He will be remembered for his dry wit, distinctive voice and his unlikely yet hugely appealing screen presence, writes LIZ GIUFFRE.

AUSTRALIAN writer and broadcaster Clive James has died at 80 years of age after a long illness.

Along with Germaine Greer, Barry Humphries and Robert Hughes, he was known as part of an elite group of “brilliant creatures” that emerged out of Australia at a cultural moment of change in the mid twentieth century.

He will be remembered for his dry wit, distinctive voice and his unlikely yet hugely appealing screen presence.

Kogarah kid

There was much to admire about the proud kid from Kogarah in Sydney’s south, not least the breadth and energy of his writing. His collections about growing up, Unreliable Memoirs, began in that small and apparently unremarkable spot of suburbia, continuing on into future volumes to cover young adulthood, university, the big trip to Blighty, and beyond.

There was always something so distinct about James’ “Australianness”. Although he’d been away much longer than he’d been here, his connection to the culture of his birthplace remained.

In an interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly in 1980, James explained the appeal: “Australians have made me laugh all my life. I don’t mean the crude jokes. It’s a blend of two things, that marvellous low voice you keep hearing and the language. It’s a combination of strength and sexiness. It’s a good combination.”

The marvellous low voice of Australia serves as an excellent euphemism for defiance and dignity. James embodied it when as young Vivian James, as he was born in 1939, renamed himself Clive and began to question, observe and ultimately argue for a different way to see the world.

A hugely prolific writer who continued to publish books, essays, columns, poems and opinions until the end (including a forthcoming anthology The Fire of Joy to be released next year), one of his greatest strengths was finding the beauty in television.

Watching with love and nuance

As the television critic for The Observer from 1972 to 1982, he took what many then (and still now) consider to be the lowest form of public entertainment and gave it a good seeing to.

Following the academic and commentator Raymond Williams, who James called “the most responsible of television critics”, he reviewed everything from drama to talent and talk shows, always with his steady “low voice” that never quite let on what he loved and loathed.

In his 1972 review of the BBC’s broadcast of Miss World called Liberating Miss World, James noted that the pageant participants “find host [Michael Aspel] wonderful because they’ve been told to” – leaving just enough ambiguity to make us wonder who the real butt of the competition was. He continued to play with the concept of power and influence as part of his television work throughout his life.

Soon James left the page to take on the screen directly, and his own show Clive James on Television set a stage for critic-turned-presenter that produced a wonderful legacy. As Black Mirror and Screen Wipe writer Charlie Brooker wrote “Thank God for Clive James”: “He has a way of gliding through sentences, effortlessly ironing a series of complex points into a single easily-navigable line, illuminating here and cogitating there, before leading you face-first into an unexpected punchline that makes your brain yelp with delight.”

The power of a commentator like James putting his money where his mouth (or pen) was inspired many. It’s a style that has also given us wonders like Sarah Millican and Working Dog’s Have You Been Paying Attention.

No showpony

James’ ease with superstar guests allowed them room to shine, while also asking questions just far enough off the press release to resonate with the viewer at home.

What made James appealing on screen was his apparent unsuitedness to it. He didn’t have the devastating visual appeal of some of the greats – in fact he was perhaps as far away as possible from the Arnold Schwarzenegger style “condom full of walnuts” that screen seems to adore. Of course though, words were all he needed.

Behind a desk, championing the otherwise overlooked or unchallenged, he drew our attention to the absurdity of apparently small scale story telling with a genuine energy and charm. It was just enough to make your ears prick up, but subtle enough to let the viewer also come to their own conclusions.

Before today’s internet age, when culture from almost every corner of the globe is available to us for us to consume and critique, he championed the Japanese game show Endurance. In doing so, he taught us about the comic tension between content as guilty pleasure or the beginning of the end. He seemed to say: You, dear remote control holder, can decide. More “low voice” to draw us in.

The wonderful performer who closed the The Clive James Show each week, Margarita Pracatan, left a final note for James on Twitter today, “Thank you, #CliveJames from the bottom of my heart. You live forever with us”.

