Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Free three-year-old preschool will be offered at 130 ECEC locations across Canberra
Canberrans wishing to make use of free three-year-old preschool in 2024 can now check which services will offer the program.
Free three-year-old preschool will be offered at 130 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) locations around the ACT.
This gives families plenty of choice across a broad range of services.
Canberra three-year-olds are eligible for up to 300 hours of free preschool from the start of 2024.
This equates to about one day per week, generating an average saving of $1329 per child for eligible families.
The benefits are more than just financial. Child learning and development in the years before school are key determinants of future school achievement, social, emotional and health outcomes and, ultimately, life opportunities.
Equitable access to quality, play-based early learning is a powerful way to support children’s learning, wellbeing and development, with life-long benefits.
More than $50 million of funding over the next four years was provided in the 2023/24 ACT Budget to support equitable access to quality early learning, with more than 5,000 three-year-olds across Canberra to be eligible.
This investment will increase preschool programs delivered through ECEC centres by degree-qualified Early Childhood teachers, giving Canberra children the groundwork for a lifetime of learning.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Remember to be considerate of neighbours if planning a celebration
With the festive season fast approaching, Canberrans are reminded to be noise aware and considerate of their neighbours if they’re planning a party or celebration.
Excessive noise can have a significant impact on health and wellbeing. That is why there are noise limits in Canberra’s residential areas, to ensure everyone is comfortable within their own home.
Noise in residential areas is permitted from 7am–10pm Monday to Saturday, and 8am–10pm on Sundays and public holidays. Outside of these times, noise limits apply.
Noise limits are for the benefit of the entire community, but especially help to protect vulnerable Canberrans, such as seniors or those who are unwell. Shift workers or families with small children may also find it especially important for noise limits to be adhered to.
Over the festive season, there may be an increase in noise in your neighbourhood. Often noise concerns can be resolved with a simple conversation with your neighbours.
If you’re planning noisy activities such as a party, let your neighbours know in advance. Often people are more understanding if they know ahead of time when the noise will start and end.
You can also let Access Canberra know so they can manage any noise complaints they might receive on the day.
Being a considerate neighbour also extends to reminding any guests to park safely on your street without blocking any driveways, or if hanging Christmas lights, ensuring they do not shine directly into someone’s home.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The changes will mean drug use is treated as a health issue and not a criminal one.
The ACT Government has taken the next step in its harm minimisation approach to the use of illicit drugs with new laws coming into effect this week.
From 28 October, the personal possession of small amounts of the most commonly used illicit drugs will be decriminalised in the ACT.
People will no longer be exposed to potential prison sentences and instead may be issued a caution, a $100 fine or referred to a diversion program.
While penalties have been reduced, illicit drugs are still illegal and will be confiscated.
The changes will mean drug use is treated as a health issue and not a criminal one.
These changes will help to reduce the stigma experienced by people who use illicit drugs and encourage more people to come forward and receive support.
Drug counselling and other treatment services will be offered to people referred to the diversion program. This provides an opportunity for people to learn more about the services available to them and to access supports they may not have considered before.
The ACT Government has worked closely with the drug and alcohol sector, service providers and ACT Policing over the last twelve months to prepare for these changes.
A targeted information campaign has begun to provide people with relevant information about the law reforms. This includes businesses and venues, medical professionals, and community-based support services.
The ACT Government will continue working with the alcohol and other drug sector to deliver evidence-based and practice-informed policy that leads to better outcomes for individuals, their families, and the broader community.
Chris Gough, Executive Director from the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy (CAHMA), said this legislation is important for people who use drugs because it switches the focus from criminalisation to health and support.
“Drug criminalisation has serious and profound harms associated with it for people who use drugs and their families, and this legislation acknowledges these harms and takes a major step towards preventing them.”
“By allowing people who use drugs to be referred to a health service instead of being given a criminal conviction people are encouraged to seek help and treatment and also, importantly, showing that society hasn’t given up on them, but instead is understanding and supporting them to do better.”
“The ACT is signalling very clearly here that we are a progressive and forward thinking society and we expect people who have health issues to be treated with dignity and respect and not like criminals.”
