, grandfather of Alexander Downer. After his daughter Georgina Downer’s defeat in the Mayo by-election, former Howard government foreign minister Alexander arrogantly reminded an apparently ignorant, ungrateful electorate that “our family have been nation builders. We’ve helped make this nation great”.

ANOTHER frustrating and fruitless season for the Canberra Raiders received some respite with the elevation of Mal Meninga to “Immortal” status and coach Ricky Stuart’s installation into NRL’s Hall of Fame. With planning for Mad Monday already well advanced, Stuart – who was informed of his inclusion only hours before the official announcement – told Fairfax media: “I was honoured to be a part of the 25 nominees so you can imagine how I feel to be now accepted and part of the Hall of Fame. It blew me away this morning, I was thrilled”.

The dual international joins Raiders legends Bradley Clyde, Laurie Daley, Glenn Lazarus, Steve Walters and Meninga in the elite number.

“Immortal” Mal Meninga.

MEANTIME, retiring ABC sports journalist Tim Gavel has pleaded with Raiders’ fans, particularly those who choose social media to vent after a loss, to “get behind” Ricky Stuart. Gavel said Stuart “takes losses harder than anybody I have seen in 30 years of covering sport in Canberra. I get the impression he takes it personally, such is his competitive nature”.

STILL on standing up for those under the pump and Eden-Monaro MP Mike Kelly has jumped to the defence of colleague Lindsay MP Emma Husar. But the former soldier may be wishing he’d kept his powder dry a little longer as allegations of “misbehaviour”

NO expense has seemingly been spared in Transport Canberra’s campaign to sell the “new, more frequent and reliable public transport network”, about “to reshape the way Canberrans move around the city”.

An A4 page in a plastic sleeve, poorly gaffer-taped to a bus stop seat at Higgins appears to be part of the comprehensive “public consultation” process. The flimsy flyer says: “Transport Canberra is proposing that this bus stop at 36 Kinsella Street would not be used in 2019”.

TRANSPORT Canberra has already encountered strong resistance to its proposed new schedule from many residents of impacted suburbs but is yet to feel the wrath of the Friends of Hawker Village. The group, born from a successful campaign preventing the government selling Hawker’s shopping centre car park to developers in 2009, has become a

formidable lobbying unit. The group says TC’s proposal to combine Routes 44 and 17 means Hawker residents – unable to catch a direct service to Jamison – will have to endure a lengthy trip to Kippax.

LARGE numbers of excited locals reportedly queued for hours at the opening of Japanese haberdashers MUJI in the Monaro Mall. The attraction? Apparently the retailer’s point of difference is its sustainable range of “no-brand quality goods” on offer that are designed to last longer. An example offered; MUJI’s towels have multiple seams so they can be cut down from a bath towel to a bath mat to a dusting cloth.

STILL on quality manchester, I received an email last week from Deputy Leader of the Federal Opposition Tanya Plibersek offering me the chance to win a limitededition Medicare tea towel signed by former PM Bob Hawke. The rub is, if I donate $20 I will go into the draw to win the tea towel.

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NEWS / 50 years of black mountain reserve

A different way of looking at Black Mountain

By Kathryn

VUKOVLJAK IT’S been 50 years since Black Mountain was declared a nature reserve and the Friends of Black Mountain are holding a symposium to explore its cultural history and natural environment.

The site of rare plants, new insects, nature walks, public protests and countless picnics will be celebrated in an in-depth, two-day symposium on August 24-25 at the CSIRO Discovery Centre.

“The anniversary seemed the ideal time to look at how things have changed over the past 50 years, and examine any lessons that should inform the way it’s managed over the next 50,” says Linda Beveridge, convenor of Friends of Black Mountain.

“Black Mountain is an icon in Canberra – it’s in everyone’s face, you can see it no matter where you are because of the tower and it’s got the foliage that’s a bit darker than the others.”

Botanist Rosemary Purdie has spent much of her career doing botanical research on Black Mountain and says it’s particularly interesting, with a great deal of information available, because of the sheer amount of scien-

Botanist Rosemary Purdie, left, and Linda Beveridge... “It’s easy for locals to not be aware of the history.” tific focus it gets.

“It could only happen in Canberra, but you’ve got a patch of bushland with three different research institutions at its base, the ANU, CSIRO and the Botanic Gardens,” she says.

“There have been so many records of insects and plants from Black Mountain because there have been all these scientists crawling over the site since the 1920s.”

The Black Mountain Symposium will include a series of talks on Friday, August 24, and themed walks on Saturday, August 25, with different ticketing options available.

It will cover the diversity and ecology of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles,

The Black Mountain Leopard Black Mountain from Ainslie… “Black Mountain is an icon in Canberra – Orchid.

Photo by Tony Wood it’s in everyone’s face, you can see it no matter where you are.”

amphibians, invertebrates and fire ecology of the site, as well as cultural elements including Aboriginal values, colonial and national values; with the mountain as a place of protest, recreation, education and scientific endeavour.

Themed walks will include “Geological evolution and features”, “Birds of Black Mountain”, ‘’Trees and shrubs” and “Cryptogams”, exploring mosses, lichens, liverworts and fungi.

With a long history of community concern for Black Mountain, from the protests about Telstra Tower, the proposed gondola ride, up to the more recent Gungahlin Drive Extension, Linda says it’s a place people in Can-

berra really care about.

“The huge outcry about putting up the tower, cutting through the native plants and bushland, and the big footprint it would have, was really the start of the concern for the mountain,” she says.

Rosemary says there has also always been a lot of community use, and that even before Black Mountain became a reserve people were using it for recreation.

“When the road was put in and gave access to the top, there’s records showing that every weekend in the summer there would be 200 people having picnics, because it gave the best views and it was something to do,” she says.

“This increased in the 1970s when the government started actively promoting it as a place of recreation and education – a lot of people use it now and it’s become part of their background, whether to jog, look at the birds, enjoy the plants or whatever.

“It’s almost taken for granted now, and it’s easy for locals to not be aware of the history.”

More detailed information about the program and the walks at friendsofblackmountain.org.au/symposium Tickets from eventbrite.com.au/e/ black-mountain-symposium-2018tickets-45325809717

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LETTERS THE new Crace bus service has no direct bus to the city, which is absolutely insane as residents have to change multiple times to get there.

Route 54 must pass through the Barton Highway and go to Fyshwick via the city. Route 250 must pass through Crace before going from Gungahlin to Belconnen.

The ACT Transport Minister must be sacked immediately for her constant blunders and putting residents through severe inconvenience, and replaced with someone who cares.

Kelly Robertson, via email

from down the street, howl and make such a noise and will not calm down.

On Sunday I had a friend over for lunch and when she left I found an unexpected present on my driveway, compliments of an unknown dog. If the dog was accompanied, I hope that another dog leaves you this sort of present on your driveway.

Canberra is a lovely, clean city and this sort of occurrence should not happen.

Sue Randall, Charnwood

Confused by housing labels

RENDALL Wagner (Letters, CN, August 2) is only partly correct in his comments on women in the trades.

Until there is a critical mass of female tradespeople, many women will continue to find male-dominated trades workplaces less than congenial.

Having attended a Worksafe training day some years ago, as an archaeological consultant, and having most of my comments sniggered at by tradesmen less than half my age, I can sympathise with women’s continuing reluctance to enter the trades.

RECENTLY, we had a brochure dropped in our letterbox about the development of Lawson Two. There appear to be 940 dwellings to be crammed into this second part of Lawson. They consist of “affordable”, “public”, and “community” housing.

Then I read an article by Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur in which she states that there is insufficient “social” housing in the ACT. Would someone please explain the differences to me; does “affordable” housing mean the quality is not as good as other types of housing?

As Lawson One has many “dwellings” that are contenders for future slums, I don’t look forward to the second stage being developed.

Patricia Saunders, via email

Jan Kicenko, via email

Sniggering tradesmen

Grumpy about dogs, too I AGREE with grumpy from Curtin (“Unhappy in Yappy Street”, CN, July 26) that other people’s dogs are a nuisance.