By LIZ GIUFFRE, a senior lecturer in Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. This article was originally published on The Conversation 

TWO livewire young community leaders are turning on the Christmas lights again this year to help people living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Year 11 student and faith and community captain at St Mary MacKillop College, Ben Walker, and his former classmate James Crowther, now an apprentice greenkeeper at Royal Canberra Golf Club, are lighting up lives while lighting up their neighbourhood in Gowrie.

It’s been three years now since “CityNews” was first alerted by a neighbour to the fact that Ben was displaying one of the largest collection of Christmas lights in Canberra, then news arrived that his friend James had also joined him with a display comprised entirely of solar lights.

Both told “CityNews” how they’d been using their pocket money to collect lights at Boxing Day sales for years and had, along the way, become experts on the technical problems caused by stormy weather, possibly not a problem this year.

Ben said his grandma had been fighting MS for the past 14 years and that after embarking on a trial to raise money to help families like his, they’d contacted MS.org.au to seek advice on how to beef up their fundraising efforts.

Now, with support from the organisation, they have music, lollies, balloons, flags, information flyers and a donation-can labelled “MS” so that passers-by can chip in.

The Christmas lights will turn on at Ben’s house, 4 Stacy Street, Gowrie, and James’s in Ruthven Street, Gowrie, at 7pm on Sunday, December 1 and will continue at night until Christmas Day. Donations are welcome either in the can or via their facebook page, facebook.com/christmaslightsforms

TUGGERANONG Arts Centre is staging a zany, totally original kids musical about water management and environmental sustainability.

For the past six months, a group of children aged 6 to 13 have been working with Tim and Nathalie Bevitt, choreographer Caroline Wall and artist Tom Buckland to write and produce an hour-long musical and are now ready to take it to the stage.

“Mission: H2O” is set in the fictional Space School 11 where the students have discovered that all the bubblers are broken. Then, the students uncover a sinister plot by a group of evil kittens that could mean doom for earth and all its water.

The musical was developed in response to a prompt from the arts centre team and followed a theatre collaboration with kids from Goulburn’s Lieder Theatre earlier this year, so after its short season in Tuggeranong this weekend, it will tour to Goulburn in January.

CEO at the centre, Rauny Worm says: “This project provides an artistic platform for young people to express their concerns and find solutions. It’s also a fantastic opportunity for them to work with other young performers and adapt to different theatre environments.”

“Mission: H2O”, Tuggeranong Arts Centre Theatre, 6.30pm, Friday, November 29 and, 3pm, Saturday, November 30. Bookings at trybooking.com

Cartoonist PAUL DORIN can’t resist a look at Westpac Bank.

EXTENSIONS to the pool user agreement with Arthritis ACT means people can now access the hydrotherapy pool until the end of December but the New Year will bring uncertainty for users. 

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith announced the extension today (November 28) but has mentioned no alternative to users following the pool’s closure in December.

Instead, she says the ACT government is calling for for expressions of interest for the provision of a public hydrotherapy pool located in Canberra’s south.

The expressions of interest will close mid-February, which leaves a gap of uncertainty for hydrotherapy users in the south during this time.

Ms Stephen-Smith says: “The closure of the hydrotherapy pool at Canberra Hospital is not a decision that has been taken lightly.”

“ACT Health will continue to work with Arthritis ACT to ensure that alternative services are available in both the short and long term.”

During the expressions of interest, Ms Stephen-Smith says the government will look into implementing recommendations from the  ACT government commissioned Nous Group review “Access to Hydrotherapy in the ACT Report”.

“This process will take account of the very clear finding from Nous’ work and the community feedback, that any new hydrotherapy pool should not be based at a hospital or acute health facility, but rather in a community setting,” she says.

“This recognises hydrotherapy as an ongoing therapeutic activity for many people with chronic illness or chronic pain to maintain their mobility, manage their pain and gain important mental health benefits.

“Any new public hydrotherapy facility on the southside of the ACT would complement the public facility operating at the University of Canberra Hospital, in Canberra’s north, as well as other private facilities across the ACT.