While these are incremental policy changes that are not expected to lead to significant changes in patterns of drug use, the ACT Government will undertake an independent review in two years to assess the implementation and success of these new laws.
It is still illegal for a person to drive with any level of illegal substances in their system. Penalties for the supply and manufacture of illicit drugs are also not changing and ACT Policing will continue to target drug dealing and trafficking.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Our CBR is the ACT Government’s key channel to connect with Canberrans and keep you up-to-date with what’s happening in the city. Our CBR includes a monthly print edition, email newsletter and website.
You can easily opt in or out of the newsletter subscription at any time.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Kingsford Smith Champs 1 team won for sustainable bridge design and construction.
Year 10 and 11 students from Canberra schools competed in the sixth annual Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Advanced Construction and Engineering Bridge Challenge.
Held on Friday 22 September, the Challenge is focused on developing engineering, construction and STEM skills in ACT schools and is organised by CIT’s Building Construction Team.
The goal of the Bridge Challenge is for student teams to design and construct the strongest suspension bridge possible to support a load and ultimately test the destruction of their bridge in time-trialled heats against rival schools.
As a result, students develop a positive experience of engineering and construction, and become more aware and skilled with engineering and building principles.
This year, 17 teams competed. The winning school teams were:
Lightest: Melba Copland MCSS 1 (0.401 kg)
Design, Innovation and STEM: Marist Ninjaneers
Sustainability: Kingsford Smith Champs 1
Maximum Load: Radford Roebling (230.5 kg) – new record weight
Overall Champions: Radford Roebling.
CIT Interim CEO Christine Robertson said the challenge gives students a taste of possible career opportunities available in the construction and engineering fields.
“CIT offers multiple design, engineering and construction courses as well as various trades which relate well to Bridge Challenge,” she said.
Training in these fields can lead to construction management, trades, design, architecture and engineering careers, many of which are experiencing skills shortages.
As an introduction to CIT, the Challenge often introduces school students to training options available at CIT.
“We are always keen to open our doors and encourage local school students to explore CIT at a time when they may be making decisions on a future career path,” Christine said.
“There are so many great career opportunities available through vocational education and training and we are proud to offer young people options about their pathways to make informed decisions.”
The teams prepared bridge designs that showcase construction, efficiency and strength solely with the materials supplied by CIT.
This year the Bridge Challenge was supported By Geocon, Project Coordination, JWland, Training Fund Authority, NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction), CIT Yurauna, Construction Industry Training Council.
For more information about construction and engineering at CIT, visit www.cit.edu.au
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Canberra Hospital has provided health care to the Canberra community for 50 years.
This week the Canberra Hospital celebrates 50 years providing health care to the Canberra community.
The Canberra Hospital, originally known as Woden Valley Hospital, officially opened on 24 September 1973 and since then has transformed into the largest general hospital in the ACT and surrounding NSW region.
This milestone offers an important opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has worked at the hospital over the last 50 years.
Cathie Stoffell is one of those staff members. She began training as a student nurse at the Royal Canberra Hospital in January 1972.
She had finished high school just two months before.
“I was 17. Students were required to live-in then, and I remember my brother and father were allowed to come up to the room, but there were no males allowed,” she said.
“There was just one man in our course. He was paving new ground at the time. Other male nurses followed, of course.”
The three-year course moved at a cracking pace. “We were apprentices, really. We had six weeks of training – injecting oranges and lifting ‘Mrs Bedford’, the dummy, onto the bedpan. From there we were launched onto various wards and were straight into it,” Cathie said.
It was a confronting start for a teenager, and Cathie recalls her first experience of a patient’s death, when a young girl died from leukemia.
“We would debrief amongst ourselves, I suppose. There was nothing formal. It was a regimented sort of atmosphere. There were always bedpans you could be scrubbing so we just got on with it.”
Overall, though, Cathie recalls having “a ball”, getting up to all kinds of “shenanigans” with her fellow students.
“We used to find the leftover meals and eat them in the linen cupboard,” she said.
Starting at the then-Woden Valley Hospital was quite exciting, and Cathie remembers the newness of it all.
