No more unguarded moments
PANORAMA MAGAZINE
NEW TRAVEL SECTION
SPORT – 20-PAGE LIFT-OUT
PLAY TIME
CZECH OUT PRAGUE
RISING STAR
THE VERDICT ON TOY STORY 3
PLUS: TURNING BACK TIME IN PNG NG
VALERI’S BIG DREAM
PLUS COVER STORY
ARTISTS ON FIRE
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
Club land plan stirs fears for the green Plans to change Narrabundah’s 18-hole Capital Golf Club are threatening another large slice of public open space in Canberra’s innersouth. Vikings Group, which paid $19.275 million for Chisholm Shopping Centre in March to cut its reliance on drinking and gambling revenue, is working with residential developer CIC Australia on alternatives for Narrabundah’s 30.7ha golf club. Leahy Close resident Kevin Gill, who looks over the Capital Golf Club’s third tee, said the street’s units were built on the site of the former Nineteenth Hole restaurant about 16 years ago to ‘‘save the golf club’’. ‘‘If we fill in every little green stretch and recreational space, we will have people neck-to-neck and the bush capital and open space theme of the city will just be gone.’’ While applauding the Vikings’ consultation, he feared for the views and lifestyle for which residents had paid a premium. In Griffith, residents are fighting the Brumbies moves to redevelop an oval and adjoining land for new headquarters and 150 units. Former commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission Tony Powell said a business case should be done before open space was taken to prop up a sports club. At Red Hill, the Federal Golf Club wants to develop low-density residential housing on 4.26ha of its land near Gowrie Drive, to raise $5 million for capital works. After buying the golf club for
TIM THE HE YOWIE MAN
PLATYPUS P WATCH
BLOCKBUSTER CROSSWORD
YOUR WORLD YOUR CITY YOUR TIMES
Price $2.40
By John Thistleton Business Editor
TRUTHS BEHIND THE ICONS
Saturday, June 26, 2010
No more unguarded moments
NEWS
RESIDENTS AT TIPPING POINT
What started as a few pieces of litter in a vacant block in Gungahlin’s Huyer Street has developed into a full-blown rubbish dump. The ever-growing pile has neighbours outraged and city rangers are investigating.
PAGE 3
MP a quick study His publicly funded study trip to the United State cost almost $12,000 but Liberal MP Michael Keenan could only muster one sentence to describe the experience, according to papers tendered in Federal Parliament.
Read John Thistleton’s Capital Gains column in Domain lift-out
PAGE 2
WORLD
Royal watcher
Saturday, June 26, 2010
A few rusty bows and the odd dodgy curtsy greeted Queen Elizabeth when the British monarch returned to Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years.
$4.2 million seven years ago Vikings says it’s unviable because of ageing infrastructure, high reliance on water, maintenance costs and declining revenue. Early studies suggest the site could potentially support a mix of residential uses, community facilities and publicly accessible open space. Vikings president David Paull said the club had spoken to ACT politicians and government departments to better understand what the requirements were for redevelopment, which would involve changing the Territory Plan, Canberra’s key statutory planning document. ‘‘They were very clear they don’t want anything do with it until we can come back to them with some idea of community ideas and input. ‘‘The whole change of use to the Territory Plan would be formal and convoluted, we want to make sure we are informed to decide if we want to go down that road.’’ ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Continued Page 2
By Danielle Cronin Political Correspondent
Amid the drizzle before sunrise in the national capital, Julia Gillard received a greeting that she is probably still adjusting to – ‘‘good morning Prime Minister’’. After she spectacularly toppled Kevin Rudd less than 24 hours before, Ms Gillard emerged from her Canberra flat before 7am yesterday to start her first full day in the new job. As well as her new title, Ms Gillard will have to get used to the security that goes with it, and she was reminded of the fact with two burly Australian Federal Police officers waiting at her door. But she had little time to dwell on the changes to her personal space because she was soon knee-deep in the demands of her new office. She spoke with world leaders, including a 20-minute chat with US President Barack Obama about the ‘‘strong friendship between our two nations’’ and her determination to
Rudd lets his hair down, but all too little, too late By James Massola
Kevin Rudd finally appeared to let his hair – and his guard – down on Thursday night when he ended up fully clothed in The Lodge’s pool. After a breathtaking day in Australian political history, the ousted former prime minister gathered his staff at the official residence to say thank you and farewell. About 20 staffers were happy to help their famously sleep-deprived boss into the pool, then joined him for a bracing plunge in the chilly June air.