PHILHELLENES of Canberra are in a lather of excitement at news that the National Museum of Australia, flushed with the success of “Rome: City and Empire”, is bringing in another classic from the British Museum, “Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes”.

This time the National Museum of Australia, the Western Australian Museum and the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum are joining to bring the show to the region.

Chief executive of war museum in Auckland, David Gaimster, noted that in the 90th anniversary of Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland Domain, “the influence of the ancient Greeks can be seen at this very site, reflected in the architecture of this iconic heritage building.”

Featuring some 170 objects which explore the theme of competition through sports, politics, drama, music and warfare, key artefacts in the show will include black and red ceramic depictions of athletes, gods and citizens and  marble and terracotta statues and reliefs, including fine nudes, as well as bronze figurines, weapons and armour, toys and games, gold jewellery and coins.

The show will open in New Zealand before arriving at the National Museum from December 4, 2020 to become the NMA’s summer blockbuster. The exhibition will then move to Western Australia.

Drawing a long bow, museum staff are saying: “Opening at the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics year, the exhibition highlights the theme of competition and explores its role as a force for innovation and excellence.”

NMA director Mathew Trinca said the unique three-way collaboration was a model for future agreements, allowing cultural institutions to pool and leverage their resources.

British Museum director Hartwig Fischer said: ‘‘The objects have enlightened our understanding of the ancient Greek world and have been brought together to tell a unique story for this exhibition.”

The exhibition is the fourth in a series of British Museum exhibitions that have featured at the National Museum, following “Rome: City and Empire” (2018), “A History of the World in 100 Objects” (2016) and “Encounters: Revealing Stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Objects from the British Museum” (2015).

“Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes.” National Museum of Australia, December 4, 2020 to April 27, 2021.

LEGISLATION introduced today (November 28), which provides tough new regulation of the cemeteries and crematoria industry, will make sure no ashes will ever be lost again in the ACT, says City Services Minister Chris Steel. 

“Following the independent investigation into lost ashes at Norwood Park Crematorium, we said we would change the law to make sure this distressing incident wouldn’t happen again,” he says.

“We have learnt lessons from this and we want to ensure no family will ever go through this again.”

The regulatory framework includes a licensing scheme for operators of facilities, improved requirements for record keeping, the requirement to keep standard operating procedures, and a new provision that specifies that cremated remains can only be disinterred at the request of the family, or with approval from the regulator.

Mr Steel says today’s legislation also addresses the needs of Canberra’s diverse community for a variety of burial and crematorium services that meet their cultural and religious needs.

“One in 10 people don’t have their religious or cultural needs met in our existing facilities – some families have to travel to Sydney for funeral services and this is unacceptable in a socially inclusive society,” he says.

“The bill recognises that all people should be able to expect cemetery and crematoria services that meet their needs, no matter what those needs are.”

WITH the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting dry conditions and a predicted temperature of 34C for tomorrow (November 29), the ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner, Georgeina Whelan, has declared a total fire ban for the ACT.

Under section 114 of the Emergencies Act 2004, the ban will begin at 12am, Thursday, November 28 to 12am, Friday, November 29.

The ACT ESA is also warning that the forecast fire danger rating (FDR) for tomorrow is predicted to be sever, which means if a fire starts it may be uncontrollable and move quickly.

Residents in Bushfire Prone Areas are urged to review their bushfire survival plan or if you don’t have a plan in place, to take the time to create one.

Keep up-to-date via the ESA website esa.act.gov.au, the ESA Twitter and Facebook accounts, local ACT media outlets or by calling Access Canberra on 13 22 81.

FIRES burning in NSW, east of the ACT, are causing a large smoke plume but there are no fires burning in the ACT, according to ACT Emergency Services Agency.

ACT ESA wants to reassure Canberrans that these fires do not pose a threat to the ACT.

“Residents can monitor fires in NSW and the ACT via the NSW Fires Near Me app,” ACT ESA says.

“If you see an unattended fire in the ACT, call 000 immediately.

“A Total Fire Ban has been declared for the ACT tomorrow, November 29.”

For further information please visit esa.act.gov.au.