In 1973 when the Canberra Hospital opened its doors, things looked pretty different.
The hospital had 36 beds and served a population of around 172,000 with about 175 staff members.
Fifty years on, the Canberra Hospital has over 650 beds and is the only tertiary hospital between Sydney and Melbourne, caring for a population of more than 650,000 people from the ACT and surrounding region, with thousands of staff on the campus at any time of the day or night.
With the new Critical Services Building opening next year, the hospital will offer more emergency, surgical and critical care, with a brand-new emergency department, more operating theatres and more intensive care beds.
Cathie’s early training held her in excellent stead for many other opportunities, and she has nursed all over the world.
It also helped her form a close-knit group of friends, all of whom stayed in nursing careers.
They have a group chat on Messenger and celebrated a 50-year reunion recently.
Like Canberra Hospital, nursing has changed over the years. There are no more starched aprons and pleated hats, and technology plays a much greater role for all staff.
Having worked everywhere from the UK to Saudi Arabia, Cathie loves Canberra and continues to nurse here.
“I remember on day one of our training, they asked us if anyone had changed their minds and three people left,” she said.
Having had such a full career over five decades, Cathie is pleased she stayed.
Cathie at her graduation
Cathie Stoffell today
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Sachi, left, and Fleur are childhood friends who share a passion for garden design.
Childhood friends Fleur Froggatt and Sachi Wimmer had never recorded a podcast before.
Their shared passion for garden design, combined with a post-COVID desire for a new career direction, prompted them to start their podcast On Garden Design.
They do this from The Hive – the professional podcast studio at Woden Library.
“It’s amazing for a free facility,” they said.
“The support is first rate and the facilities are exactly what we need. We book ahead and can always get the time we want. It’s convenient, accessible and easy to use. And while this is new technology to us, it’s been a great learning journey in every way.”
Fleur and Sachi now release a half-hour episode each fortnight.
While focused on the east coast of Australia, the podcast’s content translates internationally.
They now have subscribers in 27 countries.
“Garden design is ubiquitous to every culture and style,” they said.
“We have listeners from places you wouldn’t think of. In fact, the one that really surprised us was Dubai.”
Since opening in 2021, The Hive has welcomed a host of intrepid broadcasters keen to take advantage of the free facility.
Accommodating busy schedules, the studio is available outside regular library hours – from 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.
While the equipment is easy to use, library staff provide a studio induction tailored to new podcasters’ abilities.
“One thing people always comment on is the excellent audio quality,” Fleur and Sachi said.
“We’re not aiming at a professional market, but we have a broad church of listeners. We’ve even had professionals in the industry saying thank you for doing it.”
The pair don’t hesitate to recommend the studio to anyone considering starting a podcast or elevating an existing one.
“There are so many reasons we’d recommend it,” they said.
“It’s a nice evolution, being Canberra girls and library users. We came to the library as kids, and with our kids, and it’s really great to take that to the next level now.”
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Once the project is completed, it is expected the Mugga Lane landfill gas facility will have capacity to power up to 10,800 homes.
The ACT Government is driving a circular economy by expanding landfill gas capture at the Mugga Lane landfill.
This will reduce emissions and provide reliable renewable energy that could power up to 10,800 homes each year.
It is happening through the expansion of a partnership with Australian owned and operated clean energy engineers, LGI Limited (LGI), which will deliver a landfill gas expansion project.
The project builds upon a successful three-year program. It will further enhance capabilities for capturing harmful methane emissions generated at Mugga Lane landfill and transforming it into reliable renewable energy for the ACT.
“Emissions from landfills without biogas management systems can be a significant problem and can contribute up to 80 per cent of a local government’s carbon footprint,” LGI Founder and Managing Director Adam Bloomer said.
The Government’s priority is to reduce and recycle organic food waste to divert it from landfill, minimising harmful waste emissions. Capturing the emissions created by the organic material that does end up in landfill, however, is also key.
“The ACT Government’s carbon cutting approach of using proven, cost-effective technologies to capture and abate the harmful methane emissions from Mugga Lane and generate reliable, dispatchable (24/7) renewable energy is an example of what progressive governments can achieve by prioritising the environment,” Adam said.
