WILDFLOWER lovers are asking the public to join them for the Burbidge/Chippendale tradition of celebrating the spring flowering with the 44th annual Black Mountain wildflower ramble.

The ramble offers an opportunity to discover the surprising diversity of tiny orchids, bush peas, wattles and billy buttons with experienced guides. 

Following the tradition set by Nancy Burbidge and George Chippendale, this will be a social occasion with a morning tea break (BYO), relatively easy bush tracks and good company.

It is sponsored by Friends of Black Mountain, National Parks Association, U3A, Australian Native Plants Society, ANBG Friends, and the Field Naturalists.

A field guide will be on sale for $15 and some handouts provided.

BYO morning tea, hat, sunblock, water and stout shoes.
Please book to friendsofblackmountain@gmail.com to ensure the adequate provision of guides.  Contact: Linda Beveridge 0437 298 711 or Jean Geue 6251-1601.
Saturday 10 October 2015: 9.30 am sharp to 12 noon (or later)
Belconnen Way entry, just before Caswell Drive turnoff (look for the balloons).

Who was Nancy Burbidge?

Dr Nancy Burbidge, a botanist and conservationist, graduated in science from the University of Western Australia and then won a prize for a free passage to England. So she spent 18 months in 1939-1940 at the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. When she returned to Perth she studied the ecology and taxonomy of Western Australian plants and achieved her M.Sci., in 1945, and a Doctorate in 1961.

After working in Adelaide for a few years she came to Canberra as the systematic botanist in the CSIRO Division of plant industry in Canberra in 1946. Soon she was organising and expanding the division’s plant collection and she became head of the Australian Herbarium.

Nancy’s love of the bush was reflected in her energetic leadership of walks at weekends so people learn about and appreciate our wild plants. She was also prominent in her efforts to create protected areas, including Tidbinbilla, Black Mountain and other Nature Reserves.

Her love of nature is also commemorated by the Nancy T. Burbidge Memorial amphitheatre in the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

Who was George Chippendale?

George Chippendale began his career at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, and studied for a Bachelor of Science at the Sydney University. He worked for several years in Northern Territory where he made many trips into the bush with colleagues and assistants to collect plant specimens. These specimens were the basis for the present Northern Territory Herbarium.

He and his family moved to Canberra in 1966 where he took up the position of senior botanist in the then Forestry Research Institute at CSIRO.

He is noted in particular for his work on the type Eucalyptus, which he also examined at Kew Gardens and travelled to several European herbaria to examine similar material.

George’s enthusiasm for native plants was legendary, including when he led courses at the U3A and wildflower walks on Black Mountain.

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TIM Sullivan is a man who loves history and particularly the stories of our involvement in wars.

Not just those of the soldiers, sailors and airmen but of the extended families, the connections, the minutiae and memorabilia that give a wider picture of the experiences often held in the “shoebox” in the back of a cupboard undiscovered until a death.

Many nodding heads at the annual Defence Widows Support Group lunch at the CIT Restaurant affirmed what Sullivan said about the importance of all aspects of creating the Australian War Memorial’s comprehensive approach to storytelling and the intent to put people first in their continuing collection. And what a formidable collection it is, with now in this digital era the need for a different approach to collecting and collating.

The big stuff is important, too, with a Bushmaster PMV used in Afghanistan and a Chinook – not the salmon but the helicopter – soon to take up residence at the AWM.

For all the ladies who come together for this lunch from different organisations and affiliations such as Legacy’s BB – that’s baby boomers – the War Widows Guild, the RSL and TPI membership, the pleasure in the company of like-minded and supportive friends is an annual event always keenly anticipated and enjoyed.  

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TWO cyclists have been taken to Canberra Hospital following a crash involving a car on the Monaro Highway near Royalla this morning.  

The crash occurred just before 8am. One cyclist has sustained leg injuries and the other cyclists is being assessed for spinal injuries.

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JON STANHOPE offers a thoughtful column this week on why people are turning away from politicians; JOHN GRIFFITHS argues we’d all be much safer in driverless cars and SONYA FLADUN discovers “adult colouring”.

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AS the ACT government gives the green light to ridesharing, Unions ACT has warned that the arrival  of app-based booking services such as Uber does not excuse companies from their responsibility to workers and to the community.

“Globally, Uber not only refuses to collectively bargain with drivers, but maintains the legal fiction that drivers are not Uber employees. This has the potential to undermine the living conditions of all Australian workers,” says Alex White, secretary of UnionsACT.

“Far from being ‘innovative’, companies like Uber are using a new technology to revive outdated and adverse employment relationships from the 19^th century.”