Every night the two dogs next door to me, and some

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CANBERRA MATTERS

Shock as parkland retagged a ‘wasteland’ ACROSS Canberra suburban groups regularly have to deal with the onslaught of inappropriate and badly designed developments. There are volunteer champions out there working on behalf of their neighbours. The suburban groups have to rely on the joint voice of a combined community council with connections to government and the means to bring wider attention to the local issues. Most of the time this works – but not always.

For years there have been debates, consultations and all manner of proposals for the site in Dickson known bureaucratically as Section 72, referred to by those who cherish it as the Dickson Parklands. Why the Dickson Parklands?

The site consists of social, cultural and other facilities embraced within open spaces and cherished heritage trees and shrubbery. The title does not indicate that the area should be one large park.

The title reflects the area’s ambience, loads of wonderful greenery that needs to be

Are the NCCC’s links to the Chief Minister now a stumbling block to the processes of representing inner-north residents? enhanced – not removed. The community desire is to have this precinct continue as an attractive place in Dickson for community, social, cultural and arts activities – not housing.

The community is not against public housing – but just not on the Dickson Parklands.

All this has been explained numerous times to the bureaucracy. More importantly this has been discussed with the North Canberra Community Council (NCCC) which has been encouraged to adopt this in its advocacy.

Therefore, it came as a shock to hear the NCCC executive question why some people use the title the Dickson Parklands (by local residents maybe?) whereas the preferred description by the NCCC chair is to call this cherished community site the Dickson Wastelands. This he proudly stated at a recent meeting.

One imagines that those who manage the present facilities, being religious, holiday apartments, a

dance studio, the community centre, childcare, the men’s shed, and the ANCA arts studios would not like to have their organisations being represented as being part of a wasteland. Is community work regarded as a waste?

It must be noted that the holiday apartments are called the Parkland Apartments (not Section 72 Apartments or Wasteland Apartments).

The 2018 consultations on the use of the site have been extremely disappointing with few residents bothering to attend (wonder why). Disappointing because of the bureaucratic tricks, misleading statements and spin, but also because of the lack of enthusiasm by the NCCC to pursue the clear aspirations of residents.

For instance, because of the government’s badly run consultations and the very dubious methodology, it was suggested that the NCCC call a special public meeting to discuss the issues and to bring everyone up to date.

With hundreds of residents having expressed opinions over the last years, why not bring them together again as a community-initiated event.

Disappointingly this idea was talked down and no such meeting happened.

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Rosevear Place, Dickson… The community is not against public housing – but just not on the Dickson Parklands.

Photo by Paul Costigan Given the way other joint community councils rise to the occasion when residents seek public meetings, it has been frustrating to see the call for timely action suppressed. Was this to avoid facilitating opposition to the government’s push to build on this site? Are the NCCC’s links to the Chief Minister now a stumbling block to the processes of representing inner-north residents? One wonders if this lack of enthusiasm to represent residents’ voices is impacting planning decisions across all of the inner-north, such as along Northbourne, the lakeside and contentious suburban proposals in Reid, Braddon, Turner and let’s not forget what is happening in Campbell.

The Dickson Parklands is definitely

not a wasteland. It is a cherished site with huge community cultural potential. This is not about rejecting social housing. This is about wondering why the bureaucracy, the government and the NCCC will not join with residents to enhance this community space. Is it too hard to imagine this site being busy with arts activities, community events, children playing and residents of all ages getting together? A fun place among the trees.

Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday matters. He has written on public housing before at the-southern-cross.com/people

BRIEFLY All about Oscar’s love of classicism DR Kathleen Riley, of Sydney University, will present a free public lecture that explores how Oscar Wilde’s love of classicism influenced his literary works. Sponsored by Friends of the ANU Classics Museum, “Parnassus to Piccadilly: Oscar Wilde, Classicist”, will be held in the Larry Sitsky Room, ANU School of Music, 6.30 pm on Wednesday, August 15. All welcome, bookings not required.

A word from Ian

Howcroft has a view

THE Rotary Club of Canberra City’s Spring Antiques and Collectables Fair will be held in the Albert Hall over the weekend of August 17-19. Proceeds will help local charity Canteen provide financial assistance and support to cancer patients and their families.

PANELLIST on the ABC television program “Gruen” Russel Howcroft, who also chairs the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, will speak at the National Press Club on Wednesday, August 15, to outline the need for the creative economy to be valued and represented at senior levels of government and across a range of portfolios – from infrastructure to education to innovation and business. Bookings to npc.org.au/speakers/ russel-howcroft/

Long morning tea THE Canberra Seniors Centre is recruiting new members with a long, free morning tea and the promise of “lots to eat”. The centre says it offers a “cheerful and friendly outlet” where anyone over 50 can socialise and take part in a broad variety of activities. It’s at 10 Watson Street, Turner, 10.30am1pm, Thursday, August 16. Enquiries to 6248 9509.

Reflections of China ALEX Olah will reflect on his six years of teaching English in Qingdao, China, when the Australia China Friendship Society hosts his talk “Aspects of Chinese Culture” in the Catchpole Room at the Southern Cross Club, Jamison, from 7.30pm, Wednesday, August 15. Visitors welcome.

IAN Peters, of Diabetes NSW & ACT, is the Gungahlin Day VIEW Club’s guest speaker at its next lunch meeting in Nicholls on Wednesday, August 22. Bookings to 6262 2556 by midday, Monday, August 20.

Spring antiques fair

Permaculture story DAVID Watson will be talking about his recently published book “Millpost, a Broadscale Permaculture Farm Since 1979” at Tuggeranong Homestead, 2pm, on Sunday, August 19.

David will explain how permaculture design, home food production and revegetation have helped in the survival of this family farm. Entry is $20, including a home-made Devonshire Tea, and bookings to 6231 4535 by Thursday, August 16.

Sleep in the car SLEEP in Your Car is a community event and fundraiser during National Homelessness Week aimed at raising awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness and helping fund the Fusion organisation’s preventative youth work and MissionWorx. It’s on Saturday, August 11. Register or be a sponsor of the Canberra event at sleepinyourcar.com.au

Hawaii-style birthday UKULELE player Michael Rosenberg will entertain the ladies of the Tuggeranong Evening VIEW Club at their Hawaiithemed 41st birthday celebration at the Vikings Town Centre club, Greenway, on Wednesday, August 22. Bookings to 6291 7716 or tuggeven@gmail.com by August 14.

ADVERTISMENT

Upselling hearing loss: retail hearing aids How does this make you feel? the shopping centre was completely Last week, I was approached by a wrong. The patient had had surgery patient looking for a second opinion. on one ear 20 years ago which had The week prior she had been to a resulted in worse hearing loss in that retail hearing aid store in her local ear and not the other. Yet the “hearing shopping centre, hoping to get some test” from the shopping centre showed advice regarding her hearing loss. As that her hearing was equal in both a pensioner, she should have been ears. Was this because the tester was able to claim free hearing aids as incompetent or the equipment was part of the Australian Government’s faulty? Or was it just an attempt to hearing loss scheme under the Office cover up a medical condition that of Hearing Services, but when she would have required the patient inquired about the program to be seen by a doctor she was told by the before hearing aids could salesperson that the even be considered government-issued ”We need to for her? It is likely hearing aids were we’ll never know of poor quality speak out and about the answer, but and inadequate any of the above for her needs. what is going on in the explanations would hearing aid industry if we be unacceptable.

The salesperson insisted what want change.”

We need to speak she needed out and about what was one of their – Dr Vass is going on in the more expensive hearing aid industry if hearing aids, priced we want change. Anyone at over $7,000 for a pair. who has a similar story Anxious about not being can report it to the ACCC (erin. able to afford what seemed to swan@accc.gov.au) or to the new be a necessity, she reached out to a Complaints Procedure Panel (elissa. friend who suggested she make an campbell@audiology.asn). appointment with me for a second opinion.

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OPINION

Needle ‘veto’ claim proves offensive and false LIKE columnist and fellow former Assembly colleague Michael Moore, I too am disappointed by the failure of the ACT government to introduce a needle-exchange program in the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

I have been provoked into looking into the question of why there isn’t a NSP in the AMC by the following statement in “The Canberra Times” on April 20 on behalf of Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury purporting to explain why he had not established a NSP: “When the AMC opened, the minister responsible, Jon Stanhope, provided a veto power to CPSU in the enterprise agreement. This meant a NSP could not be introduced without agreement from staff. Subsequent Ministers have been hamstrung since that time”.