The expansion project will include the establishment of two additional 1 Megawatt gas to energy generators, an additional 12 Megawatt of battery storage and a 20 Megawatt grid connection with Evoenergy.
Once the project is completed, it is expected the Mugga Lane landfill gas facility will have capacity to generate 50,000 Megawatt hours of dispatchable energy.
This is enough energy to power up to 10,800 homes in the ACT each year.
Adding the battery system will provide storage capacity and rapid dispatch of the renewable energy generated by the engines, at times when the grid needs it most.
As part of the LGI partnership, the ACT has been able to reduce carbon emissions by 764,000 tonnes, over the past three years.
More than 80 million3 of biogas has been captured at Mugga Lane, allowing for 96 Gigawatt hours of renewable energy to be generated.
The Mugga Lane site upgrades will further enhance this.
The project will see two additional full-time positions employed on the site and significant investment into the local economy through the engagement of local contractors for everything from concreting to catering.
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Home energy assessments provide free advice to renters on how they can save money on their gas and electricity bills.
The ACT Government’s Renters’ Home Energy Program provides free in-home energy assessments tailored to anyone living in a rented home in the ACT.
The assessment identifies where energy is being used and provides simple solutions to help renters save on their bills.
The program is a free and easy way to:
save on energy bills
get tips on the quickest, cheapest and best ways to reduce energy use
make rental homes more comfortable without using more gas or electricity
find out ways to reduce your impact on the environment.
Home energy experts involved in the program have vast experience in carrying out home energy assessments in the ACT. Inspectors like Jeff Knowles provide advice to renters about their energy use and simple steps they can take to save money.
“Canberra is different from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne as our summers are quite hot, our autumns and springs are lovely, then we have intense cold throughout the winter,” Jeff said.
“With such a range of temperatures, it’s tough to build a building in Canberra that works well all year round.
“The rising cost of living pressures are pushing people into greater and greater energy efficiency,” said Jeff.
“The Renters’ Home Energy Program aims to assist people by educating them about the properties they live in and the energy they use. Following some simple steps, renters could save around $200 each quarter off their gas and electricity bills.”
Energy saving tips:
Understand what your home is made from, which direction it faces, and identify where heat or cool air can escape. A free home energy assessment and home energy web tool can help you identify these problems and their solutions.
Check your insultation. ACT has introduced a regulation requiring all residential rental properties to meet a new minimum energy efficiency standard for ceiling insulation. Find out more about your rights as a renter.
Use a thermometer to monitor your fridge temperature. Most rental properties have their fridges running much colder than they need to be, which uses more electricity.
Prevent draughts by sealing doors and windows. Door draught stoppers and seal strips are good options.
Use a plug-in power meter to monitor how much electricity your home appliances are using. Meters can point out inefficient appliances in your home such as electric element heaters.
When operating your washing machine, use cold wash cycles so that you’re not using gas or electricity to heat water.
The rooms you are heating, the number of hours heaters are on, and the temperature setting all have a big impact on your bills.
Depending on the season, you may also receive a selection of free energy saving materials to improve the energy efficiency and comfort of your home.
With a hot summer approaching, now is an ideal time to think about how to make your home more comfortable without spending more money on energy bills.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
GymAware has been awarded 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year at the Chief Minister’s Export Awards. Image: Canberra Airport.
A Canberra business success story that developed a product now used in gyms around the world has been recognised as the ACT Exporter of the Year.
Each year the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards celebrate the best and brightest in Canberra’s export industry and showcase the success of local businesses in global markets.
Kinetic Performance Technology (GymAware) was awarded the 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year for their work as a global leader in velocity-based training solutions. A staggering 89 per cent of its sales are exports, with 80 per cent of these to the USA, 10 per cent to the United Kingdom and 6 per cent to France and China.
The company’s RS and FLEX products are designed to help coaches and athletes of all levels measure and track strength training activities in the weight room. This technology has been a part of weight training for professional athletes across a range of sports, helping hundreds of teams and individuals prepare for their career-defining moments on the field.
