canberra citynews august 23, 2012

CityNews August 23-29 1CityNews August 23-29 1OVER 30 SPECIALTY STORESBOWMAN STREET MACQUARIE

Jamison Plaza SP0191.indd 1 14/08/12 10:14 AM

ALL ABOUT CANBERRA

AUGUST 23, 2012

Eco flair

Fashion pioneer Kelli Donovan comes home

Greens turn from Brown to bleak ROBERT MACKLIN

Big Tobacco gets a kick in the butt

MICHAEL MOORE

Sexy’s not for kids

SONYA FLADUN

Blooming spring’s open gardens

KATHRYN VUKOVLJAK

CNC-23-August p1 1 21/08/12 3:55 PM

2 CityNews August 23-29

CityNews August 23-29 3

news

Chicks get down to business in Canberra

EMMA Isaacs knows women. Even as we arrive at a cafe for our interview, she can’t help but strike up an animated conversation with a young mother seated at a nearby table.

It’s that natural ability to reach women of all ages that led the Sydney entrepreneur to the job as CEO of Busi-ness Chicks, an online business that launched in Canberra four months ago, after its establishment in Sydney in 2006.

With more than 26,000 members around Australia, Business Chicks hosts an online community, publishes a quarterly magazine, “Latte”, and runs event programs in Sydney, Mel-bourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide as well as Canberra.

The events include breakfasts, “lunch and learns”, thought-leader-ship workshops and professional net-working nights, all with the ideal that “great stuff happens” when women in business stop competing and come to-gether to uplift and inspire each other.

Business Chicks plans to run more than 10 events each year in Canberra, with its recent launch attracting more

than 300 people to see high-profile speaker Ita Buttrose.

“So far, in Canberra, we’ve been re-ally well received,” Emma said.

“We actually launched here because we got so many phone calls saying ‘please come to Canberra we want a concept like this and we’re really keen to have you here.’

“We’re the largest network for wom-

en in Australia now, which is exciting.” Events in other States have seen

the likes of Dannii Minogue, Richard Branson and Napoleon Perdis speak-ing to the masses about the world of business.

And Emma says it’s not just “chicks” who show up at the events.

“There’s quite a few men who come along to the events, too. The speakers

we get are relevant to anyone,” she said. Around 65 per cent of its audience is

“corporate, and the rest are business owners”, according to Emma.

She believes the business is success-ful because “women in business want to be inspired”.

“We want to meet incredible people. In order to grow in your career you need mentors, and in order to grow a

business you’ve got to have access to role models,” she says.

“We aim to create the right condi-tions where women can flourish in whatever role they choose – as a busi-nesswoman, friend, partner, mother.”

One of the biggest issues facing women in business today is juggling responsibilities and having the confi-dence to take risks, she says.

“Many women are trying to juggle a successful career with motherhood,” she says.

“I think there’s also challenges for women with building networks, get-ting people around who are going to help you in your career.

“Perhaps the biggest challenge is ourselves and the confidence we have, and our willingness to take risks and to put yourself out there.”

She says Business Chicks is “abso-lutely feminist” in its approach, but that the word “feminist” is misunder-stood.

“More and more women are finding out what it means to be feminist, and it’s not about slapping men – it’s about how do we come into our own power and give ourselves a fair go,” she says.

“It’s about how we make sure the playing field is level so that we can all work together.”

Visit www.businesschicks.com.au for more information on upcoming events.

index / contacts Since 1993: Volume 18, Number 31

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Arts&Entertainment 23-25Body 26Canberra Confidential 18Cinema 24Crossword 22Dining 25Fashion 7Garden 27-28Home 29Horoscopes 22News 3-14Politics 8Social Scene 19-21Sport 12Sudoku 22

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

Laura Edwards reports

We actually launched here because we got so many phone calls saying ‘please come to Canberra we want a concept like this’.

Business Chicks CEO Emma Isaacs. Photo by Silas Brown.


news

Alison loves all that glistersIT’S the supportive arts community in Canberra that keeps Alison Jackson here, nine years after she moved from Sydney to study gold and silversmithing at the ANU Art School.

“Lots of people find it odd that I haven’t moved back to Sydney after I finished studying... I think Canberra has a really supportive art and design community and lots of exciting things are happening, particularly over the last couple of years,” she says.

Since graduating in 2008, Alison has exhibited her range of one-off and limited-edition tableware and jewellery pieces nationally and internationally.

Combining traditional silversmithing techniques with a contemporary aes-thetic, Alison says her designs are char-acterised by simplicity, functionality and a playful quirky twist.

With an emphasis on the functional, each tableware piece is hand-raised from

a flat sheet through to the finished form. Alison’s contemporary Australian jewel-lery collection is crafted from stainless steel and Sterling silver. Each piece is designed to be unique, yet wearable.

“I started out in early high school do-ing a weekly after-school jewellery class. I don’t think I missed a single class from year 7 to 12 – I absolutely loved it,” she says.

Now the 26-year-old splits her time between part-time work at Fink & Co and working in her Queanbeyan studio. She also teaches short beginner jewellery classes occasionally.

“I think people are genuinely intrigued by what a silversmith actually does,” she says.

“I find metal has a freedom about it that I really enjoy, it still amazes me what you can achieve with a sheet of metal and a hammer.”

Alison works hard to educate people about the process and huge amount of work that goes into creating a single piece.

“Silversmithing is a very labour-inten-sive process, taking hours and sometimes days to complete one special piece.

“It’s challenging trying to find a market for my hollowware pieces. It is a diminishing industry, so few people are still making hollowware pieces by hand and many don’t even get to learn the skills,” she says, highlighting that she’s working on some new hollowware pieces that are suitable for small or limited-run production while keeping a hand-crafted element.

Alison is currently doing a mentorship with German silversmith Maike Dahl as part of JUMP, a national mentorship pro-gram for young and emerging artists.

Next month she will travel to Han-nover, Germany, to work with Maike for a week on a project developing tableware pieces that will be exhibited in Munich in October.

Alison Jackson... “I think people are genuinely intrigued by what a silversmith actually does.” Photo by Silas Brown

Libby Hillreports


fashion

FAMILY has drawn eco-fashion de-signer Kelli Donovan, a CIT fashion graduate, home to Canberra with her established label Pure Pod, which is recognised as one of the pioneers in sustainable fashion.

Pure Pod started as a manifesta-tion of Kelli’s experiences living in Melbourne and Byron Bay.

Two decades working in the Melbourne fashion scene left Kelli burnt out so she and partner Sean

Watson, also from Canberra, left their inner-city home to live on a macadamia farm near Byron Bay. There he continued his business as a photographer and she studied to be a yoga teacher.

“When I finished TAFE here in the late ‘80s, I really wanted to do eco-fashion, but it wasn’t the right time,” Kelli says.

By 2007, Australia was ready for sustainable fashion and Kelli and Sean went in search of high-quality fabrics made from merino wool, soya bean, bamboo, organic cotton, hemp, silk and linen.

“We found this amazing group of people in the Byron Bay area that were like us and had fashion skills so we just started working together,” Kelli says.

Pure Pod has grown to be at the forefront of ethical fashion in Australia, with clients throughout Australia, NZ, Canada, the US and South-East Asia.

Kelli describes the look as chic, contemporary and stylish with an urban influence. The collec-tions are designed for women aged 30-plus, but she insists there are

devoted customers ranging from 18 to 80.

She says the ranges are timeless, stylish and designed to be worn in layers.

“Whether rural or urban dwell-ers, Pure Pod is created with the discerning buyer in mind – the conscious consumer with contem-porary tastes, that loves style, an eye for quality, natural fibres and, most importantly, has an interest in sustainable fashion and their own health and wellbeing,” she says.

“Pure Pod takes great care through our entire process to make our company as environmentally friendly as possible.

“We are working hard to make our business cleaner and greener all the time.

“Our vision is to provide a clean-er, more sustainable industry for future generations, by helping to pioneer change in the fashion man-ufacturing industry and educating the fashion conscious consumer, that there is no need to sacrifice fashion for sustainability.”

When it comes to making people

aware of what they wear, Kelli wishes people would think twice before buying that $10 T-shirt from a chain store.

“We couldn’t even cut pattern for $10, our pattern maker would prob-ably get $30 an hour for her work... and that’s not including the cost of your fabrics, suppliers, the people that grow the fabric, the people who knit the labels, the people who print the swing tickets, who make the coat hangers,” she says.