The ACT is Australia’s first jurisdiction to regulate ridesharing, and Canberra will be the first capital in the world to enable ridesharing to operate legally ahead of ridesharing businesses operating. As a result, Uber and other ridesharing businesses, will be able to legally enter the Canberra market from October 30.

The government says this will improve travel options for Canberrans, reduce fares for the community through competition and drive further innovation in the demand-responsive transport industry

The reforms will be delivered in two stages. The first stage will allow the regulated entry of ridesharing into the Canberra market, and deliver an immediate reduction of fees for taxis and hire cars, from October 30. The second stage will include a customised CTP and property insurance regime for rideshare activity and further reductions in regulatory burdens for taxis.

Ridesharing vehicles and drivers will undergo accreditation and registration, including criminal and driving history checks – just like taxi drivers. Vehicles must be checked for safety, and rideshare will be fully insured, ensuring safety for passengers, drivers and the community.

The ACT Government recognises that new business models may put pressure on Canberra’s existing taxi drivers and owners. That’s why from October 30 the Government will reduce costs for drivers and owners of taxis, halving taxi licence lease fees in 2016 and halving them again in 2017.  Annual licence fees for hire cars will also be significantly reduced.

Canberra’s taxi drivers will have access to multiple modes of business, from traditional rank-and-hail work to ridesharing and third-party taxi booking apps. This will increase productivity and income streams for drivers while providing a consistent and high-quality on-demand transport service for Canberrans.

The Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Transport Reform, Shane Rattenbury, says that taxi industry reform is part of broader reform to public transport, with benefits to the economy, the community and the environment.

“Taxis and other demand-responsive transport options are important for accessibility and social equity, and are often relied on by those with special transport needs. These reforms do not change the current arrangements – the wheelchair-accessible taxi service booking system and the Taxi Subsidy Scheme are unchanged,” he says.

Alex White says: “Unions will be closely scrutinising the announcement by the ACT government on the taxi industry deregulation.

“Uber and taxi drivers experience significant risk of exploitation, with many earning less than the minimum wage. The experience elsewhere in Australia and around the world is that despite the hype, Uber drivers experience low pay and long hours.

“The decision by the ACT Government to ensure that drivers are covered by workers’ compensation laws is a positive step, and we look forward to examining the detail.

More information on the Taxi Industry Innovation Reforms, including public submissions received as part of the community consultation, will be available from act.gov.au/taxi-industry-reforms

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IT’S all go at one of our busiest southside community arts hubs as Tuggeranong Arts Centre gears up for its silver anniversary event– the Silvery Moon Festival, and it’s time to sign up for workshops.

Sun-orb

Of course it doesn’t happen by accident and under the watchful eye of the event’s creative producer, Julian Hobba, a series of hands and feet-on workshops are underway to ensure a genuine community day.

Belly-dancing

And there will be exhibitions and art projects running that reflect the life of the region.

“The Fire did not beat us: 100 years of fighting bushfires in the Australian Capital Territory 1915-2015” opens at 7pm this Thursday, October 1 and “Photo: 2901” is a photography project and exhibition featuring Instagram and ‘I-phonography’ looking at what people. From 9-11am this Saturday, October 3 you can take a ‘photo walk’ to explore the streets, people and landscape .

Inquiries to tuggeranongarts.com or 6293 1443.

Mask-making workshop

FREE mask-casting workshops take place throughout October between 5 and 7pm as people have their faces cast as one of the masks to make up a sun sculpture at the centre of “The Universe Alight”.

Dancing workshops include one-hour dance tutorials in Nepalese, Filipino, Brazilian, Middle-Eastern and Bollywood dance styles commence on October 28, leading to performances at the Silvery Moon Festival. Details are below.

There will be costume-making workshops with designers Alison Bogg and Christiane Nowak at 6.30pm and film screenings at 7.30pm from the same culture following each dance tutorial and a one-off bush dance costume workshop, 6pm-7pm, on October 28.

Just turn up for dance tutorials, but bookings essential for the free film screenings to tuggeranongarts.com

‘Shore dancing” program

TAC Car Park 5.30 – 6.30pm Oct 28 Aishwarya with Nepalese dance

TAC Carpark 5.30 – 6.30pm, Oct 29 Bing Snelson with Filipino dance

TAC Car Park 5.30 – 6.30pm, Oct 30 Brazilian Samba

TAC Car Park 5.30 – 6.30pm Nov 3 Belly Dance

TAC Car Park 5.30 – 6.30pm, Nov 5 Bollywood with Swapna Thilak

The full program is accessible at tuggeranongarts.com

The Silvery Moon Festival is by the Lake outside Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 1 – 9.30pm, Satruday November 7, all welcome.

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Frill neck lizard. Photo by Miklos Schiberna

The research solves a mystery of how the lizards get their colours. Most previous studies have focused on the role of colouration in lizards. The colour of the frill varies from red, orange, yellow and white.