“Mrs Lowry & Son” (PG) **** and a half

IN 2000, in the Manchester suburb of Salford, an art gallery costing £106 million opened to present the works of Laurence Lowry. 

Never heard of him? I’d also not heard of director Adrian Noble, whose filmic portrait of Lowry and his mother Elizabeth has come to Canberra. I had indeed heard of Vanessa Redgrave, in her 80s playing Elizabeth propped up in bed upstairs and am pleased to advise that she’s looking well and giving a top portrayal of a woman who at first was uncomfortable even looking at her son. 

Writer Martin Hesford has set the film in 1938, a year before her death, when Laurence was 51.

In adulthood, Laurence worked as a rent collector, coming home to do the housework, painting when Elizabeth was asleep. Elizabeth used illness to secure her son’s attention and obedience. In a very real way, Laurence was spending his life mothering his mother.

Don’t think, from this brief outline, that ”Mrs Lowry & Son” is going to be a depressing movie unworthy of your attention. Indeed, it’s no bundle of warm fuzzy feelings. But playing Laurence, Timothy Spall more than compensates for that. One of Britain’s most versatile actors, he doesn’t need to look good to be good. Indeed, he’s better than that.

The film contains passages that make you wonder why Laurence didn’t just tell Elizabeth to get out of bed and manage her own life instead of demanding that he perform every domestic chore on the list, from doing the shopping to emptying the chamber pot. That he didn’t is what makes the film such a tour-de-force. 

Laurence’s paintings wonderfully observe working class life. Naïve perhaps, but emotionally powerful. He died in 1976 aged 88 leaving an estate valued at £298,459, after rejecting five honours ranging from OBE to Companion of Honour, and a knighthood. And his work now commands seven-digit prices.

All this adds up to a low-budget, high-provenance movie that says much about devotion and passion. Not of the conventional kind.

At Dendy and Capitol 6

A RETROSPECTIVE of the work of early 20th Century Australian artist Hugh Ramsay has been unveiled today (November 29) at the National Gallery of Australia.

Ramsay, who died at age 28, was a child prodigy who attended art school at 16 and then travelled to Paris, where he absorbed lessons from the works of great painters such as Diego Velázquez, John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler.

Four of his works were selected for a new Salon exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, unprecedented for a young Australian artist, three of those  “Salon” paintings are on show in the retrospective, while the fourth work has never been found.

Curator Deborah Hart, head of Australian art at the gallery believes he should be remembered for his prodigious talent rather than for what might have been, saying: “From his early days at art school, Ramsay was admired and respected by his peers for his incredible skill, but his thoughtful, contemplative portraits and figure studies deserve a much greater audience.”

NGA director Nick Mitzevich says Ramsay was a brilliant portrait painter who learned from significant artists but also remained true to his distinctive vision.

Loans for the show from public and private collections across Australia include “Two girls in white” (also known as The Sisters), from the Art Gallery of NSW, and “The four seasons”, from the Art Gallery of SA, as well as works from the NGA’s own collection like “Miss Nellie Patterson”, commissioned by Dame Nellie Melba, and “Madge”.

This morning at the gallery Mitzevich acknowledged the generosity of the Ramsay family in lending works, saying: “Their gift of the Ramsay Archive has enriched our understanding of the artist’s life and work and informed the enlightening and richly-illustrated publication, ‘Hugh Ramsay’, accompanying the exhibition.”

Ramsay’s great-niece and biographer Patricia Fullerton, artist Patrick Pound, conservator Michael Varcoe-Cocks, art historian Ian McLean and curator Deborah Hart will be in the exhibition space tomorrow, November 30, for a series of talks.

“Hugh Ramsay,” at at the National Gallery of Australia, from November 30 until March 29. Entry is free.

CANBERRANS will get free entry to Manuka Pool on Saturday (November 30) when it re-opens following its $2.42 million upgrades. 

The project included upgrading the filtration system and pool structure, new pool tiles and water inlets, renewed seating and a fresh coat of paint for the main building.