While Sean manages the busi-ness side of Pure Pod, he’s got a passion for fashion, too, and un-derstands the virtues of the cool, soft textiles used in Pure Pod’s collections: lightweight Merino wool, that is warm in the winter and cooling in the summer; bam-boo – a high-quality and versatile textile that is fresh to wear, adapts to body temperature, is great for allergy-sensitive skin, grown without chemicals or fertilisers and minimises water wastage; and a help-soy blend, which matches linen in its quality.

Sean and Kelli both went to Narrabundah College. They have a daughter Ruby, 2, and are living and working out of the Farrer home Kelli grew up in.

More information at www.pure-pod.com.au

Pure Pod Eucalyptus Dreaming dress made from organic cotton poplin, fully lined with coconut belt buckle. The custom-made dress has been hand-dipped dyed in eucalyptus leaves. Each dress is completely different and a one off. “The eucalyptus leaves can never be dyed the same due to nature of the leaves and nuts, seasons and process. If it is a dry season the leaves will give off a different colour in the dying, or a wet season etc,” says Kelli. Available in sizes 8-16, $299, from www.purepod.com.au

Designer Kelli Donovan, partner Sean Watson and their daughter Ruby, 2... “Pure Pod takes great care through our entire process to make our company as environmentally friendly as possible,” says Kelli.

Kelli brings her eco-fashion label homeIf there’s one thing eco-fashion designer Kelli Donovan is trying to achieve, it’s to make people aware of what they wear, says LIBBY HILL


politics

Big Tobacco gets a kick in the butt

Federal Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, has stood up to one of the world’s wealthiest international conglomerates and stared down Big Tobacco in the High Court, says MICHAEL MOORE

THE tobacco industry’s product is the only one of its kind that, when used exactly as intended, kills and maims most of it users.

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, has stated: “For every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, 20 more people suffer with at least one serious illness from smoking.”

This month was a great triumph for public health and an important conquest for an ailing Labor Party.

The High Court dealt with five questions and the giant tobacco companies must have been really hurting when the court said “no” to them four times and on the fifth matter: pay your own costs and those of the Government.

Big Tobacco tried to put on a brave face – but it was still glowing red from such a resounding slap on the cheek.

Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has pursued the industry mercilessly with the result that they are being harmed in the way their toxic products have harmed so many Australians and continue to do so.

As Health Minister she introduced plain packaging, secured the support of the Parlia-ment and got the legislation through. As Attor-ney-General she has been able to lead the fight to defend the legislation in the High Court.

Look how Big Tobacco is squirming. It knows other countries are likely to follow suit. This is why it will continue to use its formida-ble resources to oppose this move in whatever way it can.

In the public arena, it is warning about black-market tobacco. While it’s an issue, it is being deliberately exaggerated in the forlorn hope that someone will listen.

The same sort of rhetoric came from the Aus-tralian Retailers’ Association. It has effectively become the tobacco companies’ mouthpiece. The association’s executive director Russell Zimmerman said: “Retailers now face the costs of plain-packaging transactions, which will see a significant increase in the time taken to

complete a transaction as all products will be near identical. Transaction time increases are estimated to cost businesses up to half a billion dollars, which is the equivalent of 15,000 jobs.”

Half a billion dollars! 15,000 jobs! From plain packaging of tobacco? This is just plain balderdash and the same sort of rhetoric that we heard every time smoking restrictions were placed on such places as cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs. We were told that restaurants and pubs would not survive, yet the reality is that they have flourished without staff and other patrons being forced to breathe toxic clouds of second-hand smoke.

The president of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health, Prof Mike Daube, who has been campaigning against the tobacco companies for four decades, described the High Court decision as ”the global tobacco indus-try’s worst defeat”. He did so not just because of the impact on Australians, but because of the international ramifications.

The tobacco companies are not resting. Next, they will go to the World Trade Organi-sation. They need to attempt to stop this plain packaging cascading through the developed and later the developing world if they are to continue selling their toxic product. However, this process will take up to two years and the plain packages will be well established.

On the same day as the High Court made its decision, ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gal-lagher, announced there would be a needle and syringe exchange program in Canberra’s jail. Two significant health-protection measures announced on the same day – a great day for community health. And it came about because some politicians believed in the importance of community well-being before the interests of the powerful and the dominant.

Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health. He is CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia

Dose of Dorin, Page 14

winnersWINNERS of the five “CityNews” family tickets to Webers Circus Tuggeranong season are:Mitchell White, of Chapman; Tara Powell, Isabella Plains; Philippa Kirkpatrick, O’Connor; Kellie Blanden, Garran and Michael McKenna, Wanniassa.


the gadfly

Apart from Speaker Shane Rattenbury, ROBERT MACKLIN doubts that one

Canberran in a hundred could name a single Green representative in the Legislative Assembly

WHILE most attention has been focused on the Government and the Opposition in the vexed issue of unauthorised boat arrivals, the more important development may well be the manner in which the Greens have totally mismanaged their response.

Indeed, I suspect that the party reached its high water mark in the last Federal election and it now faces a gradual but steady erosion of public support.

There are several reasons for this – both external and internal – but all seem beyond their power to counteract.

Internally, they suffer seriously from the departure of long-time leader Bob Brown. He had great natural presence and a capacity to appeal to our better nature in those social and conscience issues with the power to change ingrained voting hab-its. He spoke from the heart.

By contrast, while Christine Milne might well share his noble instincts, she is quite unable to convey them in a manner that strikes a congenial emotional chord.

In fact, I have heard the unkind remark that her visage could curdle milk at 10 paces; and certainly her voice has all the appeal of a fingernail scraping across a blackboard.

That is not going to change; and there is no credible alternative within their ranks. Indeed, the increasingly promi-nent Senator Lee Rhiannon only adds to the wacky image of the party and the sole House of Representatives member, Adam Bandt, seems to be shrinking daily into

the mould of a booking clerk in a funeral parlour.

Moreover, their policy development processes, as revealed by their holier-than-thou approach to the boat arrivals, leave them floundering in a sea of idealis-tic impracticality.

Externally, the Labor Party has finally

realised that it must stop the leakage of votes to the Greens from its left wing and has joined the move to portray them as basket-weaving extremists totally irrel-evant to the political mainstream.

This was essential if Labor was to re-gain the public’s perception as the party of progress; and it seems to be working.

They are assisted in this by Tony Ab-bott’s determination to take his party further to the right.

This has opened a wide gap on the left which can be filled by “progressive but responsible” policies on climate change, mining tax, disability insurance and education.

Add to that the growing belief that La-bor might at last have begun to turn the electoral corner (both despite and because of Julia Gillard) and the Greens’ isolation at the extremity seems likely to become even more marked.

The first real test of this thesis will come in the ACT election in October.

While there is still time for some local issues to intervene, the Greens’ members have not made any serious impact among voters.

Apart from Speaker Shane Rattenbury, I doubt that one Canberran in a hundred could name a single Greens representa-tive in the Legislative Assembly. So their vote will reflect a general attitude to the party from an electorate that rated them very highly last time.

I think they are riding for a serious fall on October 20.

[email protected]

Greens turn from Brown to bleak

The recognisable Shane Rattenbury... however, the Greens’ members have not made any serious impact among voters.

brieflyHere come the MAMAsCANBERRAN and TV personality Paul McDermott will host the inaugural MusicACT Annual Music Awards: The MAMAs at Albert Hall on December 7. The 19 awards will cover a huge range of genres, from best rock group to best orchestra/big band, best folk group to best EDM producer. Entries for each category are open until October 15.

More information at musicact.com.au

Protest against Pacific ‘solution’THERE will be a protest against the new Pacific “solution” in Garema Place, Civic, at 12.30pm, Saturday, August 25. Organisers say the Australian Government has voted to treat refugees who try to come here by boat in “the most vicious way ever” and that the Labor and

Liberal scheme condemns people seeking asylum to indefinite detention and mental torture in hell-holes on Manus and Nauru Islands.

More information from [email protected]

Celebrating in woodTHE Woodcraft Guild ACT Inc. is holding its 30th annual “Treasures in Timber Exhibition” in conjunc-tion with the Timber and Working with Wood Show, Budawang Build-ing, Exhibition Park, the weekend of August 31-September 2. Guild members will present highlights of their woodworking achievements over the past year while having their work professionally assessed in a competitive local forum. It is also an opportunity for the public to buy handmade woodcraft at reasonable prices.