This statement is false. I was offended by it, not just because it is false (Shane Rattenbury is, after all, just another politician) but because in a meeting with him two to three years ago, held at his request, I told him that I had never done any such thing.

I told Rattenbury that all I had done was agree that the government would consult with staff. I therefore consider the above statement as tantamount to calling me a liar.

I accordingly lodged an FOI request in which I sought a copy of

I told Rattenbury that all I had done was agree that the government would consult with staff. I therefore consider the subsequent statement as tantamount to calling me a liar. “all documents of whatever description related to the granting of a so-called veto to prison officers over the decision to introduce a needle program in the AMC”.

The documents subsequently released to me confirm that at no stage did I, or indeed anyone else, ever grant staff at the AMC a “veto” over the decision to establish a NSP. It seems that the CPSU has, by repeatedly but erroneously insisting that it has a “veto”, managed to bluff the current crop of ministers and officials into believing that it does.

The document trail confirms that from the outset all that was ever agreed to was a right to be consulted.

The following are some examples: • F rom Greg Friedewald (Chief of Staff to the Chief Minister) to Robert Gotts (the senior officer within the Chief Minister’s Department who had carriage of negotiations with the CPSU) dated March 30, 2007: “Robert, the CM agrees: he says all he agreed to was a promise to consult, not to write in a commitment as firm as that proposed by the CPSU.” • F rom Robert Gotts to Greg Friede-

wald, April 2, 2007” “Some words below. This protects future decisions that aren’t the CPSU’s to make and limits any agreement, essentially, to the OH&S issues that they can fairly be concerned about”.

• F rom Robert Gotts to Renee Leon (director-general of Justice and Community Safety), August 13, 2007: “I’ve attached the email trail from the CM’s office around the development of the words. The intention was to limit the involvement of the CPSU to how, rather than whether, a needle exchange is implemented”.

• F rom Renee Leon to Liz Beattie, August 7, 2007: “The issue of the clause in the draft custodial agreement re needle exchange was discussed between ministers yesterday. Minister Corbell has advised me that the Chief Minister did not at any time agree to a clause that would subject a possible needle exchange program to AGREEMENT of custodial officers. He agreed that they should be CONSULTED on any such program.”

Having been unable to unearth a single document to support the claims

by Rattenbury’s office that I, or indeed anyone, had granted the CPSU a “veto” over a needle program in the AMC, the FOI officer handling my request wrote to Robert Gotts, who is still employed in a senior capacity in the ACT Public Service, apparently seeking to confirm that every document within the scope of my request had been located.

Mr Gotts responded, on May 17, in the following terms: “I was responsible for the negotiation of that Enterprise Agreement. I am not sure whether I could put my hands on any documents that related to the negotiations. However, my memory of this accords with Mr Stanhope’s.

“The needle exchange was a point of contention, with the tension around a determination by myself and other government negotiators not to lock future governments into any fixed position.

“The clause was only to consult on the issue of a needle exchange, there was no right of veto.”

The only remaining question then is to try to understand the behaviour of the minister and his office.

Is it that they simply didn’t do their homework and/or have been suckered

by the CPSU into believing that it had in fact been granted rights that are in fact fictional?

Does the fact that the CPSU is the largest union affiliated with the ACT Branch of the Labor Party, with the greatest influence over ALP appointments and pre-selection, play on the minds of ministers in their dealings with the union?

Is it, heaven forbid, that Rattenbury simply doesn’t care whether prisoners in the AMC contract life-threatening diseases because they are refused the full suite of preventative care available in the community?

Only Rattenbury knows the answer to these questions. The next time I bump into him I will ask him which it is and let you know.

Jon Stanhope was chief minister from 2001 to 2011 and represented Ginninderra for the Labor Party from 1998. He is the only chief minister to have governed with a majority in the Assembly.

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THE GADFLY

POLITICS

When charity begins at the till

Eye-opening health challenges the community faces

There’s enough plastic packing in the supermarkets and hardware stores of Australia to befoul our seas for centuries. And most of it is completely unnecessary.

GOOD old Coles. In a burst of patriotic generosity, it announced in full-page advertisements that “Coles supports farmers with $5 million to help combat drought”.

It’s enough to swell the hearts of Aussies everywhere, especially those of us who do our weekly shopping with the company that owns not only supermarkets, but Liquorland, Bunnings, KMart, Target, Officeworks and on and on it goes…

Of course, it’s not really a $5 million gift to the poor, old, droughtstricken farmers.

When you look a little closer that headline

figure actually comprises “grants and interest-free loans”.

The company doesn’t say what proportion of it comes under each heading, but of course the loans would have to be repaid. And it doesn’t say what form the “grants” would take. Could it be, perhaps, that some would come in goods from its own companies?

And could the amounts be calculated on the retail cost of the clothing, say, from Target or widgets from KMart?

But there’s more.

Again, from the great well of human kindness the company says it’s volunteering to “collect donations at every Coles checkout across Australia”, which they promise to send to the CWA “to distribute among their

dose of dorin

local farming communities to those who need it most”.

All very admirable. Except, of course, that to make your donation you’d have to go to a Coles store and you can bet pounds to peanuts that donors would also be shoppers adding more than enough to Coles’ bottom line to pay for the exercise.

Sad to say, it’s just another

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.

example of the yawning gap between business and benevolence. Coles is no better nor worse than other members of the supermarket oligopoly.

If they really wanted to help farmers they would pay them a decent price for their produce and reduce their middleman take.

The real reason for their misleading $5 million headline is that its own recent plastic bag imbroglio resulted in a PR black eye and it wanted to gloss over it with a little pretend generosity from its so-called “Nurture Fund”.

In fact, Canberrans have adapted to bring-your-own cloth bags with very little fuss and if Coles don’t ban the plastics voluntarily, the various states should do it for them. Indeed, there is a crying need for a commission of inquiry into the whole packaging industry.

There’s enough plastic packing in the supermarkets and hardware stores of Australia to befoul our seas for centuries. And most of it is completely unnecessary.

Retailers like it because it means shoppers buy more batteries or nails or ping pong balls than they want or need. And don’t get me started on the fizzy drinks down Coles’ obesity aisle where the contents are almost as deplorable as the packages they come in.

At least in Australia we’re developing some reasonable alternatives to the supermarket oligopoly – the farmers’ markets each weekend are becoming ever more popular among Canberrans. At the coast, the Moruya Market goes from strength to strength.

If it’s true that all politics is local, so perhaps is progress. And that, Mr Coles, is what really swells the heart. robert@robertmacklin.com

12 CityNews August 9-15, 2018

THE recent ACT chief health officer’s report, “Healthy Canberra 2018”, is an eye-opener in examining the achievements and the challenges of individuals and governments in our community.

It sets the scene early, saying: “Canberrans enjoy one of the highest standards of health and wellbeing in the world and have the highest life expectancy in Australia”. So far, good news.

However, the chief health officer identifies some serious challenges such as an ageing population, increasing chronic conditions and the need to “provide environments that our community expects so that they can lead active, healthy and productive lives”.

The “National Sports Plan” was released within a day of “Healthy Canberra 2018” and began by pointing out “the health, cultural and economic contribution sport makes to our country is significant”.

Later the sports plan is even more specific in the way that it relates to health saying: “Sport plays a central role in keeping people active and healthy and can be the conduit to a long, healthy life.

“Through examining prevention we seek to identify how to use sport to achieve population health goals and reduce the burden of chronic disease in Australia, drawing from the wealth of expertise in this sector”.

Where active, healthy people is a key to a healthier society, the “National Sports Plan” is not enough on its own to address the most fundamental health issue identified in the chief health officer’s report – obesity and overweight children and adults lead to much greater levels of chronic disease, increased personal expenses, pain, discomfort and restrictions on functioning.

It also means

a significant and increasing burden in economic and health costs for the community as a whole. As such it is both an issue of personal responsibility and good government guardianship.