The company’s systems are used in weight rooms across 65 per cent of all professional sporting teams in the USA, all teams in elite Australian leagues like the NRL and Super Rugby, as well as respected international teams, such as the New Zealand All Blacks.
“I am honoured that GymAware has been recognised as the 2023 ACT Exporter of the Year at the ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards,” GymAware founder Evan Lawton said.
“GymAware has been a labour of love, and it’s rewarding to see our commitment to excellence being acknowledged in such a meaningful way by our own community in Canberra.”
The ACT Exporter of the Year awards showcased several of emerging and established exporting companies. Category winners included:
Emerging Exporter – Infinity Avionics Pty Ltd
Resources and Energy – Ardexa Pty Limited
Sustainability and Green Economy – The Mullion Group (FLINTpro)
ACT Promising Exporter – Catch the Sun Communications
ACT Promising Exporter – Science Skincare International Pty Ltd
“It was inspiring to see so many businesses with a clear plan for identifying and pursuing valuable export markets – ultimately all Canberrans benefit when local businesses achieve export success,” CEA Technology and ACT Export Awards judge Michael Burton said.
Businesses who are ready to export have access to support through the TradeStart program. Learn more about exporting and the assistance available on the ACT Business website: act.gov.au/business
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Violet McKenzie was a pioneer in Australian radio and electrical engineering.
A park in Campbell has been named after Violet McKenzie, or ‘Mrs Mac’ – the woman who trained thousands in Morse code, visual signalling and international code during World War II.
The park is located behind the Campbell shops, between White Crescent and Blamey Place.
Violet McKenzie was a pioneer in Australian radio and electrical engineering.
She was committed to technical education and training, especially for women.
McKenzie also established a wireless shop in the Royal Arcade, Sydney.
In the 1930s, she began the Electrical Association for Women and wrote the first ‘all-electric cookbook’.
In addition, she established the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps in 1939, and campaigned to have her female trainees accepted into the Navy, which was all male at the time.
Her voluntary work led to the establishment of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, (WRANS).
The name Violet McKenzie Park was selected following community consultation held last year.
An information sign was unveiled this week by with representatives from the Royal Australian Navy and WRANS ACT in attendance.
The ACT Government would like to thank the local community that has adopted the park and helps maintain it.
Violet McKenzie’s voluntary work led to the establishment of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, (WRANS).
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Concept render of the new Watson health precinct.
The development application for the new Watson health precinct is now open for public feedback.
New specialist facilities will be built for Marymead CatholicCare’s youth mental health residential service and Ted Noffs Foundation’s alcohol and other drugs youth rehabilitation services.
A new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residential rehabilitation service facility will also be developed in partnership with Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services.
Alcohol and other drug addiction causes significant harm to individuals, families, and communities, with a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The establishment of a 24-bed residential facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans will promote rehabilitation and recovery in a culturally safe and inclusive environment.
New facilities operated by Ted Noffs Foundation and Marymead CatholicCare will offer a modern welcoming environment to encourage positive outcomes for young Canberrans. Planning for the new precinct has accommodated for the future growth of the facilities.
“Detoxing and undergoing a rehabilitation episode at such a young age requires a very specific treatment intervention, and these new facilities will strengthen the current treatment programs on offer,” Ted Noffs Foundation’s National Programs Manager Lachlan Dean said.
“Being able to continue to work on the site we have been on for the last 23 years allows us to stay connected to this community.”
The development application for the precinct is available to view and comment on until 9 October 2023 on the Planning ACT website.
More information about the project is available on the Built for CBR website: builtforcbr.act.gov.au
Artist’s impression of the new facility.
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Eoghan Clwyde, with baby Flynn, has benefitted from the Rent Relief Fund
An extension of the ACT Government Rent Relief Fund will provide targeted, short-term emergency support for private renters in low-income households in the ACT.
This extension brings to $2.51 million the total allocated for grants under the fund since it opened in April 2023.
The fund provides support to the most vulnerable households.
It is aimed at preventing evictions, improve their wellbeing and connect them to services that may assist them to improve their financial position over the longer term.
It offers grants for up to four weeks rent capped at $2,500 to help tenants and occupants maintain safe, secure and stable accommodation.