More information at woodcraftguild.org.au/


THE London Olympics, if nothing else, was a reality check for Australian sport. Bold estimations of a fifth place on the medal table with 16 gold, as it turned out, were way off the mark.

We should be rejoicing in the fact that Australia won seven gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze. Perhaps some were expecting better because of the performances of Australians in Sydney, Athens and Beijing.

The simple fact is that the rest of the world is starting to lift in sports that Australia had previously dominated.

Countries that had not focused on spending money on sporting excellence are now seeing the benefits of success on the world sporting stage. It can do more to lift the profile of a country than major business deals, and it is seen by many as evidence of prosperity.

The rise in population will see the sporting landscape change even more at the Rio Olympics. You can only imagine what India will do in the future if it starts putting resources into sport, apart from cricket, given the size of its population. Also, what will happen if African countries start looking beyond distance running and soccer?

The reality is that we should be celebrating every medal and everyone that makes it through to the Olympics. But we can always look at how we can improve, as we should be doing in all aspects of human endeavour.

Silver into gold?THE task now for sporting organisations is to assess how to turn 16 silver medals into gold.

Part of the review process should look at the relationship between the State institutes of sport and the AIS and whether it is working to its maximum. The

same goes for the dialogue between coaches, with sug-gestions that many are protective of giving too much information to rival coaches within Australia.

There needs to be a collective approach. But it shouldn’t be all about medals; it should be about encouraging more people to be involved in sport.

Jackson stepped upAN Olympics highlight hard to go past is Lauren Jackson’s performance in the bronze-medal game in women’s basketball.

With Liz Cambage struggling, Jackson dominated. Patty Mills was outstanding in the men’s team with his performance against the US another highlight.

Sporting Confidential with Tim Gavel

Games give us a reality check

Big crowd says farewell to terrific Toni PeadonIF there is anybody who packed as much as Toni Peadon (nee Medcalf) did into her life, it is hard to imagine.

Last week the Albert Hall was packed to say farewell to this remarkable lady who left an imprint on everybody she met.

Just short of her 49th birthday she passed away due to a heart condition, which she had lived with for years. It did little to dampen her enthusiasm for life.

Toni was an achiever of the highest order. Her work in pediatric

resuscitation was legendary and she became a leader in this field, volunteering her time to help others in the field. She was also well respected in her role in emergency medicine at Canberra and Calvary Hospitals.

Toni was formidable in anything she set her mind to. Despite the heart condition, she was determined to conquer the sport of triathlon. Last year, just five years after taking up the sport, she finished 22nd in the 45-to-49 age group at the World

Masters’ Triathlon Championships in Beijing.

She was also heavily involved as a parent of four at Canberra Girls Grammar and Canberra Grammar.

Toni leaves behind her husband, Brian, and their four children. The Toni Medcalf Scholarship Fund has been established to help medical and nursing staff gain education and training in the medical management of ill and injured children.

Donations to Advanced Paediatric Life Support Australia.

Lauren Jackson… an Olympic highlight.


opinion

Untie the knot onmarriage changes

THE Labor/Greens ACT Government is committed to passing a civil unions Bill designed to take one more step towards redefining marriage to include same-sex couples.

Assembly Speaker of the House, and Greens MLA, Shane Rattenbury, made clear that “this is not the end of the road” for their agenda around redefining marriage.

What is interesting is that “the end of the road” is really at the heart of the matter.

Recently, ACT Greens convener Simon Copland wrote an opinion piece that criticised the Federal Greens for refusing to include polyamorous couples in their mar-riage definition (marriages involving more than two people).

He went on to challenge the whole mar-riage equality political movement, saying: “People who don’t fit into the mainstream queer mould are being excluded from the debate”.

Strange as it may sound, I think Mr. Copland is not only being more honest than most of those involved in the debate, he is also right. To claim that it is discrimina-tion not to allow same-sex people to marry, and then exclude other people who want to marry, is surely hypocritical.

Where are the ceremonies and civil un-ions for the consenting adults whose love stretches to more than one person?

The ACT Government is deafeningly silent on this “equality”, and should, in all integrity, tell us before the October election where “the end of the road” really is, and why.

However, this is not the only problem with language. Surrounding this debate, the ACT Labor Party has regularly talked about it being a “human right” for same-sex couples to marry. This is simply misleading, as a Senate committee in June found that there is no more existing discrimination against same-sex couples in Australia – they now have the same health, legal and financial protections as any other couple.

In fact, this claim of “rights” has been dealt a significant blow internationally as well, with a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights making clear that same-sex marriage was not a universal hu-man right.

Add to this the comments of our own Frank Brennan, chair of the National Hu-man Rights Consultation Committee, who suggests that not only is it not a right, but it is also potentially affecting children’s rights to a biological mother and father.

It is clear that the use of “rights” as an ar-gument is more about a political and social agenda rather than genuine human rights.

There is a twist of irony to this story as well, with our Chief Minister making a formal apology to the victims of forced adoptions. Of course, this is a good and nec-essary thing, but to do it in the same week as legislating a civil-union law that essentially creates a situation where children are not brought up with their natural parents is quite surprising.

It’s time for the ACT Government to end this ideologically driven obsession with try-ing to change marriage. It is clear that any vote in the Federal Parliament is doomed to fail, and it is undemocratic to then try and push it through in smaller Territories when Australia’s representatives have spoken on this issue and Prime Minister Julia Gillard concurs that marriage is between a man and a woman.

People with same-sex attractions should be valued and accepted as any other innate human, but the union of a man and a woman is unique, offering what no other union can, and it needs to continue to be recognised as such.

Nick Jensen is a director of the ACT Aus-tralian Christian Lobby.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and Oppo-sition Leader Zed Seselja will be addressing the Christian constituency in Llewellyn Hall, 7.30pm on Thursday, August 30.

Where are the ceremonies and civil unions for the consenting adults whose love stretches to more than one person, ponders NICK JENSEN in defence of marriage between a man and a woman?

Jostle goes out of voting“WHAT a waste of even recycled paper,” I hear many people say, referring to the glossy brochures being thrust into hands and letter-boxes over the next few months.

Well, yes, but at least our As-sembly election – by sensibly borrowing a Tasmanian initia-tive – has spared us running the gauntlet of enthusiastic party workers handing out even more paper at polling booths. Quite simply, canvassing for votes within 100 metres of a booth is prohibited.

This restriction extends even to candidates’ signs, as I well remember from visiting a polling booth in Sandy Bay, Hobart. The then-Leader of the Opposition lived within the 100-metre bound-ary and was obliged to remove a large “Vote for Me” poster from his front garden.

Party strategists work to circumvent the 100-metre rule, but with little success. Most poll-ing booths are located in ACT schools and it is possible to drive into a parking area past anyone manning the artificial boundary.

Even the recent addition of fences around schools will not improve the party enthusiasts’ chances because, again, most fences will be within the 100 metre zone thus preventing pamphleteers mass-ing at the gates.

All well and good, but why not move to the next step and borrow another initiative, this time, I understand, from SA: let large how-to-vote signs hang inside each polling booth.

The voting suggestions could be displayed around the polling-booth hall and constituents sim-ply make their choice and vote as now.

The Robson rotation practised in ACT Assembly elections, whereby candidates are rotated in different order on party ballot papers, can be addressed by a cir-cular how-to-vote so no individual obtains an advantage – like any

fair collective publicity put out by a party’s headquarters for their team of hopefuls.

However, the real value of the proposal – even with electronic voting – would be in Federal elections, where the need for vol-unteers jostling outside polling booths to hand out how-to-vote pa-pers could be removed. Certainly voting signs inside would be more democratic to those who cannot man booths outside and consider-able paper and effort would be saved.

Unfortunately, it is claimed Federal (and State) politicians don’t trust voters to know what they are doing without assistance. If true, this raises serious doubts about the right of some people to be made to attend a polling booth or vote at all – but abolishing compulsory voting probably is a bridge too far at this point.

Pamphlet drops and candidates’ shopping-centre appearances are gathering momentum ahead of the October 20 ACT election, says former Assembly Speaker GREG CORNWELL

dose of dorin


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THE Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisation is a peak body represent-ing 24 peak Ukrainian organisations in Australia including churches, state community organisations, youth and women’s organisations, credit co-operative movement, educational, returned service, language and other organisations.