“We found that individuals with a red or orange frill found in western populations in the Kimberley and Top End had more colour pigments in their frill than lizards with a yellow or white frill found in Queensland,” said lead author Dr Thomas Merkling from the ANU Research School of Biology.

He said the colour differences were due to variations in concentrations of two types of pigments. The lizards obtain one pigment from their food and can synthesise the other directly in their cells.

The lizards with red or orange frills had much more dietary pigments in their frill and in their blood than the others, suggesting their prey contained more pigments. The pigments that lizards can synthesise were absent in those with a yellow or white frill.

Dr Merkling said that to better understand the role of animal colouration it was also important to know how colour is produced.

“Different kind of pigments can produce similar colours and these pigments have different ways of being acquired by animals. For instance, colours produced by a limitless pigment probably don’t have the same role as those produced by a rare and limited pigment,” he said.

“Given the differences in pigmentation among frill neck lizard populations, it is tempting to suggest that frill colour may have a different role in the different populations.”

Dr Merkling said that a better understanding of how colours are produced will help researchers to uncover the diversity of functions of animal colouration.

The research was published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

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THE sacking of Prime Minister Tony Abbott by his Liberal Party colleagues has not generated the sense of shock, anger or even surprise that followed the despatching of Prime Ministers Rudd and Gillard.

The most common response is reported to be one of relief.

The people of Australia appear hardly to have missed a beat. The third first-term Prime Minister in five years has been rejected and replaced by party colleagues and, in the main, we, the people, with little more than a disparaging shake of the head and a mumble about what a hopeless rabble politicians are, get on with our lives.

Jon Stanhope.

Chief among these, which not even the most thick-skinned or narcissistic politician can avoid is the poor light in which politicians, political parties and governments in Australia are held.

The muted reaction also suggests, somewhat alarmingly, that people really don’t care who the Prime Minister is and don’t think it matters much whether the person they assumed would be Prime Minister when they voted continues in the role.

The more likely explanation, and the one I accept, is that Australians are currently so disenchanted by the quality of political leadership and of government that they increasingly disengage from politics and civil society. The current attitude is very much about wishing a pox on all their houses.

The behaviour of our Federal politicians over the last three parliaments, including the games of musical chairs they have played, have clearly not generated much glory or praise.

The dysfunction, apparent incompetence and sense of chaos that characterised the last two Labor governments and this Liberal government have certainly played a singular part in poisoning the political well and eroding trust and respect for politicians and politics.

As someone who has belonged to the ALP in Canberra for almost 40 years (but the same applies I know to the Liberal Party) is: What is it about the current operations of the party system that is so alienating that the number of members of political parties has dropped through the floor and people interested in politics are actively seeking to pursue their interest in ways that avoid joining a party?

The answer is clearly related to the behaviour and quality of our politicians. There is certainly an aversion to the ugly aspects of adversarial politics. The name calling, the insults, the appearance of opposition for opposition’s sake and the, at times, immature behaviour of members of parliaments (particularly in question time) and the overweening sense of entitlement revealed by the recurrent travel scandals, is all a turn off for many people.

Having said that, I have in recent times lamented the cosy bipartisanship that has featured in debates on issues such as asylum seekers, immigration, so-called border protection, terrorism, national security and law and order and would appreciate it if our elected representatives showed a bit more backbone on these sorts of issues and were prepared to agitate for a position of principle. I sometimes wish for more adversity than is generated.

Prof George Williams, of the University of NSW, maintains a log of laws passed, in large measure through the collaboration of the Labor and Liberal Parties, in Australia since the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, which either erode the rule of law, civil liberties and human rights or diminish democratic rights. The count has reached 360 and is rising.

Many Canberrans, I suspect a clear majority, are offended not just that these sorts of laws are being passed but that all four of our Federal representatives, Labor and Liberal, support them. There is a growing feeling in an increasing section of the community that their views are not being represented. That they are voiceless.

By way of recent example, all four of the ACT’s representatives voted for the Border Force Act, which criminalises behaviour of professionals such as doctors, nurses and child-protection workers who speak publicly about the needs of asylum seekers, including children, in detention. I don’t think I know a single person in Canberra who thinks this law is justified or appropriate, yet all of our elected representatives voted for it.

Another recent law that our four representatives supported is, I think, excluding laws related to the White Australia policy and the treatment of Aboriginal Australians as non citizens, the most anti-democratic law passed since Federation. Namely the decision to repeal the Norfolk Island Act and abolish the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly.

I am stunned that in 2015 in Australia that our government, with the active support of all members of the parliament (including all territory representatives) trashed a most basic human right of an entire Australian community by removing their right to vote.