Eoghan Clwyde and his partner never expected to find themselves in need of such support. However, in the lead-up to their first child’s birth, they experienced financial pressures.
They knew baby Flynn would be born prematurely, and so had a great deal of specialist newborn items on the shopping list.
As their costs increased, they found assistance through the Rent Relief Fund – a process Eoghan said was “very straightforward”.
“This program came at terrific timing, and we were able to acquire those extra items that we needed,” Eoghan said.
They were also relieved to avoid asking family for support at a time of widespread cost of living pressure.
To be eligible for a grant, households must be experiencing either rental stress or severe financial hardship.
Applicants also need to meet income limits which vary depending on the number of people in the household.
CARE Inc. will continue to administer the Fund on behalf of the ACT Government.
“We know how valuable this assistance is to people experiencing rental stress,” Carmel Franklin, CARE Chief Executive Officer, said.
“As part of administering the Rent Relief Fund, CARE will continue to provide wrap around support from our range of programs – financial counselling, financial capability, consumer law, community loans and community education, as well as referring people to other local support services as needed,” she said.
In addition to the fund’s extension, the ACT Government continues to work with the Commonwealth Government to improve housing affordability.
It is also investing in a range of measures to increase the supply of affordable rentals in Canberra, with the goal of delivering 600 additional rental dwellings by 2025-26.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
In 2022 the ACT Government announced a significant increase in road maintenance of $153 million over four years to repair and preserve Canberra’s roads.
The ACT Government’s annual road resurfacing program has returned to ensure major arterial roads and suburban streets remain safe.
In 2022 the ACT Government announced a significant increase in road maintenance of $153 million over four years to repair and preserve Canberra’s roads.
This is a 52 per cent increase in expenditure for road maintenance and a 150 per cent increase for asphalting.
The program follows research by the Australian Road Research Board and focuses on road rehabilitation as well as preventative resealing.
In 2022-23, ACT road maintenance teams repaired more than 12,000 potholes across the territory.
Road rehabilitation projects will begin in coming months on David Walsh Avenue in Forde.
There is also design work underway for further works on sections of the Monaro Highway, Kings Highway and Sulwood Drive.
Road resurfacing works are generally undertaken each year during warmer weather conditions.
The service life of a highly trafficked road is over 10 years whilst residential streets often deliver 25 to 30 years of service.
Road resurfacing treatments include road resealing, asphalt resurfacing and microsurfacing which helps to waterproof the road, improve skid resistance and fill cracks in the pavement.
Overnight asphalt resurfacing work was completed this week on sections of the Tuggeranong Parkway at Weston Creek over the Molonglo River.
This follows asphalt patching work that was undertaken in the area earlier in 2023 after Fix My Street requests were received from the community.
Major roads to receive road resurfacing treatment over coming months will include:
Deakin – Adelaide Avenue, between State Circle and Kent Street
Molonglo Valley – Tuggeranong Parkway, southbound between Lady Denman Drive and Cotter Road
Belconnen – Gungahlin Drive, several sections in both directions between the Barton Highway and Glenloch Interchange
Hall – Barton Highway, from Kuringa Drive towards the ACT/NSW border
Watson – Federal Highway, from Antill Street towards the ACT/NSW border
Belconnen – William Hovell Drive, both directions between Bindubi Street and Coulter Drive
City – Akuna Street
Tuggeranong – Anketell Street, several sections
Woden Valley – Various intersections along Hindmarsh Drive.
For more information on road resurfacing, including a map of the full program and daily updates on roads receiving treatment, visit cityservices.act.gov.au
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: New South Wales Department of Education and Communities
The Northern Territory Police Force has charged a 26-year-old male in relation to a domestic violence incident in Alice Springs yesterday.
Around 4:40pm, police received reports that a 24-year-old female had been strangled and punched multiple times to the face in a vehicle at a set of traffic lights on the corner of Stott Terrace and the Stuart Highway by a male known to the victim.
It is alleged that the incident occurred around 8am and afterwards, the male took her to his residence where he stole the female’s phone so that she could not seek assistance. Hours later, she located her phone and reported the incident to police.