All the restorations were done with the original designs in mind, and the new tiles have returned the pool to its original form, including hand painted depth markers and copies of the original “SHALLOW” and “DEEP” tile markers.

’Tis the season to say things we later regret – and new research tells us why, writes BRENT COKER. 

CHRISTMAS is a stressful time for many, so not surprisingly it’s also known as the season for arguments.

Some assume it’s because we share the time with family members, who we’re more likely to argue with because of bottled-up resentment or some other annoyance we’ve been secretly nurturing. Others put it down to alcohol.

But, in either case, under normal circumstances people are usually adept at keeping potentially hurtful comments to themselves. So why is it that we’re more likely to say things we might later regret during Christmas?

Over the past three years we’ve been studying why people say things they later regret. Released this week in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, our research discovered in eight experiments over three years the same variable consistently explains why people disclose things that cause them anguish.

From innocuous faux pas to more serious disclosures of secretive information, in each experiment we found “arousal” explains tendencies to disclose information that probably should have been concealed.

Christmas is stressful, and stress leads to chronic arousal. When people are aroused, they’re more likely to say things they probably shouldn’t.

So what is arousal? And why does it cause people to say things they later regret?

Essentially, arousal is the degree to which an individual is awake and alert. You might assume being awake and alert would increase rather than decrease the accuracy of what we say – but this appears not to be the case.

The reason is because arousal uses up so-called “cognitive resources” — basically brain power. Because there are less conscious cognitive resources available for controlling what comes out of our mouths, our minds default to more automatic, and seemingly less considered, responses. When we lose conscious control over what we say, it becomes more likely we’ll disclose information that we would otherwise keep to ourselves.

Our research finds that information we’re usually careful about concealing, such as secrets and very personal information, is more likely to be disclosed when we default to more automatic responses. We found arousal makes people reveal more personal information, disclose secrets, reveal incriminating information and share frowned-upon experiences with strangers.

In our first experiment, we asked participants to write dating profiles. We evoked arousal with half the participants. They disclosed more embarrassing, emotional, intimate and even incriminating information on their dating profiles than those who were relatively relaxed.

A post-hoc study found those people who disclosed such information were less likely to be chosen for a date. The study suggests people who aren’t chilled out are viewed as less ideal partners.

In our second experiment, we found people were more likely to disclose times when they said mean or malicious things to others online, suggesting that arousal increases the disclosure of information that people do not normally like to disclose. Relaxed people, it seems, are better at concealing information and keeping secrets.

In our third study, we evoked arousal by getting people to jog on the spot for 60 seconds. The results found participants were more likely to share embarrassing stories (open up to others) after physical exercise. Usually people might disclose personal information like this to friends and family, but it seems people are more likely to open up to strangers when aroused. This finding suggests that doing physical exercise together might be a better way of getting to know someone than more docile pursuits such as sitting around.

It seems that lowering arousal is the key to gaining more control over what we say. The problem is that the times when we ought to be careful — such as job interviews, media engagements, important work meetings, or romantic encounters — are often arousing, and it is not easy to remain calm and relaxed.

So what are some things people can do to minimise unintended disclosures and save the family from a memorable Christmas for the wrong reasons?

Some techniques are known to reduce daily stress levels and are useful for situations when we’re most riled up. These approaches include consciously controlling your breathing and listening to chilled music. Other techniques for longer-term benefits mirror the advice of health professionals – reduce how much coffee you drink, eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep.

Not only do these steps make you healthier, they also reduce your stress levels and ultimately your control over what you say.

So when you’re opening your pressies or digging into your turkey this Christmas, try to chill out and relax. Turn on the music, breath deeply, and reduce the chance of saying something you might later regret.

By BRENT COKER of the University of Melbourne. This article was originally published by The Conversation 

TWO men have been arrested in relation to a shooting in Queanbeyan where an 18-year-old was allegedly shot in the leg earlier this month. 

During a Molonglo Street traffic altercation on November 2, at about 4.15am, shots were fired into a dark blue Toyota Echo and hit the 18-year-old in the leg.

After the shooting officers were called to a home in Queanbeyan and established a crime scene, before seizing a blue Toyota Echo for forensic examination.