Addressing overweight and obesity at the earliest possible stage has been part of the aim of ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris, who identified “prevention” as a key aim of her role in health.

Her government tackled unhealthy food at school canteens, for example, and the good news in the report is a reduction from 23 per cent in 2015 to just 3 per cent two years later in 2017.

The report looks beyond our children with 63.5 per cent of adults overweight or obese. Most challenging are those aged 45 to 54 years who were more than 70 per cent either overweight or obese, compared to 40 per cent in the 18-to-24-year category.

The key to addressing overweight and obesity is the combination of good nutrition and a healthy, active lifestyle.

Some messages are getting through. There has been a significant reduction in the consumption of sugary soft drinks in the ACT dropping from 40 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2016 amongst our 5 to 15 year olds.

We are eating more fruit, but still only around 10 per cent are eating the recommended daily intake of vegetables.

Governments encourage people to be more active.

However, they have not yet been prepared to take on “big food”. The Health Star Rating system on packaged food is a start. It is not yet perfect and, although under review, is not yet mandatory. It wouldn’t be necessary if enough of us were eating in a manner consistent with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

Governments could demonstrate their own commitment to improving health by implementing a levy on sugary soft drinks with the revenue dedicated to prevention. Such a measure should and could be implemented immediately.

We are eating more fruit, but still only around 10 per cent are eating the recommended daily intake of vegetables.

THE EXPERTS OF MITCHELL

advertising feature

North hub buzzes with variety and new services SUPPORTED by Gungahlin’s newer surrounding suburbs, Mitchell is home to a growing variety of businesses and services.

The suburb was named after Maj. Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, surveyor-general and explorer of NSW, and all its streets are named after Australian industrialists.

This week “CityNews” meets some of the top expert businesses operating out of the northside’s commercial hub.

MITCHELL

One-stop-shop for household problems SAVING people time and money, Oldmate ACT has the experience to provide a range of services such as plumbing, refrigeration, gas fitting, electrical, cooling and heating.

It’s a “one-stop-shop” says director Tim Drage, who has more than 15 years’ experience in the industry.

“When people have various issues within their household, they can just come to the one company,” he says.

“We can help them out with a majority of their appliances and different fixtures within the house.”

And that also goes for businesses, as Oldmate ACT works commercially, too.

As for the quality of work, Tim says it’s the highest

because they work hard to get it right so they’re only at a job once.

“Our qualified staff are always on hand to answer any questions and give the best possible advice and will always provide you with quality service at a competitive price,” he says.

“We also have a quick turnaround and offer an emergency service as well.

“It’s 24 hours, so if someone has a burst water pipe flooding the house, we can come fix it.”

Oldmate ACT. Call 6254 6576, email office@oldmateact.com.au or visit oldmateact.com.au

Team uniforms to trophies

Cars with Premier service and selling ESTABLISHED in 1995, Premier Automotive has since grown alongside the Mitchell area, building itself a reputation from its quality work and competitive prices.

“We do anything from new-car servicing, ACT registration inspections, steering suspension and tyres, brakes and all other general mechanical service needs,” says its director Rob Cunningham, who has always had an interest and passion for cars.

Linked to Premier Automotive is its car yard, which sells quality used cars.

Rob says as specialists in all aspects of car repairs and servicing they know exactly what to look out for when checking over the used cars they offer.

Google maps

Oldmate ACT director Tim Drage.

“All of the vehicles we supply are inspected and serviced right here in our own wellequipped workshop to ensure they are ready for the road,”he says.

With cars varying from $5000 to $50,000 Rob says each of them is handpicked and each comes with a roadworthy certificate and extended warranty.

And they buy cars, too, so if people are in the market to sell or trade their car they can come by or call for more details.

TWENTY-five years on and the family-owned business Capital Trophies and Sportswear is still a one-stop-shop for local sporting teams.

Based on Lysaght Street in Mitchell, owner Brett Boardman says Capital Trophies and Sportswear is easy and convenient as sporting teams can get uniforms at the beginning of the season and trophies at the end.

Recently modernised, the showroom, which features trophies, clothing, corporate gifts and awards, has been condensed, leaving more room to customise items in the workshop at the back.

“We can go from resin trophies for kids’ sports, to medals, to 24-carat, gold-plated cups and everything else in between,” he says.

“We also do framing for all of the shirts and jumpers.”

Capital Trophies and Sportswear, Shop 7/101 Lysaght Street.

Call 6241 6448 or visit captrophysports.com.au

Trophies that stand out from the rest...

Premier Automotive, 5 Winchcombe Court, Mitchell. Call 6242 8450, email service@premierautos.com.au or visit premierautomotive.com.au

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THE EXPERTS OF MITCHELL Solar savings the only way to go, says Donna SINCE 2013 Power Saving Centre Canberra has helped homeowners and businesses in the ACT and its surrounding regions reduce their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.

“If you invest in a solar system, you’re buying your own power for life,” says sales manager Donna Spargo.

Similar to renting a house versus owning a house, Donna says people can either rent power or, through Power Saving Centre Canberra, buy their own power.

Power Saving Centre Canberra is essentially an engineering company that specialises in solar, which means all its systems are customised.

“With every person we look at their historical data of their electrical usage and work out a customised solution,” she says.

“We always go to the site because there’s always something to identify before giving them a price.”

Donna says this means customers don’t get hit with any hidden costs.

“Solar is the way of the future and it’s the only way to go,” she says.

Power Saving Centre Canberra, 1/44 Hoskins Street, Mitchell. Call 6154 5444, email info@psccan.com.au or visit psccan.com.au

Landscape supplies and lots of them GUNGAHLIN Landscape Supplies has been providing Canberra with quality landscape supplies for more than three years in Mitchell.

But its director Alan Butler has been in landscape construction for more than 20 years, which is why Alan, alongside his team, are able to provide people with the right advice to suit both residential and commercial jobs.

“We’ve got all your landscape products such as soils, mulches, sands, gravel, rocks and bag products,” he says.

“People can come pick up products in their utes and trailers or we can deliver and we have a prompt delivery service.”

Alan says they’re often commended on their high-quality products and that, alongside their friendly service, makes Gungahlin Landscape Supplies a great choice for public, trade and commercial use.

“We also have a green waste drop-off centre for the ACT where people can bring garden waste such as clippings, branches and leaves,” he says.

“Then we mince it up and make it back into compost.”

People only need to pay a gold-coin donation for this service and 25 per cent of any donation goes straight to a children’s charity, which this year is the Starlight Foundation.

Gungahlin Landscape Supplies, Lot 440 Morisset Road, Mitchell.

Call 0488 015285 or visit gungahlinls.com.au

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THE EXPERTS OF MITCHELL Keeping quilts cosy and warm

Spit Shack Mitchell’s head chef Tomislav Panduric.

New store gets an extended menu NEW to Mitchell, the Spit Shack has opened another store along Lysaght Street after demand for its traditional Adriatic and Croatian homemade food on the northside.

Beginning on the Kings Highway, about 20 kilometres past Braidwood, on a vacant paddock, it wasn’t long before its popularity grew and it settled into Braddon, Pialligo, Tuggeranong and now Mitchell.

“It became an overnight sensation, with thousands making it a regular pitstop on their journey to or from the south coast,” says a Spit Shack spokesman.

He says the new location in Mitchell will see an extended menu with food such as burek, which is artisan pastries filled with food such as meat, and sit-down dinners on Fridays and Saturdays.

“What sets us apart is that everything is made in house,” he says.

“We’ve brought out our Croatian chef, Tomislav Panduric, who has worked in some of the finest restaurants in Croatia.

“And we’ve extended the menu for the first time with more traditional home cooking.”

But don’t stress, the Spit Shack still has all the usual crowd favourites such as the pork roll, which has spit-roasted pork, apple sauce, crackling and gravy.

And on top of the great food, he says the staff treat each and every customer as if they’re the only customer that exists in the whole world, so expect exceptional service.

NOTHING says winter comfort like a quality down quilt, says Therma Quilts, which is keeping its customers’ quilts fresh, fluffy and warm this winter with regular servicing.