The AFUO is a member of the Ukrain-ian World Congress, the main global organisation of Ukrainian Diaspora.

AFUO chairman Mr Stefan ROMANIW OAM, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Melbourne Mr Valeriy BOTTE, Chief Editor of Ukrainian magazine “Free Thought” Mr Volodymyr SHUMSKYI,

Director of the Centre for European Studies of Monash University Professor Marko PAVLYSHYN, Sports Coach Victor KOVALENKO, Chairman of the Ukrainian Council of NSW

Mr Peter LUTAK and many more are outstanding Australian Ukrainians well known in this country.

Kyiv Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

National Flag of Ukraine. On August 23 Ukrain-ians also celebrate the National Flag Day.

From left, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.

Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Lviv, Ukraine.


all about mitchell / advertising feature

The mighty men of Mitchell…

“WE don’t aim to be the biggest; just one of the best,” says Peter Bonelli, owner of Tileflair, which he says offers affordable elegance and personalised service.

“We’ve been in the tiling industry for 25 years, and pride ourselves on providing quality products from all across the globe,” he says. “We have a large, modern showroom that’s open seven days a week.”

There is a huge variety of tiles on display at Tileflair including all the latest ranges. And while there is a huge range of colours available, Peter says people are sticking to neutral tones.

“The minimalist look is still in and people are choosing to accessorise with bright towels rather than tiles,” he says.

Tileflair, 22 Essington Street, Mitchell. Call 6162 3080.

Not the biggest, ‘just the best’

THE Fairies North Canberra offers children a magical fairyland experi-ence. All its activities are created and managed by a qualified teacher and taught by experienced staff trained in The Fairies programs.

Birthday parties are a hassle-free experience with Rainbow, the birthday fairy, and her helper entertaining the children for the entire party.

The dance classes offer a series of fun, movement-based activities

and exercises aimed at developing core strength and gross motor skills, enhancing auditory skills, rhythm and counting, spatial awareness and balance, as well as music interpretation in a non-competitive, safe and nurturing environment.

It offers fairy dancing, ballet/jazz, tap, hip hop, and all stars, which includes dance, singing and drama.

The Fairies, 3/56 Heffernan St, Mitchell, 6162 2004, thefairies.com

…and Fairies, too!

Pride in quality repairsMITCHELL has doubled in size since Rob Cunningham opened Premier Automotive in the suburb 16 years ago and it’s been great for business.

“We’ve gone from being a two-man show to employing seven staff now and we’ve really needed to do that to keep up with the demands of the growing Gungahlin area,” Rob says.

Premier Automotive boasts a team of qualified mechanics who use the latest diagnostic equipment.

“We really pride ourselves on providing quality repairs from people you can trust.”

Premier Automotive, 5 Winchcombe Court, Mitchell. Call 6242 8450.

Big demand for utesFOR the past three years, Mitchell Rent a Ute has been servicing the Canberra region.

Owner Rob Cunningham says there is a large demand for people wanting to hire vehicles to move house or clean up the garden.

“We hire out vehicles for as little as two hours at a time,” he says.

“Every weekend our utes are booked out – it started out as a side business for me, but has become very busy.”

Mitchell Rent a Ute, 5 Winchcombe Court, Mitchell. Call 6242 8500.

The place for spare partsSPARE parts are a specialty at Jap-spec Garage where the mechanics focus on Japanese and European cars.

“If I don’t have it in stock, I make sure I get it quickly,” says owner Farid Jaberi.

The mechanic has had his

business in Mitchell for almost six years and says people with European and Japanese cars know Japspec Garage is the place to go for parts.

Japspec Garage, 13/15 Winchcombe Court, Mitchell. Phone 6162 4077.

Mitchell was named in honour of Maj. Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell, surveyor-general and explorer of NSW, and all the suburb’s streets are named after Australian industrialists.Here “CityNews” showcases some of the suburb’s best businesses...


Canberra Confidential Know something? / [email protected]

Fun on the run!AS the voluntary redundancy offer closes for staff at the shrinking “Canberra Times” and life on the Fairfax digital treadmill dawns, the morale-deprived Fyshwick slaves will be buoyed to know that there’s still enough money to stump up the fees for a fancy Sydney PR company to spruik next month’s annual 10km fun run (which will be cut to 5km this year to save money – joking!)

Strangely, senior account executive Georgia Rushbrook-House, of Access PR, has written to three of “CC’s” scribblers in the hope of their inveigling our readers to: “Dust off those trainers and get out of your winter hibernation! It’s that time of year again when thousands of fun-run enthusiasts will walk, jog or run their way through the picturesque streets of Canberra.”

Alas, the view from her city (King Street Wharf) office can’t see that the tradi-tional run starts in Woden, with Georgia’s breathless PRose panting that it starts at Lake Burley Griffin and goes “past both old Parliament House and Parliament House, with spectacular views of The National Carillion [sic] on Aspen Island.”

Poor Georgia’s geography is as amiss as her spelling. The 5km course does start be-side the lake, near Dairy Flat Road, and stays on the northern shore of the lake, passing neither old nor new Houses of Parliament to reach the finish line, and the principal 10km run does pass Parliament House, but goes nowhere near the old one.

“CC” has conquered the 10km fun run and it wasn’t for the “picturesque streets” or “spectacular views” of the carillon!

What’s in a name?IT looks like something out of “The Jetsons,” but NZ artist Phil Price’s new sculpture at the Canberra Airport is looking for a name that isn’t too kooky. The airport has appealed to the public to name the sculpture – with Mr Price himself deciding on the winner – but so far they’ve been a little, er, underwhelmed with the entries. A spokesperson from the airport told “CC” while there’s been many entries, none of the names “have really fit” so far. For example: “Bloody ugly”, “Flying Smarties”, “Heads your luggage arrives, tails it doesn’t”, “Aliens welcome – asylum seekers well...”, and “Waste of money”. There’s still a chance. Email your entries to [email protected].

More Christmas!“CC” depressingly reported Christmas carols being played at a Belconnen department store last week, this week your unfestive cor-respondent stumbled past a Christmas tree on sale at Costco’s cathedral to consumerism at Majura Park. Putting this stuff on sale 120 or so sleeps before Santa borders on a form of child abuse. There was also some other adult-size, military figure called “The Nutcracker” for sale. His relationship to the birth of Jesus has “CC” truly stumped.

Rápido burritosCANBERRA certainly has an appetite for free stuff. Mexican chain restaurant Guzman

y Gomez Mexican Taqueria celebrated its arrival at the Canberra Centre by giving away 4005 made-to-order burritos over nine hours – that’s a rate of more than seven burritos a minute.

Odds and sodsTHE mysterious Braddon Punters Club keeps haunting our fax machine with its latest odds for the October ACT election. Since last month, the prospect of a Labor majority is still 12/1 with the more fancied Liberal majority holding at 8/1.

However, there has been some movement on the new Assembly seat split being 7 Liberal/ 3 Greens/ 7 Labor with the odds tightening from 6/4 to 5/4. The prospect of an 8 Liberal/ 2 Greens/ 7 Labor house is steady at 5/2.

Wayward starsHELL, the recently re-divorced Tom Cruise isn’t that bad. Just ask starstruck local band Sunchaser & the Wayward Orchestra. Its song “One More Day!” has been picked up in the soundtrack of the latest Cruise blockbuster “Rock of Ages”.

Band frontman and songwriter Jason Campbell-Smith says: “It’s especially exciting to be included in a film where the story revolves around classic rock and is jam-packed with such huge hits, it’s a compliment to our work and spurs us on to keep doing what we do”.

The song is included on the band’s recently released EP and available for online purchase at www.swomusic.com

Jamie’s Wright way TV personality and celebrated landscape designer Jamie Durie, pictured, flew in from his Los Angeles home the other day to shoot advertising for a new $120 million develop-ment in the emerging Molonglo Valley that he and his company, Durie Designs, have created landscape designs for.