It is not, of course, just the behaviour of our politicians that is turning people away from political parties. Both the Liberal and Labor Parties are increasingly being recognised for what they are. Namely closed shops where factions and cliques dominate and control all important decision making, most particularly the pre-selection process and in which power is not shared with the membership.

Not to put too fine a point on it almost all appointments are made on the basis of who you know and where you rank in the faction. The parties are essentially indistinguishable in this regard. An honest debate about which organisation is the more ruthless, controlling and undemocratic of (say) the NSW ALP Sussex Street gang or the NSW Liberal Party Executive Committee would be a draw.

As to the future, who knows? The bookies, it seems, have settled on Turnbull and there is talk that the ALP may now pay a price of as long as a decade in Opposition for the shambles it created when last in government.

A day in politics is of course a long time and the motto of any opposition is always, as it should be, “never say die”. So the ALP should not despair, at least not publicly. It could, for inspiration, look at the astounding victory against the predictions of all the pundits, and the odds, of the Brave Blossoms against the mighty Springboks in the Rugby World Cup.

Unfortunately, there is a major difference between the Japanese Blossoms rugby team and an ALP parliamentary team. The Blossoms are selected on merit.

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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Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall.

Figures released by the Federal Government’s Department of Employment show that of the Queanbeyan Local Government Area’s workforce of 24,841 only 452 were unemployed, down from 730 in the June quarter of 2014.

In welcoming the figures as “pleasing”, Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall said: “Queanbeyan is performing well as a local government area and our unemployment rate of 1.8% is very impressive when compared to the national unemployment rate on 6.1%.

“It is no secret that a high percentage of Queanbeyan’s labour force is employed in the ACT, however Queanbeyan is also an employment hub with people travelling from the ACT and nearby towns to work in Queanbeyan.”

The statistics show that the unemployment rate dropped in all Queanbeyan suburbs, including Karabar (dropped from 4.4 per cent to 2.6 per cent from June 2014), Queanbeyan (from 4.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent), Queanbeyan East (from 3.3 per cent to 1.9 per cent), Queanbeyan West and Jerrabomberra (from 1.3 per cent to 0.9 per cent).

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Argentine-Australian pianist Marcela Fiorillo… opening Nuevo Tango to a different generation. Photo by William Hall

Argentine-Australian pianist Marcela Fiorillo, a noted exponent of Piazzolla’s music, is now based in Canberra. Before taking off on a regional tour to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, and a more extensive tour to Argentina, she will give a recital in which she traces the nature of the Nuevo Tango style he pioneered.

Trained in his native Argentina and France, Piazzolla returned to his home country to revolutionise the tango world, abandoning the rose-between-the-teeth, underworld nightclub format for the concert platform and bringing into tango elements of jazz, classical string music to create the so-called Nuevo Tango that is now known the world over.

“His passionate music takes us to places surrounded by the sound and images of Buenos Aires,” Fiorillo says.

Fiorillo has secured engagements at the UITM University Conservatory, just outside Kuala Lumpur, and in the Bangkok Cultural Centre, where she will perform in late October, also taking masterclasses and lecturing on what makes Piazzolla’s Nuevo Tango music so distinctive.

Significantly, she has secured sponsorship from the Argentine embassies in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

“It is all aimed at people who don’t know his music,” Fiorillo tells “CityNews”.

She hopes to open the music up to a different generation and to the international music public. No wonder the ambassadors are so keen – for many people around the world, tango equals Argentina.

In the opening part of the program, Fiorillo performs the works “Milonga del Angel” and “Muerte del Angel”, written for a play in which an angel descends to the non-angelic streets of Buenos Aires only to meet his death in a street fight.

She will follow with the autumn and winter movements from Piazzolla’s own “Four Seasons”, the work that put him on the classical map, and another celebrated work written at the time of his father’s death, “Parafrasis sobre Adios Nonino”.

The second part of this sophisticated program ranges from the minimalist “Oblivion” to the almost racy “Buenos Aires, Zero Hour”, concluding with his mighty work “Tangata”, (tango-toccata) which owes something to Bach, jazz, classical and tango.

Fiorillo’s lecture, also to be heard in Canberra on October 1, traces the evolution of tango music, touching on Piazzolla’s struggles with his personal angels and demons to find the compositional language that made him famous.

Marcela Fiorillo lecture “Piazzolla and the New Tango”, ANU Manning Clark Theatre 2, 7pm, Thursday, October 1, free event.

“Piazzolla Tango” concert, Larry Sitsky Recital Room, ANU School of Music, Thursday, October 8. Bookings via iwannaticket.com.au or at the door.

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Ratings king, Phillip Clarke.

FM104.7 slumped 2.9 per cent to 16.8 per cent. Its sister station MIX106.3 also dropped 0.8 per cent to 13.9.