General duties members attended and witnessed the man fleeing from the residence. A cordon was set up and he was arrested after a short foot pursuit. The female was transported to Alice Springs Hospital in a stable condition to be treated for facial injuries.
The male has since been charged with:
Unlawfully Cause Serious Harm
Choking, Strangling or Suffocating
Theft
Breach Bail
He is remanded to appear in Alice Springs Local Court on Monday.
If you or someone you know are experiencing difficulties due to domestic violence, support services are available, including, but not limited to, 1800RESPECT (1800737732) or Lifeline 131 114.
Source: New South Wales Department of Education and Communities
The Northern Territory Police Force is calling for information in relation to an alleged sexual assault that took place at a fast-food restaurant this morning.
About 6:30am, police received reports of a sexual assault on a 19-year-old female in the bathroom of a fast-food restaurant on the corner of Parsons Street and Railway Terrace. The female alerted staff who then called police.
Investigations are ongoing to locate the alleged offender and determine the circumstances of the incident.
Police are calling for any witnesses within the area at the time who may have information that can assist police in their enquiries to make contact on 131 444.
Submit your best weather photos to the Bureau of Meteorology’s 2026 Australian Weather Calendar competition for the chance to be featured in the next edition.
The 2025 edition of the calendar featured an atmospheric foggy sunrise over Mornington, Western Australia, a glowing aurora australis from Squeaking Point, Tasmania and a stunning storm and rainbow combination in Nightcliff, Northern Territory.
Each year, 13 photos sent in by photographers from all corners of the country are selected by a panel of Bureau judges to feature on the calendar’s cover and each month.
The calendar includes a meteorological description explaining the science behind each of the phenomena, written by the Bureau’s meteorologists, beside each photo.
Senior Meteorologist Andrea Peace, one of the judges of the competition, encourages people from all corners of the country to send in their spectacular weather photos.
“The Bureau invites anyone who has taken a great weather photo anywhere in Australia to submit it for the next edition of the Australian Weather Calendar,” she said.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my position at the Bureau is being involved in judging the competition and seeing all the incredible photos submitted, featuring the diverse array of weather the Bureau forecasts in Australia.”
Competition entries close for judging at 5:00pm (AEDT) on 31 March 2025.
To be eligible for the calendar, photos must be original and with only minor adjustments accepted, which must be listed with the entry.
Images cannot be digitally enhanced, altered or manipulated (including via the use of filters and digital software).
The Bureau’s Australian Weather Calendar is released annually, with photo entries remaining open perpetually for future editions.
Source: New South Wales Department of Education and Communities
The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 21-year-old female in relation to a stabbing incident in Katherine last night.
About 7:45pm, police received multiple reports that a 41-year-old male, who is known to the alleged offender, had multiple stab wounds to his shoulder.
The male was transported to Katherine Regional Hospital by St John Ambulance in a stable but serious condition. He was later transported to Royal Darwin Hospital for further treatment to his injuries.
Investigations are ongoing and the crime command have carriage.
If you or someone you know are experiencing difficulties due to domestic violence, support services are available, including, but not limited to, 1800RESPECT (1800737732) or Lifeline 131 114.
By Leah Lowonbu, Stefan Armbruster and Harlyne Joku of BenarNews
The Pacific’s peak diplomatic bodies have signalled they are ready to engage with Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Government of Bougainville as mediation begins on the delayed ratification of its successful 2019 independence referendum.
PNG and Bougainville’s leaders met in the capital Port Moresby this week with a moderator to start negotiations on the implementation of the UN-supervised Bougainville Peace Agreement and referendum.
Ahead of the talks, ABG’s President Ishmael Toroama moved to sideline a key sticking point over PNG parliamentary ratification of the vote, with the announcement last week that Bougainville would unilaterally declare independence on September 1, 2027.
The region’s two leading intergovernmental organisations — Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) — have traditionally deferred to member state PNG on discussion of Bougainville independence as an internal matter.
But as a declaration of nationhood becomes increasingly likely and near, there has been a subtle shift.