“Servicing of feather and down products is essential for keeping them in optimal condition for comfort,” says a Therma Quilts spokeswoman.

Therma Quilts specialises in making and servicing feather and down products from quilts to pillows, cushions and anything made from feather and down.

Using quality textiles, the seamstresses at Therma Quilts hand make every item suited to the customer’s needs and provide a top-up service when quilts and pillows show signs of wear or loss of warmth and fluffiness.

“Over time, this build-up dampens the down, which causes it to lose its thermal resistance,” she says.

“In addition, if your quilt is not warm enough or too warm, we are able to adjust it to your requirements.”

With its eco-friendly cleaning process, Therma Quilts services feather and down products including sleeping bags and down clothing as well as other textiles such as silk, polyester, cotton and wool quilt underlays.

Therma Quilts also has urgent, same-day cleaning services so customers aren’t without their quilts in the cold winter weather.

“If children or pets have an accident we can do same-day services at no extra charge,” she says.

“As long as we receive the quilts by 9.40am then they’ll be returned by 3pm.”

Therma Quilts, 10-12 Kemble Court, Mitchell.

Call 6241 6859 or visit thermaquilts.com.au

Spit Shack, Unit 3, 83-101 Lysaght Street.

Call 1300 726556 or visit spitshack.com.au

The Guirola team, from left, Henry Li, Stephan Pavic, Esteban Gonzalez, Rafael Ramos and director Oscar Guirola.

Interior designers offer personal attention GUIROLA Interiors is always looking for new products and new challenges so it can continue to deliver a quality interior fit-out service to Canberra and NSW, says its director Oscar Guirola.

Backed with 25 years experience in construction, carpentry and commercial and residential fitouts, Oscar established Guirola Interiors about five years ago because he wanted to work with design and wanted to give clients the option to add their personal touch.

“Our service is a very personal one,” he says.

“I’m involved in the projects so I can relate to what the clients want and, alongside my team, push the job forward.”

Specialising in commercial projects such as offices and retail, Oscar says he enjoys working with the design of these spaces, especially if they’re challenging.

“We’re always working with new products and new feature materials and we’re always looking for modern materials,” he says.

“Some of the products are really quite exciting.”

Oscar says Guirola Interiors is made up of an experienced and diverse team from a range of trades, who work with designers and builders to give each customer the personal design they want.

Guirola Interiors, 6/18 Winchcombe Court, Mitchell.

Call 0404 706760 or visit guirola-interiors-pty-ltd.business.site

Spit Shack is now open in Mitchell with an extended menu. Please try some of our spit roast favourites as well as new specialties prepared by Tomislav our new Croatian Chef. All home made and prepared daily.

Local experts in commercial fitouts

LOCAL BUSINESS OFFERING A PERSONAL APPROACH

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Monday - Thursday 7am - 4pm Friday - Saturday 7am - late.

Deliveroo and Ubereats also available for Gunghalin!

Ph: 1300 726 556 Unit 3, 83-100 Lysaght St Mitchell www.spitshack.com.au

The feather and down experts for over 30 years SERVICE FOR YOUR QUILTS, PILLOWS & CUSHIONS

New range of winter quilts!

Eco-friendly cleaning and rejuvenation of: • All feather & down products.

• Woollen, silk, polyester and cotton blankets and underlays.

Custom made products to your specifications: • repairing, resizing and re-casing services • add extra feather and down to your quilts, pillows or sleeping bags.

Unit 9, 10-12 Kemble Court, Mitchell • www.thermaquilts.com.au Phone: 6241 6859 • Email: shop@thermaquilts.com.au 16 CityNews August 9-15, 2018

advertising feature Hot news about floor heating SPECIALISING in floor-heating products and services, P.A.P. Heating Solutions has the experience and expertise to provide the floor-heating system for any application Australia wide.

From commercial to domestic buildings, the company offers a full design, quotation and installation service for in-slab heating and under-tile heating.

The company says: “No other heating system provides the all-round benefits of floor heating.

“It is efficient to install and run and is generally maintenance free as it doesn’t require cleaning or replacement of filters.

“There are floor-heating systems perfect for carpeted, tiles and polished concrete floors and many timber floors.”

P.A.P. Heating Solutions is the Australian importer, distributor and designer for the premium-quality ELEKTRA

Where landscaping materials are a family affair FROM a humble beginning with a few trucks in 1954, Corkhill Bros, Landscaping Supplies Canberra, has since grown and now provides wholesale landscaping materials to the public and green waste recycling services.

The family owned business started with co-founder Brian and his brother Patrick, who both decided to establish Corkhill Bros after losing the family dairy farm to Lake Burley Griffin.

Brian says Corkhill Bros aims to incorporate the family ethics and values in day-to-day business operations.

“We strive to create a workforce of hardworking, committed, trustworthy and loyal employees that promote this culture,” he says.

Through its multi-faceted operations Brian says the

company’s intention is to successfully extract, process and deliver its products to meet the needs of varied target markets; both residential and commercial.

Corkhill Bros’ commercial operations include chipping, screening, grinding, processing, bulk production and special blend production as requested.

Then its waste side has services such as the hire of skip bins of various sizes and recycling of drop off and kerbside garden organics.

Corkhill Bros’ landscaping supply outlets are located at Mugga Lane, Symonston and Darling Street, Mitchell.

Heating Cables. According to the company, the ELEKTRA DM20 Twin In-Screed Heating Cable is an “in-floor heating cable” that is installed on top of an existing floor in a cement screed or self-levelling compound of about 6-8mm thick and can be installed under many different floor surfaces that radiate heat easily, such as tiles, slate, stone, low-pile carpet and some wooden floor panels.

“The ELEKTRA DM20 is a ‘quick response’ heating system and if the room has effective thermal insulation it may be used as the primary heating system,” they say.

ELEKTRA DM20 is silent and invisible, has no ducts or vents, no maintenance or cleaning, is efficient and cost effective, and has individual room thermostat controls.

P.A.P. Heating Solutions, 23 Winchcombe Court, Mitchell.

Call 6242 9310 or visit papheatingsolutions.com.au

IN SCREED HEATING For Tiles, Marble, Stone and Low Pile Carpet

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Corkhill Bros, 33 Darling Street. Call 6241 8860 or visit corkhillbros.com.au

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“Our friendly staff will advise you on the best suited products & quantities for your project”

Corkhill BroS CityNews August 9-15, 2018 17

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

New taste of class for Phillip WENDY JOHNSON

ARTS IN THE CITY

Circus Oz with a Canberra accent

Heath Ledger, April 19, 2001. Photo by Karin Catt

Heath Ledger at Guildford Grammar Preparatory School, 1989.

A deep look at Heath Ledger

By Helen Musa

EVEN to himself, the late Heath Ledger was something of a mystery.

The quintessential actor who changed his style to match his changing characters, he once said: “I feel like I’m wasting my time if I repeat myself”.

Well before his untimely death at age 28 from a prescription drug overdose, his roles were not just legendary but varied – the troubled young man in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” and the brooding, witty hero of “Ned Kelly”, directed by Gregor Jordan who had brought Ledger to prominence in the youthful film “Two Hands”.

Amid the outpouring of public grief over his death Ledger was honoured with a posthumous Oscar and a BAFTA for his performance as the psychotic Joker in “The Dark Knight”, of which one critic wrote: “This young actor looked into the abyss”.

Now the National Film and Sound Archive is bringing to Canberra the WA Museum’s blockbuster exhibition, “Heath Ledger: A Life in Pictures”.

The exhibition is part of the archive’s CEO Jan Müller’s drive to create a higher public profile and, after a long hiatus in large-scale exhibitions (last year’s big show “Starstruck” was co-curated by the NFSA but installed at the National Portrait Gallery), the old anatomy museum has been completely refurbished to provide what they are calling “a new space”.

“Heath Ledger: A Life in Pictures” celebrates

tells tales of

YESTERDAYS in...

in all aspects of the film industry. He was committed to directing and undoubtedly would have become one of our foremost directors.

He loved music, but most of all he liked engaging with the filmmakers, the costumiers, the make-up people and, indeed, everyone involved in helping him build a role.