Capital Radio’s AM stations enjoyed lifts with 2CC up 0.8 to 7 per cent and 2CA up 0.4 to 5.6 per cent.

In the important breakfast slot, ABC666’s Phillip Clarke has lifted 2.2 to an unbeatable 23.2 per cent. 2CC’s Mark Parton also lifted from 7 per cent to 7.3. And “Uncle” Frank Vincent lifted his breakfast ratings on 2CA by 0.7 per cent to 5.1. Both the FM stations fell; 104.7 to 14.9 per cent (from 17.2) and 106.3 to 10.1 (from 10.6).

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THE community and the voters can be put before the self-interest of political parties in the new era of Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten. It sounds like flying, purple pigs! But there just might be a slim chance.

Michael Moore.

However, his intention to seek changes to the Senate voting system might be a real opportunity to illustrate that politics has really changed. The problem is not as much the intentions of Brough but rather the fears of crossbench members who have benefitted by being elected through the work of Glen Druery, the preference whisperer.

Before Druery, working out how to stem the advantage going for major parties and move the advantage of preferences to favour the smaller or “micro-parties” no-one was making a fuss.

Suddenly, a problem has been recognised. Guess why? It no longer benefits the major parties. The system is now being manipulated in favour of the micro-parties.

The system does not need to provide advantage to any group. But neither should it disadvantage major, minor, micro parties or independents. And there is a way.

Turnbull’s Liberals and Shorten’s Labor now have the chance to demonstrate they can put the people before the politics. The same is true for the Greens, the micro-parties and the independents in the Senate. They must give away their current prerogative of dictating how their preferences will be distributed for voter-driven, optional preferential, above-the-line voting.

The principle is simple. Hand the preference distribution back to the voters.

Currently, 96.5 per cent of voters place their single vote above the line in a Senate election. Once the vote lands on the selected party it is the party that then determines how to distribute the preferences.

As the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Tony Smith, unanimously recommended in its “First Interim Report”, there should be “optional preferential voting” above the line.

No-one will hold their breath waiting for voters to get a simpler, fairer system. However, there is already cross-party agreement at the committee level.

Our politicians should not be persuaded by party apparatchiks that some modification or other will improve their chances. It is simple. Placing preferential numbers across the line at the top of the ballot paper should simply deliver the below-the-line names in the order that the parties were identified. (See detailed diagram and explanation below)

This change would mean backdoor preference deals that favour particular parties, invariably without the knowledge of the voters, will give way to voters determining the order of the political party or independents they prefer.

Within the ACT (and Tasmanian) Hare-Clark system there is one more level of sophistication. So that no particular candidate receives an advantage from the order in which the party has placed them, there is a randomly assigned order. This provides an incentive to vote below the line to really have an impact.

However, on the Senate ballot paper the 3.5 per cent of people who have voted below the line have done so in the brave knowledge that they might have to put consecutive numbers against more than a hundred candidates without making a mistake. A mistake means a paper discarded as invalid. It is a ridiculous situation that does not have to be the case.

The second change that Mal Brough should implement is to apply optional preferential voting below-the-line as well as above-the-line.

The vote either above or below-the-line being optional means a person does not have to put a number against every candidate.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee recommended for below-the-line vote “partial optional preferential” seeking to have voters place a tick against at least six senators in a half-Senate election if they are voting below the line and 12 in a full Senate election. It is not a bad compromise.

The ideal, as applied in the ACT is to always recognise voter intention where at all possible – even if, for example, only three votes can be counted.

The last word belongs with ABC election analyst Antony Green who explained the political drivers to the Joint Parliamentary Committee: “The system, if changed, should advantage parties which campaign, not parties which arrange preference deals… I do not see why a party should get control over its preferences simply by putting its name on the ballot paper”.

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Counting the sleeps… Guy and Jules Sebastian with you-know-who.

CBD Ltd seems to have commissioned a Christmas illustration in Garema Place to usefully brighten one of the many unleased shop windows in Civic.

Christmas in September… the Garema Place mural.

The early marshmallow Santa.

Civic needs more glamour than these one-humped wonders. And we should no further than Sydney, where the city council has engaged glitzy Guy and Jules Sebastian as its Christmas ambassadors.

The Eurovision-finalist singer and his stylist wife are charged with encouraging visitors to the Emerald City over the festive season. How isn’t terribly clear yet.

“We love the buzz of our city and nothing beats twinkling lights, Christmas decorations and the huge tree in Martin Place – it puts you in a festive mood and we love the feeling!” they trilled.

“We would love for people to really come together as a Sydney community at Christmas time. It really is the time of year to appreciate our loved ones and be thankful for all the good things we have in life.”

Another Santa marshmallow, anyone?