Teaming up with Kingston firm GEOCON Constructors, Jamie told “CC” the design for the development, “Observatory Living”, in Wright, was inspired by the “stunning” Australian landscape and he wants it to create a feeling of “relaxation”. Jamie will return to Canberra to present a display of his designs at the launch of Floriade, an event he says he just loves: “I’ve taken my mother there plenty of times”.


scene Canberra’s only locally-owned Subaru dealerBROUGHT TO

YOU BY ROLFE SUBARU

At ‘Mapped out: Maps & Plans from the CMAG Collection’ At ‘Sydney Long – The Spirit of the Land’, National Gallery

Mark Bayly, Petronella Wensing with Susan and David Chessell

Dale Middleby with Rob and Sandie Little

Mike Quirk and Brendan Smyth MLA

Peter Robinson and Anne Buettel Meagan Spedding and Peter Jadric

Mandy Cox and Cheryl Williams

Cassandra and Sue CutlerAlex Aberle-Leeming, Bernard Benny, Jess Berryman and Andrew Watts

Helena and Sharon Strauss

Magda Keaney and Elena Taylor

Jenny Millea and Cathy Bryson

John Evans and Rhiannon Hejarty

Renata Giordano and Esha Haque

Maryanne Voyazis, Warwick Hemsley and Ashley Dawson-Damer Nicole Shaw and Avi Rebera

Emma Kindred and Mim Kelly


scene ROLFE SUBARU AT PHILLIP & BELCONNEN

At exhibition openings, Beaver Gallery, Deakin At the East Hotel opening, Canberra Avenue, Kingston

Lach Howarth, Gryff Marshall, Daniel Dwyer and Jason Kwong

Alex Asch and Mariana del Castillo

Joseph and Janice Falsone Helen Pike and Annie Florence

Sophie Haviland and Jenny Shaw

Sharon Gibson and Lynn Berry

Emma Lonsdale and Penny Fisher Irene and Justin Bisa and Ashley Jeanroy

Lisa Zhang, Christi Buckely and Marricel Watt

Matthew Elliott, Adam Douglas and Daniel Florez Dane and Amanda McCormack

Greg Johnson, Melvin Arulanthu, Gretchen Irvine and Bryan Wilson

Robyn Hendry and Lynda Watson

Michelle Bramston, Liz Bendeich and Sharina Faizal

Dion and Daniel Bisa


sceneAt Appetite for Excellence Awards, War Memorial

Michael Demagistris, Chris Sarandis and Kah-Wai Lo

Greg and Jenny Hade and Justin Markos

Kylie Roberts and Tom Moore

Russell Smith and Emily Mackintosh

Neil Doody and Amanda Biggs

Daniel Wilson and Phee Gardner

Lynne and Darren Knights Andrew Spencer and Amy Braddon

Angela and Adam Carroll


Sudoku medium No.87

General knowledge crossword No. 374

Solution next week

Solution next week

Crossword No.373 Sudoku hard No.86Solutions

puzzles pageJoanne Madeline Moore your week in the stars / August 27 - September 2 Across

3 Name another term for marijuana.7 To mend something is to do what to it?8 In Greek legend, who was slain by Paris?9 Name the well-known street in central London, once on the bank of the Thames.10 To contest at law is to do what?11 Which bees are stingless, and make no honey?14 Name a term that means free of cost.17 What do we call one who produces hastily executed drawings?18 Which fin is developed on the back of a shark, etc?19 Name the term, usually opposed to digital.20 What is a more readily known word for a tyro?21 Which sideboards are used for storing dishes and cooking utensils?

Down 1 Name the term that relates to the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, rain, etc.2 Which vehicular home is traditionally inhabited by gypsies?3 What are little cots for infants?4 To be louder is to be what?5 What do we call heavy material carried by a ship for ensuring proper stability?6 Which term is descriptive of female siblings?11 To cast aside is to do what?12 What does a surgeon often do?13 What are written agreements deposited with a third person?14 Which plots of ground are devoted to the cultivation of flowers, etc?15 To sanction officially is to do what?16 What is the state of early childhood?

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)Pluto gives you a professional power-surge on Thursday but don’t overdo it Rams! Your confidence must be tempered with a touch of humility and a willingness to learn. Friday’s Full Moon prompts you to behave in ways that are a mystery even to you. Issues from the past could also arise – maybe contact with an old friend or the resurfacing of an unresolved issue.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)The Piscean Full Moon urges you to be more mentally flexible, as you take the rough with the smooth and search for the subtleties within every situation. But is a child, teenager or friend being 100 per cent honest with you? Expect some dramatic revelations as the week develops. With Saturn in your wellbeing zone, it’s time to get serious about your health and fitness.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)Expect the unexpected at work, as the Full Moon activates your career zone. Postpone making important decisions, as you’ll find it difficult to keep your mind on the job. If you rush, you’ll just end up going off in the wrong direction. Be patient. Your motto for the moment is from comedian Lily Tomlin (born on September 1): “The road to success is always under construction.”

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)The Full Moon gives you a welcome energy boost on Friday – but you may also feel like you’re on a rollicking rollercoaster ride as emotional confusion reigns and you seem lost in a labyrinth of possibilities. You’ll feel better if you talk about the frenetic feelings that are swirling around inside you with a trusted friend. Plus try to relax and take things one day at a time.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)Thank goodness for convivial Cats! With chatty Mercury in your sign – plus positive Sun/Pluto aspects – it’s up to you to cheer up confused loved ones this week. But resist the temptation to shop up a storm and use retail therapy as a form of entertainment. (Find less expensive ways to amuse yourself.) When it comes to joint finances – have you got all the facts?

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)Friday’s Full Moon energises partnerships, but it also makes them more confusing. Listen closely to what a loved one is really saying. Your ruler Mercury visits Virgo (from September 1-17) when you’ll be at your precise best – and pedantic worst. Your eye for detail shines as you power through piles of paperwork. On Sunday, it may be tricky to separate fact from fiction.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)Librans love to create harmony, balance and order around them. Don’t even try this week! It’s a ratty, manic, unpredictable Full Moon week, so drop the perfectionist routine and take things as they come. Romance is in the air this weekend. If you are attached, send a romantic text or organise a candlelit dinner. Singles – love and work are linked in unlikely ways.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)Thursday’s Sun/Pluto trine is fabulous for communicating in creative ways, plus focusing on your goals and dreams for the future. Have you been too busy to touch base with children, teenagers or friends? Friday’s Full Moon encourages you to reconnect – and don’t be surprised if they have some stunning news to divulge! Sunday is super for love and romance.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)Calling all stir-crazy Sagittarians! If you’re stuck indoors this week, you’ll drive everyone nuts with your impatient and impulsive ways (which are magnified by Friday’s Full Moon). Lots of fresh air and physical activity will help calm your restlessness. At work, resist the urge to give long and rambling explanations. Strive to be more verbally precise.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)Travel is highlighted but you need to be flexible, as plans are likely to change at the last minute. Don’t worry about mistakes you have made in the past – or your ambitious goals for the future. It’s time to concentrate on the here and now. Be inspired by birthday great Mother Teresa: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)Your spending patterns are erratic at the best of times. This week (with the Full Moon stirring up your money zone), you’d be wise to avoid online shopping – and put your credit card out of reach! A goal or aspiration has been put on hold, but that’s okay. It gives you extra time to think things through and calibrate your plans. Look within for guidance and inspiration.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)The coming week is sprinkled with confusion and illusion, as the Full Moon and Neptune link up in your sign. So you may be affected by mood swings or disappointments – but you can also expect creative inspiration and spiritual insights, as your inner muse demands to be heard. On Sunday, resist the urge to embellish the facts and be somewhat elastic with the truth.

Daily astrology updates at www.twitter.com/JoMadelineMooreCopyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2011

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M O Z A R T S C MO R H E P T A G O NN E U T E R I S PO F O U T S I D E RL O C U S T N DI L T O R T O I S ET L A PH O G S H E A D S I

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arts & entertainment Bill Stephens‘Hairspray’ sets the stage ablaze

When the Lollyman cometh

ONE of Queensland’s funniest indigenous perform-ers, Mark Sheppard, is coming to The Q soon in his one-man comedy show, “Chasing the Lollyman”. Shep-pard pokes fun at everything from “Neighbours” (what would it be like if a Murri family moved into Ramsey Street?) to an episode of “Getaway”. At Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, August 29-30. Bookings to 6285 6290 or theq.net.au

THE Canberra Theatre will be alive with the big band sound at 7.30pm on September 1, as the Royal Military College Band – under the baton of Maj. Dan Hiscock and compered by “CityNews” music writer, Lt-Col Ian McLean – showcases symphonic wind band-works, “sizzling” big-band tunes, “inspiring” soloists, a “precision” drum corps and the “magnificent sounds” of the bagpipes. You can fairly bet they’ll live up to their own hype. Bookings to 6275 2700 or canberraticketing.com.au

IT’S also no hype to report that 200 individuals will present 342 performances from August 28 to September 1 in the Australian National Eisteddfod’s 2012 Piano Competitions. As well as the usual classical sections, there is an “own choice” category for each age. The Open Recital competition, with $3050 in prizes, is at Wesley Music Centre from 1pm, on September 1. Full program for heats and finals at nationaleisteddfod.org.au, tickets at the door.