In his short life, she says, he had three main passions; acting, chess and sport. As a boy he competed in the Globe Shakespeare Competition, in school musical productions and the Rock Eisteddfod, but at 16 he had to choose between acting and his beloved field hockey – acting won.

Holland outlines the structure of the exhibition: “We start with his childhood and then there’s a kind of filmography.”

There will be excerpts from some of his own films, six music videos that he directed and a look at his unfinished film, “The Queen’s Gambit”, which reflects his passion for chess. A lot of the film footage on show, Holland says, was taken by his close friends.

“Small excerpts, but they give you an idea of behind-the-scenes.” And there are films that were influential on him by directors that he admired.

Holland believes the exhibition will appeal to a wide age group and says: “In WA I saw people as young as 15 coming for the surfing and surfboards, it was quite a variety, it was really lovely, like a family coming together”.

“Heath Ledger: A Life in Pictures”, National Film and Sound Archive, August 10-February 10. Free exhibition.

THE ever-questing Griffyn Ensemble has been in Tennant Creek working with Arrernte, indigenous song-writing legend Warren H Williams to create more stories and songs about the stars. Now new “astro-works”, written by Williams and Griffyn, alongside a reworking of Griffyn’s “Southern Sky” will be performed in slightly less starry Canberra. “One Sky, Many Stories” will be at Belconnen Arts Centre, August 18. Bookings to griffyn. iwannaticket.com.au AROUND 1600 young people and adults in 53 choirs from Canberra and interstate, will take part in this year’s choirs section of the Australian National Eisteddfod, August 17-18, at Canberra Girls Grammar School Hall and Llewellyn Hall. The event will climax on the Saturday evening when six choirs will take part in the Open Australian Choral Challenge and Open Choral Group sections, with a first prize of $5500. Bookings to nationaleisteddfod.org.au VIOLINIST Ray Chen has millions of social media followers, a partnership with Giorgio Armani and a spot in the 2017 Forbes list of 30 most influential Asians under 30. Chen will be here with French pianist Julien Quentin for Musica

Lachlan Sukroo carries the show in Circus Oz. Photo by Ray Blackburn Viva, performing Beethoven, Grieg, Falla, Monti and a world premiere of “Dark Matter” by Matthew Hindson.

At Llewellyn Hall, 7pm, August 16.

Bookings to musicaviva.com.au “ONE Night Only” is a celebration of the music of the Bee Gees and boasts at least one star from years gone by in bass player, Neil Rhodes, who used to play for Gerry and the Pacemakers. At Lanyon Vikings, 8pm, Saturday, August 18. Bookings to vikings.com.au CAPO, the Capital Arts Patrons’ Organisation, marks 35 years of fundraising for the arts at its November gala, “Nautical but Nice”. But first, Award applications are open until October 1 to all practising ACT artists. Bookings and applications to capo.org.au

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the Australian actor’s screen career with the display of costumes, including the Joker suit from “The Dark Knight” and the shirts from “Brokeback Mountain”, his research journal, his Best Supporting Actor Oscar and BAFTA for “The Dark Knight” and portraits by international photographers such as Karin Catt and Bruce Weber.

But when “CityNews” catches up with Sydney-based consultant curator Allison Holland, it quickly becomes clear that the real focus of the show is on Ledger as a developing director.

It’s not a new task for Holland, who was also consultant curator to the Ledger family and the WA Museum over the eight years it took to develop an exhibition about a true local artistic hero, which saw 80,000 punters passing through the doors in WA. Holland says: “You could almost call it a different project now that it’s being staged away from his hometown… he was known personally to a lot of people there.”

“It’s where he grew up, so the exhibition in Perth had a very strong community feel.”

The exhibition in Perth was slightly larger, she says, as some objects were too fragile to be transported. “But there is a beautiful design team for this installation,” she says, “and the core of the content is essentially the same.”

So why did Ledger appeal so much to the public imagination?

In Holland’s view it was primarily because he was Australian, a gifted actor and one interested

CIRCUS Oz is coming back to town with its family show “Model Citizens”. Two of the performers, Jake Silvestro and Lachlan Sukroo, grew up in Canberra and started their careers with Warehouse Circus, eventually forming Poncho Circus here before running away to join Circus Oz. Expect mesmerising aerialists, cheeky characters, daredevil acrobats, cigar box juggling, hula hooping and “backyard banter”. At Canberra Theatre, August 16-18.

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Bookings by phone contact MARILYN GRAY 0407 512 296, online @ c a p o . o r g . a u / t i c k e t s CityNews August 9-15, 2018 19

CINEMA

Dr Knock knows how to fill a waiting room “Dr Knock” (PG) STARTING in Marseilles with a down-and-out African man fleeing two thugs demanding money, going to sea as a medical officer on a small passenger ship and five years later arriving in a rural village, this is a gentle, warm-hearted parable about a one-time petty thief seeing the light, qualifying as a medico and going about doing good.

If that sequence of stages in the life of Knock (Omar Sy) seems a tad garbled, be patient. I watched it alone so cannot validly conjecture at how others might respond to it, but I’d like to think that the mixture of serious aspects of village life, grassroots humour, moral conflicts, love and personal tragedy that writer/director Lorraine Levy offers deserves consideration. Billed as a comedy, it indeed delivers some gently amusing moments but those are not its main dramatic intention.

It’s a what-goes-around-comes-around story as Knock, after buying the Saint-Maurice practice of Dr Parpalaid, sets out to make the community aware of medical services hitherto unknown. Knock doesn’t wait for patients to come to him. He’s a snake-oil salesman who knows what he’s doing and who knows about what’s going on in the village better than the postman (Christian Hecq). As news of what he’s offering begins to fill his waiting room, it gets right up the nose of Father Lupus (Alex Lutz).

And what about Adèle (Ana Girardot), the pretty young woman from an orphan

she will have her three-year-old cousin Anna (Paula Robles) for company.

Among this quartet of characters carrying most of the film’s gentle plot, the performances of the two little girls stand out with wonderful force. Frida sometimes gently dominates little Anna because Anna has what she no longer has – proper parents.

Premiering at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, apparently to immediate acclaim, it’s no blockbuster, for which we should give thanks. The closing titles begin with a mark of its authenticity – a dedication to the memory of Carla Simón’s mother which strongly suggests that Frida tells Carla’s story.

At Palace Electric

“The Wife” (M) Omar Sy in the title role of “Dr Knock”.

Laia Artigas as Frida in “Summer 1993”.

background who works in Madame La Cuq’s fields and household? She has a bit of a cough. No matter, it’s not serious. And coming from a similar economic and social background to Knock, it’s scarcely surprising that love begins to bloom.

The film’s collection of moments in the lives of its characters offers much more than these few samples. Its narrative has an affectionate feeling. Its mountain scenery is beautiful. And meeting its people – well, most of them – is rather enjoyable.

“Summer 1993” (PG)

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THIS memoir of childhood, the debut feature written and directed by Carla Simón, is a minor tour de force for its delicate observation of children and the style manifested in its creative treatment.

Frida (Laia Artigas) is six when her widowed mother dies. Her uncle Esteve (David Verdaguer) and aunt Marga (Bruna Cusí) have come to bring her to their rural home in Catalonia where

I TRY to approach each film with a forward gaze uncluttered by expectation, hope or similar sentiments not yet supported by the experience of actually having seen it.

Sometimes I bend that rule.

Which happened when I was preparing to watch this movie about the relationship between a husband and his second wife as they head off to collect his Nobel Prize for literature.

Surely, I expected, the screenplay would

give two top-of-the-list actors a basis for intelligent interaction en route to a challenging denouement.

After seeing it, I concluded that American playwright Jane Anderson had adapted a novel by Meg Wolitzer to guide Swedish filmmaker Björn Runge in building “The Wife” into a chick-flick for and about intelligent people.

It poses no difficulty about understanding its hoppings back and forth in time, as young Joe Castleman (Harry Lloyd) abandons a first wife in favour of Joan (Glenn Close) to whom he stays married when Jonathan Pryce is playing him on the prize-conferring junket. It offers an unremarkable picture of their lives as grandparents. On board Concorde flying to Sweden, it introduces a fly in the dramatic ointment in the form of Nathaniel (Christian Slater) who’s questing material for a book about the great writer and would like to get Joan into his bed on the way, perhaps to even the score for Joe’s infidelities with students.