The 18-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries and initially refused medical treatment before attending a hospital in the ACT.

Weeks later police arrested a 31-year-old, who was allegedly a passenger at the time of the shooting, at a Queanbeyan home on Monday (November 25). The man was charged with concealing a serious offence and will face charges before the Queanbeyan Local Court .

Then on Tuesday a 33-year-old man was arrested by officers from Queensland Police Service at Broadbeach, Queensland.

He’s since been charged with discharging a firearm with intent, firing a firearm likely to cause injury, police pursuit and other firearms and traffic offences.

The man is due to face Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday.

Police inquiries are continuing.

Man shot in early morning traffic fight

A TEENAGER and a woman have been arrested after they robbed the Krofne doughnut shop in Gungahlin Marketplace yesterday (November 28) morning. 

The two women, a 15-year-old and a 22-year-old, allegedly robbed the shop with a group of other young people at about 9.40am.

Following the robbery, police reviewed CCTV footage, which showed the same women and group of youths steal cash and items from a vehicle parked in the centre’s loading dock.

Then, at about 8am today, police executed a search warrant at a residence on Gozzard Street, Gungahlin where the woman was arrested. The 15-year-old girl was arrested a short time later.

The pair have been charged with theft, breach of bail and other offences.

Officer in charge of Gungahlin Police Station, Rod Anderson said: “This was an opportunistic crime, but also an incredibly callous one given the important role this business plays with vulnerable members of the ACT community.”

Investigations into the involvement of the other alleged offenders remains ongoing.

Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website using reference number 6465792.

PADDLE boats are to return to Lake Burley Griffin from Sunday (December 1).

They were pulled from West Basin water on July 3 after the ACT government donated the 17 pedal boats, which had been lying dormant for years at the ferry terminal, to the NCA.

The original paddle-boat hire operation closed when the ACT government controversially bought out the business for residential and commercial development in late 2015.

“If you look back at Canberra’s history and ask Canberrans about the types of activities they enjoyed as kids and teens you could almost guarantee that someone will mention the paddle boats at West Basin,” says the Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories, Nola Marino.

“The opportunity for these brightly painted boats to return to the lake as a fun family activity is great for Canberrans and tourists alike.”

Capital Paddle is the new business operator and owner Nick Tyrrell is familiar to Lake Burley Griffin users as the founder of GoBoat.

“We introduced the eco-friendly GoBoat concept to Canberra two years ago, and we’re so excited to now offer another great way to explore the nation’s capital from the perspective of the water,” he says.

“Our team has a great safety record and a strong focus on customer service, and we’re looking forward to bringing the same approach to Capital Paddle.”

Capital Paddle will be located at the Regatta Point Jetty.

THE Philip Leeson Architects’ Prize of $5000 in the 2019 M16 Drawing Prize has gone to ACT artist Nicci Haynes.

It’s second time round for Haynes, who also won the drawing prize in 2017. Her 2019 winning work, “mad walk”, is a still taken from an animated series of drawings based on her video documentation of Canberra dancer Alison Plevey’s subtle response to a prompt for her to do a mad walk.

The $500 Delta Cleaning Services Prize was awarded to NSW artist Carolyn Craig for the work “bacterial nervosa” in which swear-words are played over Petrie dishes of acidophilus bacteria.

The Framing Store, Braddon Prize, a $500 framing voucher, went to NSW artist Andrea Wilson for her charcoal drawing, “CBD Gothic”.

“Looking at the pale, ghostly lights of the city, rising above the bush and bay, you have to ask whether it’s the black night bush, or the buildings, spilling light to a smoky sky that are truly melancholic,” Andrea Wilson said.

The M16 Drawing Prize, established in 2006, turns perceptions of what drawing can be in their head. It continues to grow in popularity and this year M16 received around 160 entries in many media, of which 21 were selected from around Australia by landscape architects, collectors and curators of Contour 556, Karina Harris and Neil Hobbs, who also chose the final award-winner.

M16 Artspace Drawing Prize Exhibition, 21 Blaxland Crescent Griffith, 12pm-5pm, Wednesday to Sunday until December 13.