HOW romantic – the Canberra Mandolin Orchestra will perform plucked instrument music gems from around the world on Sunday, August 26 at 2pm at All Souls Church in Cowper Street, Ainslie, with tickets at the door. The group is conducted by Michael Sollis and it’ll start with the “Fandango” by Sydney composer

Anne Carr-Boyd. New players are always welcome, inquiries to 6161 2177.

IT’S a year of arty birthdays. Recently, it was a happy 250th for “Art Monthly Australia” and now “BMA” magazine is rejoicing in issue 400. Its plaintive editorial reads: “We finally made it. And to be honest, it nearly killed us.” Arts publications are always hard-pressed, so happy 400th!

MERLYN Quaife is one of our most thrilling sopra-nos. She’ll be joined by Stephen Delaney at the piano for a recital of Lieder composed by Franz Schubert and Richard Strauss, as part of Art Song Canberra’s “Season of Song”. At Wesley Music Centre, 3pm, Sunday, August 26. Tickets available only at the door.

Helen Musa arts in the city

Comedian Mark Sheppard... one of Queensland’s funniest indigenous performers.

It’s the Long way to the topSydney Long may not be a household name in his home town Goulburn, but he should be, says HELEN MUSA SYDNEY Long is the subject of the National Gallery of Australia’s newest exhibition, “The Spirit of the Land”, and is, by director Ron Radford’s reckoning, the first significant Australian artist to have been born in NSW.

To the curator, Anna Gray, this show has been “a lifetime in the making”. Head of Australian Art at the Gallery of Australia, she points to Long’s work as master etcher and artist, his long teaching career that included pupils such as Donald Friend, and the international reputation he carved out in London at the centre of the art nouveau movement.

In paintings that evoked pipe music, birds and Aboriginal figures in the landscapes, he was similar to Joan Lindsay in “Picnic at Hanging Rock” or E M Forster in “A Passage to India” in conjuring up the power and the spirituality of objects and places.

It is true that Sydney Long spent much of his life in London, but it is absolutely not true, says Gray, that he was Euro-centric in his vision of the landscape. Indeed, only the 1898 painting “Pan” looks directly to classical Greece.

Gray argues that Long is specifically Australian, seen in his 1900 work “Spirit of the Bushfire” and in his 1904 painting, “The Music Lesson,” where a young Aboriginal girl pipes to a group of magpies.

“Sydney Long’s paintings are full of heat and fire,” Gray says.

Above all, Long is most loved in this country for his impressions of flamingos, birds he first saw in an Australian zoo and which he continued to paint from 1902 for 40 years. With their long necks and curved beaks, they were the epitome of beauty and grace, fitting the art nouveau style to a tee.

Some of Long’s flamingos are bright red (a result,

the exhibition unromantically reveals, of their diet) but more are in the subtle pinks that Long made his own – “very delicate and very poetic.”

This Canberra-only exhibition of 115 works features oils, etchings and lesser-known water-colours as well as two ceramic works by Australia artist, Mildred Lovett.

“Sydney Long: The Spirit of the Land,” at the National Gallery of Australia, until November 11.

“Flamingos” by Sydney Long, (1907), watercolour, private collection.

Sydney Long’s “The Music Lesson” (1904), oil on canvas, Art Gallery of NSW.


“Bernie” (M) DIRECTOR Richard Linklater co-wrote this film with magazine journalist Skip Hollingworth, who wrote an article about a local assistant funeral director who’s now in jail for murdering the wealthiest woman in Carthage, a small Texas town.

No murder mystery, “Bernie” is a portrait of a township where mortician Bernie Tiede, charitable, compassionate, participating in all community activities, without an evil cell in his body, befriended wealthy widow and town grouch Marjorie. In time, she had him running her house, her finances, her pedicures and her wardrobe. They travelled together, they attended cultural events. Whether the relationship was sexual is not known. Bernie is probably asexual and Marjorie seems not to have had a joyous cell in her body.

Linklater tells the story of Bernie and Marjorie in quasi-documentary style, with commentary from real townsfolk who had watched their relationship develop.

After Marjorie’s body was found and Bernie confessed, the Carthage townsfolk made it

clear that whatever the evidence, a local jury would acquit Bernie. This obliged district at-torney Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey) to move the trial to another town.

In a commendable performance, portray-ing a man of whom it might rightly have

been said that he went about doing good, Jack Black plays Bernie less for laughs than in a credible character study displaying a range of performance skills. As Marjorie, Shirley MacLaine gives great hissy fit alongside moments of exploiting Bernie’s generous

spirit and domestic versatility.The film’s charm invites affectionate

smiles. Well-supplied with clever dialogue generating chuckles rather than roars of laughter, the screenplay canvasses a variety of comic styles. The ad libs from townsfolk often convey the humour of reality delivered with a palpable sense of unscripted authenticity.

At Greater Union

“The Bourne Legacy” (M) TONY Gilroy and his brother Dan confected this actioner to follow three Jason Bourne films written by Tony and based on novels by Robert Ludlum.

Byer (Edward Norton) heads a secret US Government agency with clout to comman-deer the services of other agencies in the US and abroad.

He has terminated a medical research

program with devastating potential and decreed that all involved from researchers to clinical studies subjects must be terminated as well. The science seems a bit fanciful, us-ing a virus to transport genetic changes into the human body, supported by medications of varying colours.

Rachael Weisz plays gene researcher Marta, the sole survivor of a massacre of laboratory workers by a government agent. She gets rescued by Aaron (Jeremy Reiner), a soldier first seen trekking alone through some awesomely difficult Alaskan mountains. Aaron is running out of the blue tablets that keep him alive. He hopes to re-stock at the laboratory. The facility holding the tablet stocks is in Manila, where Byer’s minions pursue the pair in an extended chase through midday traffic.

The opening Alaskan scenery is dramatic. The Manila traffic derby is energetic. The infill between those bookends lacks conviction. The film takes 135 minutes to play out, leaving us energised by the action, but little wiser about its purpose than we were at its beginning.

At all cinemas

Dougal Macdonaldcinema

arts & entertainment / reviews

musical theatre“Hairspray”Canberra Philharmonic Society At the Erindale Theatre until September 1.Reviewed by Bill Stephens

Can nice, asexual Bernie beat the murder wrap?

A HUGE multi-cultural cast in flamboyant lollypop-coloured costumes, big hair and swirl-ing skirts, set the Erindale Theatre stage ablaze for Philo’s exuberant production of “Hairspray” last night, directed with admirable style and pizazz by Jarrad West.

Set in the ‘60s, this musical follows the adven-tures of overweight teenager, Tracy Turnblad, who encounters issues of body image and racial intolerance along the way to fulfilling her dream to dance on the Corny Collins television show.

Krystle Innes gives a real star performance as Tracy Turnblad, singing, dancing and acting with exhilarating confidence. She lights up the stage and provides the heart-beat of the show. Amy Dunham, as her bestie, Penny; Zack Drury playing her feckless heart-throb Link; and Vanessa de Jager, as her no-holds-barred competitor, provide excellent support. Will

Huang, deliciously obsequi-ous as Corny Collins, Nyasha Nyakuengama as Seaweed, and Jenny Lu, who sings up a storm as Motormouth Maybelle, also stand out, while Max Gambale and Steven Bardwell, obviously relish-ing their roles as Tracy’s parents, Edna and Wilber Turnblad, bring an unexpected charm and sly fun to their characters.

Rose Shorney’s terrific band does full justice to the rocky, tuneful score, and choreogra-phers Amy Fitzpatrick and Nikole Sklavos have devised a succession of spectacular dance numbers which dazzle the eye.

It’s all great fun, but beneath its surface razzle dazzle this musical has some thought-provoking messages about tolerance, which in this production are delivered with admirable subtlety.

‘Hairspray’ sets the stage ablaze

Wyrd without the spell“WYRD Sisters”, chosen by director Kerrie Roberts for its terrific female roles, is rich with puns, literary allusions to Shakespeare (especially The Scottish Play) and the Brothers Grimm.