Regular filmgoers should not be troubled by guessing where it’s going well before it gets there. Very likely, guessing correctly!

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DINING / manolo’s, phillip

Phillip gets a new taste of class SITTING pretty among a sea of car dealerships, mechanics sites and other commercial ventures in Phillip is Manolo’s, a relatively new eatery with good food and a touch of class.

Some would say it’s a bold move to open in an area that for yonks only specialised in dishing up grub for tradies in fluros, but industrial Phillip is changing and Manolo’s has been smart to seize the moment.

I was greeted with soft music and a warm, rustic fitout. The wooden tables are nicely spaced, the distressed brick walls and a wooden wall are interesting features. Bench seating at the front window is a perfect spot to watch the world go by.

Manolo’s is owned by Alex and Nicole Piris, also owners of Farrer’s Fox and Bow café.

In a matter of nanoseconds, I was presented with water and the small but inviting menu. I couldn’t go past the packed-with-flavour pork rib and white bean casserole; a hearty dish on a cold winter’s day. It came in a bright blue-and-white dish and was the perfect size for lunch ($19). I soaked up the sauce

Pretty on the plate… orange almond cake with a berry coulis, The distressed brick walls and whipped cream and a candied slice of orange dipped in chocolate. a wooden wall at Manolo’s are

Photos by Wendy Johnson interesting features. with a slice of thick crusty bread and enjoyed every bite of the salty, smoky French Andouille sausage.

Had I not been so drawn to the “cassoulet” I would have ordered the chilli blue swimmer crab and mushroom linguine ($18.90) or the Spanish fish soup with tomato, saffron, potato, parsley and lemon ($13.90).

Salad lovers are well taken care of and several orders of the healthy, tasty and filling Casablanca passed by my table, loaded with

roast pumpkin, quinoa, cucumber, crumbled feta, pistachio, parsley, lemon and more ($17.90). Add an egg for extra protein ($3). The other main salad is broccoli and roquette ($15).

If the official menu items don’t tickle your fancy, Manolo’s makes a wonderful range of sandwiches, house-made pies, sausage rolls, lasagna and other bites, all lined up in the display counter at the front where you also order.

Manolo’s doesn’t shy away from delish sweets, perfect with

quality coffee by Five Senses. I was delighted with my orange almond cake, super moist and not overly sweet. It was pretty on the plate, with a berry coulis, whipped cream and a candied slice of orange dipped in chocolate.

The drink line-up includes freshly squeezed juices ($7.90), smoothies and shakes (from $6) and real chai brewed on bonsoy ($5.50).

At Manolo’s you can zip in and out for a quick bite or hang out if you’d like. The place is named after Alex’s father.

Manolo’s, 17 Botany Street, Phillip, open Monday to Friday, 7am to 3.30pm. BYO, $3 corkage.

THEATRE / cover story

SCENE / around canberra

Photos by ANA STUART

At King O’Malley’s Australian Beard & Beer Day

Luke Jarman, Mitch Kennedy and Tim Ingold

Bennita Jonker and Kylie Lange

Sam Thornton, Jack Johnson and Lane Neeson

Tim Kinsela, Anthony Shaw and Matt Leonard

Peter Barclay and Victoria Croker

Craig Alexander and Joanna Richards... “It’s a very sexy play and you don’t feel as if you’re in a tragedy – you laugh,” says Richards.

The pain and politics of sexual power COVER STORY

By Helen Musa

BEHIND Caroline Stacey’s coming production of the play “Venus in Fur” is a novella – a very famous novella by Austrian author Chevalier Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, from whom the word “masochism” derives.

It’s the classical masochism text and actors Joanna Richards and Craig Alexander have been delving into it with some interest, especially in its depiction of sexual politics.

While the 1870 novella tells of a man who is so infatuated with a woman, Wanda, that he asks her to make him her slave, the hugely popular 2010 play by David Ives, “Venus in Fur” is set in contemporary New York City.

It’s on three levels; the worlds of Sacher-Masoch, his novella and Ives’ play. Thomas is the writer-director of a new play, itself an adaptation of the novella. It’s audition time and in comes a brash new actress called Vanda for her audition for the part of Wanda, with Thomas reading the part of the man in the novella. But who’s in control? As the balance of power is reversed, real-life becomes very similar to fiction.

“Ninety-five minutes of the erotics of power,” The Street’s promotion proclaims, but if you believe Richards and Alexander, there’s scarcely any touching at all. Just like in the old movies where innuendo was everything.

Many of the incidents in the novel are alluded to in the play. “He” travels third class but “she”, wrapped in

furs, travels first class, reflecting Sacher-Masoch’s reallife contract with his mistress to have her debase him.

Sounds revolting in this post Harvey Weinstein era?

Well, maybe, Richards says, but it’s a question which Ives’ play addresses as her character asks, perhaps like the mistress, “you forced me into this role, so where does the power sit?”

“The dominating character is not altogether what it appears, and to make things more complicated in this play we have characters playing characters,” Richards says.

“If they feel powerless they’ll slip into the text of the play they’re supposed to be acting.”

The audience will have to be alert to every nuance in Ives’ rippling text, but if it sounds familiar, that’s because the French Film Festival brought Roman Polanski’s version to town a few years ago.

“It’s really topical asking questions about gender relations and sex in… the text is very clever explicit and yet suggestive, it’s no one thing, it’s full of surprises,” Richards says.

One thing that fascinates them is playwright Ives’ knowledge of literature, particularly Euripides’ “The Bacchae”, where the god Dionysius wreaks punishment on the impious King Pentheus.

Richards suspects herself her character is in part the goddess Aphrodite, but thinks the audience might wonder if she is Aphrodite or just a psychotic actress.

Alexander’s character is tied up and plays the female role. That’s exactly what happens to Pentheus in “The Bacchae”.

They agree that the play is full of sexual provocation, but note that there is no actual sexual assault. Rather, an “interesting chemistry” develops along with the role-playing and that’s what a lot of people will be enjoying, they say.

However, Richards does take issue with the way women are painted and says: “Women don’t get to author their own stories”. Thomas refuses to take responsibility, saying:“I didn’t write it, I’m directing it”.

But such issues aside, Richards says: “It’s a very sexy play and you don’t feel as if you’re in a tragedy – you laugh.”

“At one level it’s pure entertainment,” Alexander argues, “David Ives’ love of language is incredible, it’s so funny.”

Shannen Snow, Braeden Pethley and Natalee George

Sandra and Martin Fisk with Tara Cheyne MLA

“Venus in Fur”, The Street Theatre, August 22-September

Craig Alexander and Joanna Richards in “Venus in 2, adult content. Recommended for ages 16+. Bookings to Fur”.

Photo by Shelly Higgs thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

CityNews August 9-15, 2018 21

GARDENING

A dry argument for gardens AS we appear to be having increasingly longer periods of dry weather, it’s worth considering drought-tolerant plants for the garden.

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While some think them uninteresting and lacking in colour, nothing is further from the truth.

Spring brings colour to the garden, in particular from bulbs, which originate in the hottest parts of the world, the Middle East.

Right around the Mediterranean, from Turkey and Iraq to North Africa, there are prime examples of drought-tolerant plants growing in nutrient-starved poor soils.

Australia is not the only place experiencing longer, hotter summers and milder winters. Our daughter, who lives in Holland, tells me of many days over 30C in one of the driest northern summers on record.

In the UK, the Royal Horticultural Society is sending its members 10 top tips for caring for gardens in the long, hot, dry summer they are experiencing.

In Victoria, David Glenn’s Lambley Nursery at Ascot, on the dry, windswept plains near Bendigo, is displaying drought-tolerant plants.

Glenn sources the world with an emphasis on dry-climate plants displayed in his gardens (as illustrated) and the sign says it all.

So, how do we know which are drought-tolerant plants simply by looking at them? Firstly, think very small leaves such as rosemary or thyme that require less moisture

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The Lambley Nursery dry garden in Victoria. Inset: Lambley Nursery’s sign says it all. than large-leafed plants. Then think of those plants with silver foliage, cistus or rock rose and lavender are perfect examples. Succulents, which include sedums, store moisture in their fleshy leaves as do cactus.