The cupcakes cometh

Lydia Aisabie with sister Kate, left, mother Debra and father John at last year’s fundraiser.

She does it in memory of her grandmother Carole, who died from breast cancer in 1994 when Lydia was just four months old.

So, from 9am on Sunday, October 18, Conder’s cupcake queen will be back for the fifth consecutive year selling more than 500 cupcakes (which she bakes herself).

“I really enjoy baking and being creative with cupcakes so it’s a perfect way for me to help,” she says.

“At just $1 per cupcake it’s an affordable donation that can change lives.

“I will also be selling lolly bags and around 300 balloons, which will be on display around Lanyon Newsagency and the cupcake stall.

“Each year is more successful, raising over $1000 for this charity.

Goldilocks (Jenny Lange) with Father Bear (Michael Jordan), Mother Bear (Bronwyn Edwards) and Baby Bear (Katy Larkin). Photo by Donna Larkin

TO celebrate 10 years since Ickle Pickle Productions launched itself with  “Goldilocks”, it’s bringing the show back to Belconnen Theatre this month and Jenny Lange will be wearing the original Goldilocks dress, which director Justin Watson says they’ve carefully kept away from the moths.  

Better still, they’re performing 10 shows, priced at $10 a ticket to mark the first-decade birthday. October 3 to 11, bookings to stagecenta.com or 6253 1454.

Bad park, baby

PERHAPS it was someone thinking about having a baby who parked in the mums-and-bubs area of the underground Coles car park in Gungahlin.

But it caught the sharp eye of CC snout Steve McGrory who wondered how they’d get a baby seat into a two-seater convertible.

The post Canberra Confidential / Merry Christmas, everyone! appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

TWO women and a child have been taken to The Canberra Hospital after a two-car crash in Florey.

The cars collided at the corner of Southern Cross Drive and Ratcliffe Crescent around 2.30pm.

A 48-year-old woman has been taken to hospital suffering neck and shoulder pain as has a 58-year-old woman with sternal pain along with a nine-year-old boy who has a sore right shoulder.

Two other children in the car were not injured.

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POLICE are responding to two reports of ransom demands directed to the Novotel and Pavilion hotels today.

At 12.50pm, police received a report from Novotel management that they had received a suspicious phone call demanding a sum of cash and making threats. About 1.15pm, police received a similar report from the Pavilion hotel management.

Police attended both hotels and advised hotel management to operate as per their emergency procedures, as a standard safety precaution.

The canine team is searching both hotels as part of the ongoing operation while police work to determine the veracity of the threats.

Under ACT and Commonwealth legislation it is an offence to make a false report to police and/or emergency services, to cause police and/or emergency services resources to be wasted, or to use a telephone service to harass a person. This offence carries heavy penalties.

 Police who can assist police to contact  1800 333 000, or via act.crimestoppers.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously. 

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AUSTRALIA’S prime ministers are meeting in Parliament House for the first time — in a manner of speaking.

Archibald Douglas Colquhoun (1894–1983) The Rt Hon. Joseph Benedict Chifley, 1953, Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT

The Memorials Collection, it turns out, is the longest-running art commissioning program in Australia. Founded by former Prime Minister Andrew Fisher in 1911, the collection is guided by the Historic Memorials Committee, a bipartisan committee chaired by the PM of the day and comprising a number of parliamentary officeholders, who commission official portraits of the Heads of State, Governors-General, Prime Ministers, and Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives.

Occasionally, the committee also commissions portraits of other significant parliamentarians, such as Dame Enid Lyons, the first female parliamentarian in the House of Representatives, or Senator Neville Bonner, the first indigenous parliamentarian.

Clifton Pugh (1924–1990) The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC, 1972, Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT

All 25 completed portraits of Australian Prime Ministers are displayed, most in a chronological order in Members’ Hall, with large-scale portraits on display on level 2 of the Main Committee Room Foyer.

William Pidgeon (1909–1981) The Rt Hon. Harold Edward Holt CH, 1970, Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT

The National Portrait Gallery of Australia then provides the Parliament with advice on the suitability of the chosen artists, all of whom must be Australian.

And yes, it is quite true that some PMs didn’t like their portraits.

Portraits of Australian Prime Ministers from the Historic Memorials Collection, viewable by the public in Parliament House, 9am-5pm daily.

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CANBERRA music-lovers will be astonished by the Australian premiere of Salvatore Sciarrino’s “The Circle Cut by Sounds” for 104 flutes this Friday.