As one staffer told The Canberra Times, the party had gone ahead because the faithful had needed to come together and reflect on their achievements and deal with how it had all ended. At Parliament House, Labor staffers gathered for the end of winter session party, where incoming Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined them briefly to rally the troops and talk about the challenge ahead.
A winter of discontent looms for Canberra’ bus commuters with ACTION drivers vowing to continue the industrial campaign which saw services cancelled yesterday. The strike action left 70,000 workers, schoolchildren and other travellers looking for alternative transport yesterday. But there was no sign of the feared
traffic chaos around town centres and Civic with most commuters taking the public transport disruption in their stride. An Education Department spokesman said there was no major disruption to school attendances. Principals reported parents were coping with the industrial action by car pooling to get children to school. ACTION’s 650 bus drivers took the strike action after talks on their new certified agreement with the
Government-owned bus operator broke down over the fraught issue of management’s demands for a 60/40 ratio of full-time and part-time drivers. The drivers’ union said it had planned to hold meetings at 7am yesterday at the Belconnen and Tuggeranong bus depots where the drivers would vote on whether to go back to work for the rest of the day or to continue with the 24-hour work ban that had been sanctioned by the
Continued Page 4
Dogs of war
Wild dogs are rampaging across alpine areas and the Southern Tablelands, forcing entire districts to give up on sheep farming.
PAGE 12
WEATHER CANBERRA
continue Australia’s deployment in Afghanistan. ‘‘I assured President Obama that any time he chooses to travel to Australia he will be very, very welcome indeed,’’ Ms Gillard said during a press conference in the Prime Minister’s courtyard.
She convened her first cabinet meeting to discuss the ‘‘changes we will make to get the Government back on track’’. ‘‘My priority, as we look through the issues of the Government, is to make sure that in every area we are working hard for Australian families,’’ she said.
High on her agenda was dealing with the resource super profits tax after brokering a ceasefire in the battle with mining companies opposed to the reform. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Continued Page 4
industrial umpire Fair Work Australia. But ACTION management decided on Thursday to stand all its employees down to give its passengers ‘‘certainty’’ over whether services would run yesterday. TWU ACT branch secretary Klaus Pinkas said his members would have gone back to work yesterday but that management had removed the option by standing all of its staff down.
‘‘The meetings unanimously rejected the idea of accepting the condition on offer including the 60/40 full time to part time ratio,’’ Mr Pinkas said. ‘‘The drivers also voted to go to work but it was academic because we were locked out but the general feeling was that they should go back to work.’’ Mr Pinkas said the drivers had also voted to press ahead with their industrial campaign.
‘‘They’ve also given us the goahead to take further industrial action to be determined,’’ Mr Pinkas said. ‘‘It means that we will still negotiate with the Government because we would never walk out on a meeting. But if they don’t take these demands off the table, there will be further industrial action of various forms.’’