A POIGNANT reworking of Max Dupain’s 1937 photograph, “Sunbaker”, by Canberra Institute of Technology student Eunie Kim, has won her the United Nations Internship to Timor Leste. 

UN national information officer Julia Dean made the announcement at the High Court of Australia on Wednesday (November 27).

The Sun Studios Award for the highest overall achievement in the Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging went to Terry Cunningham, who generously snapped Ms Kim and her winning work for “CityNews”.

Kim’s winning work, “Sunbaker”, shows the archetypal Aussie sunbather, who, in reality is Kim’s husband James Bolto, lying not on smooth, and white sand but on the parched earth of Australia in the grip of drought.

Ms Dean praised the photographer for her “intellectual rigour”.

The United Nations Information Centre, together with CIT run an annual thematic photography competition where the winner is rewarded with an internship with a United Nations Mission in the Pacific region. Previous winners have been posted to Banda Aceh, Solomon Islands, Fiji and also Timor Leste.

The announcement came as the high point of the opening for the photography exhibition by students graduating from the Certificate IV and Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging, attended by an estimated 350 guests.

“Horizon”, CIT graduate photography exhibition, High Court of Australia, until December 6. All welcome.

The full list of awards is as follows:

• JARRAH PARSONS was awarded the CIT STUDENT ASSOCIATION PRIZE for high achievement in the Certificate IV in Photography.
• EUNIE KIM was awarded the SCOTT OGILVIE PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE for high achievement in the Certificate IV in Photography and Photo Imaging.
• SAVANNAH MURLEY was awarded the ARI REX PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE for high A=achievement in the Certificate IV in Photography and Photo Imaging.
• ANDREA BRYANT, a graduate from the Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging, was awarded the PHOTOACCESS RESIDENCY AWARD.
• ANDREW PLANT, a graduate from the Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging, was awarded the AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY (AIPP) EMERGING MEMBERSHIP PRIZE.
• TERRY CUNNINGHAM was awarded the SUN STUDIOS AWARD for the highest overall achievement in the Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging.
• EUNIE KIM was awarded the UN INTERNSHIP at Timor Leste.
• CADENA McKENZIE won STUDENT CHOICE.
• And, FINLAY MARSHALSEY, ISABELLE LORE, JEMIMA SAYERS and MATT ROSENDELL were awarded the CIT / ACT Year 12 Photography Challenge certificate of recognition.

MASTER Builders ACT is disappointed that the ACT government has passed the “Building and Construction Amendment Bill”, ignoring the comments made by the MBA to improve the drafting of the bill, says its CEO Michael Hopkins.

“It appears that by passing some of the most draconian building laws in the country, the government is hoping that Canberrans will forget about government’s decade of failure to enforce the building laws that it already has in place,” he says.

“The laws passed yesterday will hurt the majority of builders performing high quality work in the territory by increasing the risk to run a business, increasing their insurance costs, and leaving company directors and senior officers open to poorly drafted laws.” 

“The ACT government’s historic failure to enforce building laws has already left some in the community with a legacy of building defects. It is now leaving a legacy of poorly drafted building laws.”

Mr Hopkins says the MBA welcomes the approach taken by the territory’s latest building registrar and says the government should prioritise the implementation of the expert recommendations contained in the Building Confidence Report.

“The Building Confidence Report puts a focus on promoting reforms such as improving industry training, addressing building certification and reforming the licensing system across the entire building supply chain,” he says.

TALENTED Canberra photographer ANDREW CAMPBELL took this photo of the menacing Tallaganda bushfire from Mount Ainslie. The light streak on the right is from a commercial flight taking off from Canberra airport.

“I rate Andrew Campbell as one of most inspired and intuitive news snappers I’ve ever worked with. He has an untiring, restless curiosity that sends him into places to capture photos from exciting and revealing angles,” says “CityNews” editor Ian Meikle.

“This scarily beautiful image – the way the smoke is coloured by the blood-red of the fires below – is a classic example of his ability to make news photography an art form.”