Plus there is argument about the primacy of language as the means to power, all wrapped up in an epic tale where three, rural, English witches overcome the forces of evil.

This is an ambitious produc-tion for Roberts, enhanced with magic tricks, echoing voices and projected-screen animation. Supported by a solid network of designers and backstage workers, it features a substantial cast that despite the fact that it is a TAC Women’s Theatre Forum production, boasts slightly more men than women.

Janine O’Dwyer and Elaine Noon, as the senior village witches and prime movers of the action, delineate their characters effectively, and Tracy Thomas, as apprentice witch, matches their

experience with appropriate naivety.

But in an arch, self- knowing script such as Pratchett’s, comic timing is of the essence and alas, with the possible exception of Jonathan Sharp playing the Fool, none of the cast nails it.

The opening night was full of long pauses, missed gags and throwaway lines, and shuffling sounds in the dark during the many unnecessary blackouts for scene changes.

It seemed a long night.

theatre“Wyrd Sisters” By Terry Pratchett, adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs, directed by Kerrie RobertsWomen’s Theatre ForumAt Tuggeranong Arts Centre, until August 25. Reviewed by Helen Musa

The witches, from left, Tracy Thomas, Elaine Noon and Janine O’Dwyer.

Jack Black as Bernie Tiede in “Bernie”.

A R B I T R A G E

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arts & entertainment

WITH a hop, skip and a jump we landed in Canberra’s newest colourful playground, complete with circles of grass, chalkboards, grape, lemon and cherry-coloured stools, and a cute white picket fence out front. Sound idyllic?

It sure is, and all the more so since this playground offers tasty tapas and wicked martinis.

Nestled among a growing number of groovy Civic places to drink and dine in Garema Place, Playground Martini and Tapas Bar is a fun place to be. But let’s not forget… this is a food review.

Head chef Joel Miller, who has gained exceptional experience in Sydney’s Aria and Canberra’s Courgette, has designed a tapas menu that is almost too delicious to share (although, as big people, we knew we had to). It is divided into “sea”, “farm”, “garden” and “playtime sides” – all dishes beautifully presented and generous serves. We dived into the sea and visited the farm.

The superb and tender pig’s cheek schnitzel, nicely salty on the outside, made close friends with tiny rounds of sweet caramelised apple and creamy braised fennel ($15). We clapped with joy over the braised lamb shoulder, wrapped in smoky eggplant ($15) and screamed with delight over the hearty, full-flavoured paella, a generous serve loaded with mixed seafood, chicken and chorizo ($24). We pouted slightly over the paella’s crunch factor, though – more crunch on the bottom, please.

On our next visit we’ll choose the chilli pig skin crackling ($10), smoked ham hock

croquette ($12) and chicken lollipops ($15). Lots of vegetarian and gluten-free options are on the menu, too. And because kids will be kids, Playground offers dessert (all $12), including a churros with chocolate and caramel. All desserts are designed to make you abide by the slogan imprinted on some of the bench seating fabric – “I feel good”.

The bar is stocked with an extravaganza of spirits and pretty liqueurs. The wine list features some top international labels with dozens by the half carafe (nice touch) and by the glass (although none under $11 that I could see – wine prices in Canberra are creeping up, for sure). Craft beers and ciders are available, as is tapas’ great mate Sangria ($25 a jug).

Playground is open seven days from 12.30pm, not because the owners want patrons to stagger back to work after a few martinis, but because it wants to have Canberrans loving the tapas. Perhaps the name should be reversed from “martini and tapas bar” to “tapas and martini bar”.

As sensible adults, we didn’t indulge in martinis because it was lunch. However, we hear Playground makes a mean dirty martini. We’ll road test it soon, but will refrain from playing hopscotch afterwards.

Playground, Garema Place, Civic. Call 6262 717. Open seven days from 12.30pm.

NEWCASTLE University Chamber Choir won the $5000 Australian Open Choirs Championship, plus three other first prizes at the Choirs Eisteddfod. The full results are: 10 years and under – 1. Arawang Primary School 3-4 Choir, 2. Ngunnawal Primary School Junior Choir; 12 and under – 1. Arawang Primary School Senior Choir, 2. Canberra Children’s Choir; 12 and under sacred choral – 1. Burgmann Anglican School Junior Choir, 2 John XX111 School Senior Choir (Sydney). Open sacred choral – 1. Newcastle University Chamber Choir (NSW), 2. Sunvox Vocal Company (Victoria). 19 and under champion-ship – 1. Hillcrest Christian College “Bella Voce” Choir (Queensland), 2. CGGS Gabriel Singers; Open contemporary – 1. Newcastle University Chamber Choir, 2. Brindabella Chorus; ACT multicultural and community choirs section – 1. Dante Musica Viva, 2. Canberra Celtic Choir; Australia-Britain section – 1. Newcastle University Chamber Choir, 2. Hillcrest Christian College “Bella Voce” Choir; 12 and under championship – 1. Hillcrest Christian College “Bella Voce” Choir, 2. Central Coast Children’s Choir (NSW); Open popular choirs championship – 1. Brindabella Chorus, 2. Sunvox Vocal Company, 3. Harambee (Victoria), encouragement award to St Claire’s College Chorale; Australian Open Choirs Championship – 1. Newcastle University Chamber Choir; 2. Igitur Nos Chamber Choir, 3. Sunvox Vocal Company, special mention to The Resonants and an encouragement award to Katandra Voices (NSW).

Newcastletops awards

Playground Martini and Tapas Bar... a fun place to be.

Hop, skip and into Playground

Playground martini...the bar is stocked with an extravaganza of spirits and pretty liqueurs.

The hearty, full-flavoured paella loaded with mixed seafood, chicken and chorizo.

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Wendy Johnsondining


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MOTHER-of-two Ana Amini recently took aim at Target with an open letter expressing concern that some of the kids’ clothes sold by the retailer made little girls, aged 7 to 14, “look like tramps”.

All value judgements aside about the use of the word “tramp”, as a mother of a young daughter I do understand what she meant. So did about 60,000 other people who “liked” her Facebook comments. For Target, it was a social media frenzy they would clearly have preferred not to have encountered.

To be fair to retailers, there’s a chicken-and-egg aspect to the debate about contemporary kids’ fashion and what some critics see as the creeping sexualisation of modern childhood.

After all, Target wouldn’t be selling clothes that are really just shrunk-down versions of teenage and young-adult fashion unless there was a demand for such items. And as much as our daughters might want that pair of leopard-print hot pants, it’s parents that buy the clothes our kids wear.

I don’t think anyone should be too judgmental about all this. Not all parents want to dress their child in pinafore dresses. We all view things differently and what may seem to be inappropri-ate wear to one person may seem totally right and proper to another.

Still, I do think parents should be more aware of the dangers of allowing our kids to be pawns of consumer culture and pushed to grow up too fast.

Our children are bombarded with advertise-ments, movies, magazines with sexualised images of women and girls. This isn’t going to change – certainly not anytime soon. So I think the best thing to do is to be up front and talk it through with our kids.

This was brought home a few weeks back when our little girl came in from school – dancing, swinging her hips and singing: “If you’re sexy and you know it, clap your hands”.

She really didn’t have any idea what “sexy” meant. She just associated it with something girls wanted to be and an image she had seen.

This performance triggered a long conversation about better words to aspire to or describe herself as “sassy”, “smart” or “strong”.

To me, and I’m sure many other parents, “sexy” is a word that shouldn’t relate to a child or a tween. But the importance of being sexy isn’t lost on kids. Hence their desire to look like pop and movie stars and our need, as parents, to tackle these questions head on.

So I’ve decided to take the demystifying path – to talk to my son and daughter about why I don’t like the word “sexy”, at least applied to them, and how they both need to aim and look for so much more in life.

Encouraging our kids to be happy and confident in themselves, content to be children first before they grow up – to me that has to be the real target.

‘Sexy’ is a word that shouldn’t relate to a child or a tween, says SONYA FLADUN, but the importance of being sexy isn’t lost on kids.

Sexy’s not for kids

With purple, less is more LESS is more when it comes to purple make-up, advises Mecca Cosmetica head of artistry Tony Baumann.