APPLY NOW FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDY IN SEMESTER 2 2010 IT’S YOUR LIFE, YOUR FUTURE, YOUR CHOICE
www.canberra.edu.au
12° Early shower
Chance of rain: 90 per cent Wind: W 10-15 km/h UV index: 2 (low) Outlook: Early showers clearing SYDNEY: Rain periods, 18 MELBOURNE: Showers, 13 DETAILS: FORUM – Page 28
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Continued Page 2
TAKE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION UC774 CRICOS #00212K
THE REGION
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Canberra’s unhappy bus drivers threaten more strike action By Noel Towell Chief Assembly Reporter
PAGE 24
MORNING SHIFT: Prime Minister Julia Gillard leaves her Canberra flat yesterday with the new addition of AFP officers escorting her from the building. Photo: ANDREW MEARES
Vol 82
No 27,446
226 pages
NEW TRAVEL SECTION
SPORT – 20-PAGE LIFT-OUT
PLAY TIME
CZECH OUT PRAGUE
RISING STAR
THE VERDICT ON TOY STORY 3
PLUS: TURNING BACK TIME IN PNG NG
VALERI’S BIG DREAM
PLUS COVER STORY
ARTISTS ON FIRE
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
Club land plan stirs fears for the green Plans to change Narrabundah’s 18-hole Capital Golf Club are threatening another large slice of public open space in Canberra’s innersouth. Vikings Group, which paid $19.275 million for Chisholm Shopping Centre in March to cut its reliance on drinking and gambling revenue, is working with residential developer CIC Australia on alternatives for Narrabundah’s 30.7ha golf club. Leahy Close resident Kevin Gill, who looks over the Capital Golf Club’s third tee, said the street’s units were built on the site of the former Nineteenth Hole restaurant about 16 years ago to ‘‘save the golf club’’. ‘‘If we fill in every little green stretch and recreational space, we will have people neck-to-neck and the bush capital and open space theme of the city will just be gone.’’ While applauding the Vikings’ consultation, he feared for the views and lifestyle for which residents had paid a premium. In Griffith, residents are fighting the Brumbies moves to redevelop an oval and adjoining land for new headquarters and 150 units. Former commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission Tony Powell said a business case should be done before open space was taken to prop up a sports club. At Red Hill, the Federal Golf Club wants to develop low-density residential housing on 4.26ha of its land near Gowrie Drive, to raise $5 million for capital works. After buying the golf club for
TIM THE HE YOWIE MAN
PLATYPUS P WATCH
BLOCKBUSTER CROSSWORD
YOUR WORLD YOUR CITY YOUR TIMES
Price $2.40
By John Thistleton Business Editor
TRUTHS BEHIND THE ICONS
Saturday, June 26, 2010
No more unguarded moments
NEWS
RESIDENTS AT TIPPING POINT
What started as a few pieces of litter in a vacant block in Gungahlin’s Huyer Street has developed into a full-blown rubbish dump. The ever-growing pile has neighbours outraged and city rangers are investigating.
PAGE 3
MP a quick study His publicly funded study trip to the United State cost almost $12,000 but Liberal MP Michael Keenan could only muster one sentence to describe the experience, according to papers tendered in Federal Parliament.
Read John Thistleton’s Capital Gains column in Domain lift-out
PAGE 2
WORLD
Royal watcher
Saturday, June 26, 2010
A few rusty bows and the odd dodgy curtsy greeted Queen Elizabeth when the British monarch returned to Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years.
$4.2 million seven years ago Vikings says it’s unviable because of ageing infrastructure, high reliance on water, maintenance costs and declining revenue. Early studies suggest the site could potentially support a mix of residential uses, community facilities and publicly accessible open space. Vikings president David Paull said the club had spoken to ACT politicians and government departments to better understand what the requirements were for redevelopment, which would involve changing the Territory Plan, Canberra’s key statutory planning document. ‘‘They were very clear they don’t want anything do with it until we can come back to them with some idea of community ideas and input. ‘‘The whole change of use to the Territory Plan would be formal and convoluted, we want to make sure we are informed to decide if we want to go down that road.’’ ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Continued Page 2
By Danielle Cronin Political Correspondent
Amid the drizzle before sunrise in the national capital, Julia Gillard received a greeting that she is probably still adjusting to – ‘‘good morning Prime Minister’’. After she spectacularly toppled Kevin Rudd less than 24 hours before, Ms Gillard emerged from her Canberra flat before 7am yesterday to start her first full day in the new job. As well as her new title, Ms Gillard will have to get used to the security that goes with it, and she was reminded of the fact with two burly Australian Federal Police officers waiting at her door. But she had little time to dwell on the changes to her personal space because she was soon knee-deep in the demands of her new office. She spoke with world leaders, including a 20-minute chat with US President Barack Obama about the ‘‘strong friendship between our two nations’’ and her determination to
Rudd lets his hair down, but all too little, too late By James Massola
Kevin Rudd finally appeared to let his hair – and his guard – down on Thursday night when he ended up fully clothed in The Lodge’s pool. After a breathtaking day in Australian political history, the ousted former prime minister gathered his staff at the official residence to say thank you and farewell. About 20 staffers were happy to help their famously sleep-deprived boss into the pool, then joined him for a bracing plunge in the chilly June air.