A sweeping statement, I know, but most perennials, some of which stay evergreen after flowering and others die down in winter to have a rest, are great drought-tolerant plants.

Once again, it’s hard to go wrong with Mediterranean plants in regard to cold as we experience in Canberra. In those regions and desert country, the temperatures drop below zero.

A dry garden on a nature strip in Canberra.

All the above is equally applicable to our native plants and the Lambley Mediterranean regions to study Jottings... website is lambley.com.au plants in the wild. The extensive list • With inevitably higher water costs of plants are almost all available in in the ACT, consider reducing lawns THE most informative book on Australia and many readers, without and think drought-tolerant plants. the subject is Olivier Filippi’s “Plant- realising, will have these plants • Check out all drip-irrigation sysing Design for Dry Gardens” (Filbert growing in their gardens. tems. If the drip lines have become Press). Filippi and his wife Clara own I correspond with Filippi and buried, lift above the soil and check a nursery in the south of France can assure you that all his advice for any leaks or loose connections. that specialises in exceptional is applicable here. This is the book The drip lines should be on top of dry-climate plants. for anyone serious about having a the soil and under the mulch.

For more than 25 years they have low-maintenance garden using a • Start mulching at the end of this made numerous trips to the world’s minimum of water. month (50-75mm thick). If no rain is forecast, wet the soil thoroughly before spreading mulch. I recommend Canberra Sand and Gravel’s Canberra Organic Mulch.

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PUZZLES PAGE Joanne Madeline Moore

1300 435 010

General knowledge crossword No. 651

Your week in the stars – August 13-19, 2018

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Dynamic Mars (your boss planet) reverses through your career zone until August 27. The next two weeks is not an ideal time to kick-start a promotion, initiate a work project or look for a new job. If you do, then expect plenty of annoying delays and frustrations. On the weekend, Neptune and Jupiter stimulate your shared resources zone. So, the more creatively and generously you share financial ideas and collaborate with others, the more successful you’ll be in the foreseeable future.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Action-planet Mars is retrograde until August 27. So slow down and reflect on where you’re going, and where you’ve been. When it comes to a future holiday, be patient and plan carefully. On the weekend, lucky Jupiter and mystical Neptune activate your partnership zone. An important relationship is set to improve in leaps and bounds. Single Bulls – if you trust your instincts and follow your intuition, then it will (eventually) lead you to your celestial soul mate.

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GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Mars reverses into your shared finances zone. So the next two weeks is not a good time to lend cash, borrow money or initiate a joint financial partnership. Instead, be patient and wait until after August 27, when Mars finally turns direct. On the weekend Jupiter and Neptune stimulate your wellbeing and life direction zones.

Aim high as you strive to be the healthiest and fittest person you can possibly be.

No lame excuses and empty promises. Get your Gemini body moving ASAP!

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Relationships will be challenging, as people find it difficult to express themselves directly. Avoid taking it personally! Be inspired by birthday great, actress Halle Berry: “Don’t take yourself too seriously. Know when to laugh at yourself and find a way to laugh at obstacles that inevitably present themselves.” Jupiter and Neptune activate your self-expression and visionary zones. Connect with your inner muse, as you express yourself in increasingly colourful and creative ways.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Lions love to leap at life with fiery relish! But when it comes to your daily routine – slow and steady wins the race this week as Mercury and Mars continue their retrograde journeys. Motivation and energy levels will also be low so plan accordingly. With Jupiter and Neptune highlighting your home zone on the weekend, there is much love and happiness to be experienced from improved relationships with your extended family. Compassion and connection are the keys.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

This week (with Mars and Mercury both retrograde) a relationship with a child, teenager, lover or close friend will be confusing and frustrating. The best way to handle the situation is with plenty of patience and unlimited understanding. On the weekend, Neptune and Jupiter encourage you to contribute your versatile Virgo talents to a worthy cause within your local neighbourhood. If you do, then satisfying community connections and positive friendships will develop.

Legal • Family Law • Change of use • Compulsory acquisition

Financial • Financial Reporting • SMSFs • Mortgage Lending

Development • Feasibility • Bank and Non-bank Lending • As-is and On-completion

Solution next edition

Across

Down

1 What is a puma also known as? (6) 8 What do we call a bullock yoked on the right-hand side of a team? (8) 9 Which solid body revolves around the sun? (6) 10 What is another term for tropical cyclones? (8) 11 Name a former title for a young man of gentle birth as an aspirant to knighthood. (6) 12 What is an alternative expression for Christmas? (4) 13 Who was reputedly the first bishop of Rome? (5) 16 What is a medicine that invigorates or strengthens? (5) 19 Which vases hold the ashes of the dead after cremation? (4) 21 Which objects serve as emblems of clans or families? (6) 22 What is a pale, bluish purple colour? (8) 23 Name a colloquial term for racecourse tipsters. (6) 24 What do we call an internal audio system? (8) 25 What is a poem of fourteen lines? (6)

2 That which is neither perpendicular nor parallel to a given line, is said to be what? (7) 3 Which term describes a person who is not Jewish? (7) 4 To be in a state of decomposition or decay, is to be what? (6) 5 Which bituminous substance is used for covering roads? (7) 6 To put off, or postpone, is to do what? (7) 7 That which is severe, forceful or extreme, is said to be what? (7) 13 Name the captain general of the First Fleet, Arthur ... (7) 14 Which small metal plates with short legs are put under hot platters at the table? (7) 15 What is a more familiar term for joggers? (7) 17 What is a polygon having eight angles and eight sides? (7) 18 To plunge something into a liquid, is to do what? (7) 20 When one plays carelessly on a stringed instrument, one does what? (6)

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LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

With reactive Mars reversing through your domestic zone, tread gingerly with a grumpy house-mate or a frustrated family member. You’ll find the more patient and diplomatic you are, the less stressful the next two weeks will be. Prosperity planet Jupiter and inspiration planet Neptune fire up your finance and work zones on the weekend. So make it a priority to find creative ways to make more money. If you love what you do, then inner and outer riches will follow.

Sudoku hard No. 225

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Be careful when talking and driving over the next two weeks, as Mars reverses through your conversation and transport zone. Otherwise you could find yourself smack bang in the middle of an argument or accident! Bountiful Jupiter is visiting your sign until November 8 (and it won’t be back there for nearly 12 years). Make sure you capitalise on any awesome opportunities that come your way. Lucky breaks that appear now will come to fruition from September onwards.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Are you living in financial fairy-land? With Mars reversing into your money zone, you’re in the mood to spend up a storm. But make sure your personal finances are solid before you commit to a major purchase. And are you feeling stressed? On the weekend Neptune and Jupiter stimulate your spirituality zone. There is much inner peace to be found via activities like meditation, contemplation, yoga or tai chi as you slow down, calm down, and listen to the wise guidance from within.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Mighty Mars (planet of action and motivation) is reversing through your sign until August 27. So it’s time for active and ambitious Capricorns to pace yourself, as some plans backfire and confidence levels are lower than usual. You could also question your current trajectory and look to others for feedback and approval.

Don’t overdo it though! As birthday great Madonna observes: “If your joy is derived from what others think of you, then you’re going to be disappointed.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2018

Solutions from last edition Sudoku m edium No. 225

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

This week the celestial message for smart Pisceans is patience. If you look to the future with a positive attitude, then fabulous opportunities will manifest… eventually. But you must be extra patient over the next two weeks, as retrograde Mars slows things down. Jupiter and Neptune both activate your adventure and travel zone on the weekend. Make sure you take the time to plan and book (and save for) an exciting dream escapade sometime from September onwards.

Solution next edition

Crossword No. 650

Aquarians usually love to party! But avoid planning too many social activities over the next two weeks. With Mars reversing through your solitude zone, rest and relaxation are just what the doctor ordered. Neptune and Jupiter activate your career and money zones on the weekend. There is the potential for fabulous professional and financial opportunities to manifest in the future. But you must have the confidence and patience to follow your true destiny, one steady step at a time.

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