“Il cerchio tagliato dei suoni” in Livorno 2013

AUSTRIAN actress Maxi Blaha takes the stage as pacifist, writer and lecturer, Bertha von Suttner in Susanne F. Wolf’s play “Soul of Fire”, coming to The Street from October 2 -4. The first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 she is commemorated on the Austrian 2 Euro coin. German language performance at 4pm on Sunday only, October 4.   Bookings to 6247 1223 or thestreet.org.au

A work by Janenne Eaton

ONE of the most-read and famous children’s books of all time, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” emerges off the page in a masterful theatrical experience for the whole family. At The Q, Queanbeyan until October 4, bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

ANTARCTICA has been on the mind of painter Isla Patterson, whose watercolour show “Australia & the Antarctic” runs in the Yarralumla Gallery, Weston Park, weekdays 10am-5pm, weekends 8.30am-5pm. Until October 25  The Antarctic paintings from come from a trip she took in 2013.

ARGENTINE-Australian pianist Marcela Fiorillo plans to give a lecture at the piano called “Piazzolla & Nuevotango” in the ANU’s Manning Clark Theatre 2, at 7pm, on Thursday, October 1. free event.

Patrician Whetstone’s “Little Critter #1”

WESLEY Music Centre has the Australian Art Quartet’s “Sublime” tour. Dan Russell violin, Hayley Bullock violin, Leo Kram viola and James Beck cello play some of the most loved and “swoon-worthy” music, as recently voted by the Australian public in ABC FM’s Classic 100. Wesley Music Centre Forrest, 7pm, Thursday, October 1. Bookings to aaq2015.floktu.com or tickets at the door.

MAGDA Szubanski speaks over dinner about her new memoir, “Reckoning”, at The Hall in University House,  6.15pm for 7pm, Friday, October 2 . Tickets include a glass of wine and dinner. Bookings to anu.edu.au/events/eat-drink-and-be-literary-with-magda-szubanski or 6125 4144.

A work by by Cary James

THE Llewellyn Choir joins forces with sister choir Les Alizés from New Caledonia in a program featuring Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man”, originally dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis.  The choirs will also perform anthems by Herbert Howells and Poulenc’s “Un Soir de Neige”. RMC Chapel, 7.30 pm, Saturday, October 3. Tickets at the door, or bookings to trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=156787 5

ALSO The Llewellyn Choir & the New Caledonia French Choir perform  in the High Court at 1.30pm this Sunday, October 4. Those requiring chairs are advised to arrive half an hour early. Booking to hcourt.gov.au/about/concerts is necessary but does not guarantee seating.

THE NFSA’s Vinyl Lounge is on the first Friday of the month. The Bench Room cafe is open from 5pm for drinks and snacks, with the Vinyl Lounge grooving, NFSA Theatrette, 5.30pm-6.30pm, Friday, October 2.  Free entry, no booking required. Bring your vinyl and play a track of your choice on the pure analogue sound system.

PHOTOACCESS has two shows, “Antarctica” by nature photographer and former director of the Australian Antarctic Division, Tony Fleming, and its final members’ exhibition for 2015, “PhotoACTIVISM,” both running until October 18.

Patrick Sutczak, Making My Way, digital photograph and text on watercolour paper

THE 16th Lavazza Italian Film Festival has 32 titles this year. At Palace Cinemas in NewActon until October 11, Bookings to palacecinemas.com.au/cinemas/electric/

“DUALITY” brings together two virtuoso musicians, Australia’s award winning recorder player Alicia Crossley & American harpist Emily Granger, in a concert of classical and contemporary works for recorder and harp. The unique instrumental duo will journey through re-imagined masterpieces including Faure’s “Sicilienne”, Anne Boyd’s “Goldfish through Summer Rain” and C.P.E. Bach’s “Sonata in G minor”, interspersed with new works by Tristan Coelho, Mark Oliveiro, and Andrew Batt-Rawden. Wesley Music Centre Forrest, 2pm, Saturday October 3. Bookings to trybooking.com/IOWXor at the door.

FREMANTLE four-piece band San Cisco’s regional Australia regional “Gracetown tour” brings them to the ANU Bar at 8pm on October 1. Bookings to http://premier.ticketek.com.au/Shows/Show.aspx?sh=SANCISC15

ANU Drill Hall Gallery will be displaying sculptures made over the last 40 years by Sydney artist Michael Buzacott, an inventive, idiosyncratic artist working in the Cubist tradition. At the Drill Hall Gallery, Kingsley Street (off Barry Drive), Wednesday-Sunday, 12-5pm to November 1.

“CANBERRA Botanical” is an adjudicated exhibition of over 80 artworks running at the Nishi Gallery in NewActon until October 5 daily from 10am to 4pm. The works are for sale.

IN “A Journey through Opera” three sopranos from Melbourne, Canberra and Queensland, Madeline Anderson, Miriam Rose & Elisha Margaret Holley perform a selection of arias from the Baroque to the 20th Century with Hilda Visser-Scott on piano. Wesley Music Centre Forrest, 6pm, Saturday October 3, bookings to 0401 281319 or at the door.