“I use purple in a make-up like you would a piece jewellery with fashion,” he says. “It’s like that little accessory that adds that extra pop to your look. Because it’s such a

statement colour, always adopt the less-is-more approach – and it’s all about placement.”

Tony says the best way to wear purple is to define the eyes.

“I love a pop of colour on the upper lash line, really close to the lashes to contrast with the eye colour,” he says.

“It looks amazing when using warm, earthy shades as it keeps the look balanced and fresh.”

Tony says everyone can wear purple around the eyes, but if you have brown or green eyes the impact is far more noticeable as it is the perfect complementary colour.

Maybelline mini colourama nailpolish in tart, $5.95, Nars larger than life long-wear eyeliner in St Mark’s Place, $45, Maybelline eyestudio hyper diamonds quins eyeshadow, $18.95, Maybelline mauve diamonds colour sensational lipstick, 16.95, L’Oreal plum ecstasy colour riche lipstick, $25.95, Nars Arabian nights eyeshadow, $89, Maybelline eye studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner, $16.95.


BRIAN and Penny Tetlow’s fragrant, flowery garden, overflowing with daffodils, daphne, jonquils, crocuses and pansies, hellebores, primulas and polyanthus, was created thanks to a collapsing gum tree.

“It had been a much-loved tree for our four kids to play on, but one quiet spring morning it snapped at the roots and fell on our front garden, destroying everything,” says Brian.

“As well as the garden being crushed, there had always been other problems – the soil was hard and gravelly and frustratingly,

anything we planted almost always died or grew extremely slowly.”

Some years later, Brian and Penny hired a landscaper, Tony Mumberson of At Home Landscaping, to help them create the garden they wanted.

“He brought in countless truck loads of good soil and a large number of large rocks to create the terracing,” says Brian.

The result is a series of softly winding, wide paths beneath flowering plums, a Manchurian pear, and a stunning 50-year-old pink camellia.

Brian’s fragrant, colourful garden will open for the first time as part of Open Gardens Australia, which will kick off its 25th anniversary open-garden season on September 1-2, the first weekend of spring.

The couple was so happy with the no-lawn front yard, which provides year-round colour and scent, that they engaged the same landscaper to do the back garden several years later.

As Penny has MS, they wanted the back garden to be easy access. Now the soft, slop-ing wide paths are ideal, and are also enjoyed by Brian’s mother who is in a wheelchair.

“We lined the pathways with thyme, as I like sweet-smelling things,” says Brian. “I have a reputation as being the worst gardener in my family, so it’s a great joke to them that I’ve got a nice garden now!

“It’s manageable to maintain now that the bones are there.”

Two ponds in the backyard, with a gentle waterfall separating them, are home to several frog species – which Brian has never seen, but says can always be heard – and are popular with the local birdlife.

“It’s a surprise to me that the birds love the ponds so much,” he says. “It wasn’t the intention, but every day there are rosellas, magpies, currawongs and wattle birds, who

love to dive in and out of the water. “It provides wonderful entertainment

when we’re having lunch on the veranda!”

The garden at 9 Lomandra Street, O’Connor, will be open on Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, 10am-4.30pm. Adults $7, children under 18 are free. Funds raised will go to the Open Garden Scheme and The MS Society. More information at www.opengar-den.org.au.

home & garden Cedric BryantTime to feed the garden

Two ponds in the backyard, with a gentle waterfall separating them, are home to several frog species and popular with the local birdlife.

Open gardens bloom in springopen gardenWords: Kathryn VukovljakPhotos: Silas Brown

Also open this weekend is a beautiful garden with year-round colour and gorgeous foliage contrasts at 14 Harcourt Street, Weet-angera. Sheltering beneath mature trees and shrubs are abundant swathes of native plants, including pandorea, philotheca, wat-

tles, banksias and the low-growing grevillea.Terraced beds enjoy the dappled shade

of mature eucalypts, while the images of native and exotic animals dotted around the garden add an element of surprise and will particularly delight young children.

Colour and contrasts


IN a few days, we are told, it is spring, although in Canberra we generally think of the season’s real start as October.

It has been a magic winter with regular rainfall and while we have had our fair share of frosts, daytime temperatures have been above average.

For bulbs, low night temperatures are a good thing. In previous years, higher temperatures have resulted in Floriade’s bulbs coming into flower prematurely.

Spring and autumn are the optimum seasons to feed plants. Irrespective of how much plant nutrients are applied in high sum-mer, there is little growth. However, excessive applications of plant food produces soft growth and fewer flowers, especially if it is synthetic fertiliser.

The Royal Horticultural Society, in the UK, suggests that using manure and compost is the most environmentally friendly way to keep gardens fertile. Especially if the compost is from your own heap, as you know the composition of its contents.

However, at times you may not have enough veggie scraps, prunings etcetera, so adding animal manure is an ideal supplementary way to boost the heap. At the same time, the heat from composting ma-nures combined with applications

of liquid seaweed will accelerate decomposition.

Organic gardeners, who without a doubt are on the increase, like to improve the soil so that, in turn, the soil feeds the plants.

Synthetic or chemical fertilisers are relatively cheap and readily available, but are not sustainable in the long term.

The aim of organic gardeners is to eliminate their use completely.

These are generally made from finite sources such as rock phosphates and potash deposits. Fossil fuels are used to make nitrogen fertilisers. There is added cost in transporting them, often over long distances similar to the principle of food miles. For the fertilisers have to be firstly transported to the growers of fruit and veggies. Then the produce has to be transported to, first, the wholesale markets and then the shops.

Using organic fertilisers may cost more than chemical fertilisers, but from the soil and plants point of view they release the nutrients more slowly. This has the added advantage of little or no pollution and run-off, the cause of major problems in areas such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Clarence River system.

Vast amounts of chemicals as run-off from farms such as banana plantations are killing fish and other

marine animals in massive quanti-ties. The same problem is applicable to inland river systems.

As the RHS suggests, seaweed, which does not involve any animal or fishery issues, when processed into fertiliser can contain significant levels of nutrients including trace elements. This promotes increased root development and reduces the effect of frost on plants. As a liquid this soaks into the soil and is of immediate benefit to the plant.

Whereas chemical fertilisers have to be dissolved. This can be by watering or rain, both of which can be a disadvantage. For example we have been getting more frequent heavy falls of rain and storm activity. This results in the chemical fertiliser being washed away, often on paths and into the stormwater system. Or if you have a drip irrigation system the chemical fertilisers receive no water to dissolve the granules, unless you inefficiently hand water.

The blossoms are out and spring is in the air, rejoices

CEDRIC BRYANT

Excessive fertilising can produce long, leggy growth and few flowers.

Spring blossoms at Tulip Top Gardens.

Time to feed the gardengarden

• Before you reach for plant food at your local garden centre, ask the staff: “Is this organic?” Your garden centre is the best place to give you correct horticul-tural advice.

• It is never too late to start a compost heap.• Now is the time to empty your compost heap or

spread those heaps or bags of autumn leaves.• Spread compost on top of the soil, do not dig it in, the

worms will do this for you. Mulch goes over the top of compost.

• Order a good load of Canberra Organic Mulch from Canberra Sand and Gravel.

• Feed all plants in the garden for maximum spring growth.

Final thought for optimistic gardeners’: the caterpillar thought just as the world was over, it turned into a butterfly.

Flood, glorious food!


Dream outdoor spaces

home

To create a beachy atmosphere, use natural textures in lighter shades. A day bed or sofa setting will create a laid-back atmosphere.

YOU can create your ideal outdoor look – no matter where you live, says Anton Siswoyo, director of Wintons Teak.

“Often people feel restricted as to the look they can create for their outdoor space, as they fear it will not fit into their local area,” he says. However, he says the right design ideas can help create any look you desire.

Nothing says relaxation quite like the beach, so to ensure your outdoor area has the same feel, be sure to keep things simple, Anton advises.

“Coastal residents tend to opt for natural textures in lighter shades and avoid stainless steel, which is likely

to rust due to the salty air,” he says. “To create an urban feel, use flooring such as

wooden decking or dark-coloured deck tiles that give a sophisticated look.

“Fixed-top tables and backless benches are popular, as the chairs can be conveniently tucked underneath the table when not in use.”

To create the ultimate country feel, Anton suggests detailed, intricate designs, with a rustic, natural aesthetic.

“Chunky pieces with ornamental detailing are great for setting the scene, and blend well with materials such as brick, timber and stone,” he says.

canberra citynews august 23, 2012

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