As one staffer told The Canberra Times, the party had gone ahead because the faithful had needed to come together and reflect on their achievements and deal with how it had all ended. At Parliament House, Labor staffers gathered for the end of winter session party, where incoming Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined them briefly to rally the troops and talk about the challenge ahead.
A winter of discontent looms for Canberra’ bus commuters with ACTION drivers vowing to continue the industrial campaign which saw services cancelled yesterday. The strike action left 70,000 workers, schoolchildren and other travellers looking for alternative transport yesterday. But there was no sign of the feared
traffic chaos around town centres and Civic with most commuters taking the public transport disruption in their stride. An Education Department spokesman said there was no major disruption to school attendances. Principals reported parents were coping with the industrial action by car pooling to get children to school. ACTION’s 650 bus drivers took the strike action after talks on their new certified agreement with the
Government-owned bus operator broke down over the fraught issue of management’s demands for a 60/40 ratio of full-time and part-time drivers. The drivers’ union said it had planned to hold meetings at 7am yesterday at the Belconnen and Tuggeranong bus depots where the drivers would vote on whether to go back to work for the rest of the day or to continue with the 24-hour work ban that had been sanctioned by the
Continued Page 4
Dogs of war
Wild dogs are rampaging across alpine areas and the Southern Tablelands, forcing entire districts to give up on sheep farming.
PAGE 12
WEATHER CANBERRA
continue Australia’s deployment in Afghanistan. ‘‘I assured President Obama that any time he chooses to travel to Australia he will be very, very welcome indeed,’’ Ms Gillard said during a press conference in the Prime Minister’s courtyard.
She convened her first cabinet meeting to discuss the ‘‘changes we will make to get the Government back on track’’. ‘‘My priority, as we look through the issues of the Government, is to make sure that in every area we are working hard for Australian families,’’ she said.
High on her agenda was dealing with the resource super profits tax after brokering a ceasefire in the battle with mining companies opposed to the reform. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Continued Page 4
industrial umpire Fair Work Australia. But ACTION management decided on Thursday to stand all its employees down to give its passengers ‘‘certainty’’ over whether services would run yesterday. TWU ACT branch secretary Klaus Pinkas said his members would have gone back to work yesterday but that management had removed the option by standing all of its staff down.
‘‘The meetings unanimously rejected the idea of accepting the condition on offer including the 60/40 full time to part time ratio,’’ Mr Pinkas said. ‘‘The drivers also voted to go to work but it was academic because we were locked out but the general feeling was that they should go back to work.’’ Mr Pinkas said the drivers had also voted to press ahead with their industrial campaign.
‘‘They’ve also given us the goahead to take further industrial action to be determined,’’ Mr Pinkas said. ‘‘It means that we will still negotiate with the Government because we would never walk out on a meeting. But if they don’t take these demands off the table, there will be further industrial action of various forms.’’
APPLY NOW FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDY IN SEMESTER 2 2010 IT’S YOUR LIFE, YOUR FUTURE, YOUR CHOICE
www.canberra.edu.au
12° Early shower
Chance of rain: 90 per cent Wind: W 10-15 km/h UV index: 2 (low) Outlook: Early showers clearing SYDNEY: Rain periods, 18 MELBOURNE: Showers, 13 DETAILS: FORUM – Page 28
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Continued Page 2
TAKE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION UC774 CRICOS #00212K
THE REGION
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●
Canberra’s unhappy bus drivers threaten more strike action By Noel Towell Chief Assembly Reporter
PAGE 24
MORNING SHIFT: Prime Minister Julia Gillard leaves her Canberra flat yesterday with the new addition of AFP officers escorting her from the building. Photo: ANDREW MEARES
Vol 82
No 27,446
226 pages