“MERGE” will bring together 30 local emerging artists spanning fashion, music, visual and performing arts, music and more for a one night extravaganza. It is the fifth of six emerging arts showcases to be run by RAW Canberra in 2015.  At Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, from 7.30pm, Friday, October 2.

The Rubens

“SCULPTURE in the Paddock” continues at Cooma Cottage. Admission to paddock free, but contributions are welcome via a donation box. Visitors are eligible to vote in the People’s Choice Award. at Cooma Cottage, Yass Valley Way, Thursday 10am-8pm, Friday to Monday, 10am-4pm until October 11.

HOU Leong’s paintings, curated by Peter Haynes, are in The Silk Road Gallery, 19 Kennedy Street, Kingston, 7 days, Sunday-Tuesday, 10am-2pm.

SHAKESPEARE is on the menu with Canberra REP’s “Much Ado about Nothing” on show, directed by Cate Clelland. At Theatre 3, Repertory Lane, Acton, until October 3, bookings to 6257 1950 or canberrarep.org.au

‘FOOTY Fever’ is an exhibition that explores the varying relationships artists have with their favourite football codes, including Aussie Rules, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, and Wheelchair Rugby. “Footy Fever”, curated by Alexander Boynes. At the Canberra Contemporary Artspace, Gorman Arts Centre, until October 10.

Michael Connell

BARAK Zelig’s new solo exhibition, “Hybrids” runs at the Goulburn Historic Waterworks to November 30.

JANET Angus is a recent graduate from the ANU School of Art. Canberra Contemporary Art Space presents her new solo exhibition “Within These Walls” at CCAS City in Hobart Place, Civic, Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm Saturday 9am to 1pm until October 24.

BILK Gallery in Palmerston Lane Manuka is currently presenting “Slippage”, an exhibition of new works by jewellers Sean O’Connell (NSW) and Nicholas Basin (VIC). Aesthetically their work is wildly different, these two jewellers have a shared predilection for and revel in the “fuzzy edges, the in-between, and the slippery bits”.

Act Belong Commit image

BELCONNEN Community Service’s Piece of Mind Series presents: “Act Belong Commit”, a showcase of recent work from Canberra artists in celebration of Mental Health Week, in gallery@bcs, Belconnen Community Centre, Swanson Crt Belconnen Mon-Fri 9am-4:30pm, until Oct 16.

“DISTANT VOICES” is an exhibition combining the works of two artists and close friends, Roger Beale and Grahame Crocket, in M16 Artspace, Blaxland Crs Griffith. ALSO AT M16 are “Synthesized Fragility” by Eleanor Evans, and “Waxing, Waning,” in which Lucy Chetcuti explores the cultural, spiritual and emotional relationships between people and the moon. All exhibitions run until October 4.

“TRANSFER,” new works by Canberra artist and printmaker, Jo Hollier inspired by a residency in Thailand, “Tideline,” images of the Kimberley coast by Elizabeth Truswell, “Rent? Home? Sanctuary?” the International Tenants’ Day Art Exhibition are all on show at Belconnen Arts Centre until October 18. In  the Outdoor Gallery at Belconnen Arts Centre, sculptor Mike MacGregor presents “The Makings of an Angel,” the result of the inaugural exhibition prize presented at Sculpture on the Edge in Bermagui in 2014.

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The European wasp.

Following a change in service provider, CoreEnviro Solutions will provide residents with a free insect identification service and advice on European wasp identification and control on private and ACT Government land.

Wasp sightings and nests can also be reported to Access Canberra on 132281 or at ewasp.com.au

The post Wasp hotline changes appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

ORGANISERS are expecting more than 500 people to take part in the Leukaemia Foundation’s Light the Night event at Kingston Foreshore on Friday, October 9.

The local short walk, from 5.30pm, will be one of many events in cities and towns across the country to support families with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders.

Participants will come together carrying one of three coloured lanterns; gold to remember someone, white for their own journey, or blue to show they care.

“The visually stunning event brings families and friends together to light beautiful lanterns. This year, it promises to be even more spectacular with Australia uniting on one night to help create a brighter future for the 60,000 Australians with blood cancer.” said Christine McMillan, general manager of the Leukaemia Foundation in NSW/ACT.

“Everyday 34 people are diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma or related blood disorders. While research is improving survival, blood cancer claims more Australian lives than breast cancer or melanoma. We believe that one day there will be a cure for everyone and call the community to share in that hope by joining us for Light the Night cause we all need a little light in our lives”

Now on its eighth year, Light the Night aims to raise $1.5 million to fund blood cancer research and support for families affected by the disease.

Sign up at lightthenight.org.au or 1800 500088.

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