“It’s their [PNG’s] prerogative but if this matter were raised formally, even by Bougainville themselves, we can start discussion on that,” PIF Secretary-General Baron Waqa told a press briefing at its headquarters in Fiji on Monday.
“Whatever happens, I think the issue would have to be decided by our leaders later this year,” he said of the annual PIF meeting to be held in Solomon Islands in September.
Marked peace deal The last time the Pacific’s leaders included discussion of Bougainville in their official communique was in 2004 to mark the disarmament of the island under the peace deal.
Waqa said Bougainville had made no formal approach to PIF — a grouping of 18 Pacific states and territories — but it was closely monitoring developments on what could eventually lead to the creation of a new member state.
PNG Prime Minister James Marape (second from left) and Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama (right) during mediation in the capital Port Moresby this week. Image: Autonomous Government of Bougainville/BenarNews
In 2024, Toroama told BenarNews he would be seeking observer status at the subregional MSG — grouping PNG, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia’s FLNKS — as Bougainville’s first diplomatic foray.
No application has been made yet but MSG acting Director-General Ilan Kiloe told BenarNews they were also keeping a close watch.
“Our rules and regulations require that we engage through PNG and we will take our cue from them,” Kiloe said, adding while the MSG respects the sovereignty of its members, “if requested, we will provide assistance” to Bougainville.
“The purpose and reason the MSG was established initially was to advance the collective interests of the Melanesian countries, in particular, to assist those yet to attain independence,” he said. “And to provide support towards their aim of becoming independent countries.”
Map showing Papua New Guinea, its neighboring countries and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Map: BenarNews
The 2001 peace agreement ended more than a decade of bloody conflict known as the Bougainville crisis, that resulted in the deaths of up to 15,000 people, and laid out a roadmap for disarmament and the referendum in 2019.
‘We need support’ Under the agreement, PNG retains responsibility for foreign affairs but allows for the ABG to engage externally for trade and with “regional organisations.”
“We need countries to support us, we need to talk to those countries [ahead of independence],” Toroama told BenarNews last September.
The referendum on independence was supported by 97.7 percent of Bougainvillians and the outcome was due to be ratified by PNG’s Parliament in 2020, but was deferred because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Discussions by the two parties since on whether a simple or two-thirds majority vote by parliamentarians was required has further delayed the process.
Toroama stood firm on the issue of ratification on the first day of discussions moderated by New Zealand’s Sir Jerry Mataparae, saying his people voted for independence and the talks were to define the “new relationship” between two independent states.
Last week, the 15 members of the Bougainville Leaders Independence Consultation Forum issued a statement declaring PNG had no authority to veto the referendum result and recommended September 1, 2027 as the declaration date.
Bougainville Leaders Consultation Forum declaration setting September 1, 2027, as the date for their independence declaration. Image: AGB/BenarNews
“As far as I am concerned, the process of negotiating independence was concluded with the referendum,” Toroama said.
Implementation moderation “My understanding is that this moderation is about reaching agreement on implementing the referendum result of independence.”
He told Marape “to take ownership and endorse independence in this 11th Parliament.”
PNG’s prime minister responded by praising the 25 years of peace “without a single bullet fired” but warned Bougainville was not ready for independence.
“Economic independence must precede political independence,” Marape said. “The long-term sustainability of Bougainville must be factored into these discussions.”
“About 95 percent of Bougainville’s budget is currently reliant on external support, including funding from the PNG government and international donors.”
Front page of the Post-Courier newspaper after the first day of mediation on Bougainville’s independence this week. Image: Post-Courier/BenarNews
Marape also suggested people may be secretly harbouring weapons in breach of the peace agreement and called on the UN to clarify the outcome of the disarmament process it supervised.
“Headlines have come out that guns remain in Bougainville. United Nations, how come guns remain in Bougainville?” Marape asked on Monday.
“You need to tell me. This is something you know. I thought all guns were removed from Bougainville.”
PNG relies on aid By comparison, PNG has heavily relied on foreign financial assistance since independence, currently receiving at about US$320 million (1.3 billion kina) a year in budgetary support from Australia, and suffers regular tribal violence and massacres involving firearms including assault rifles.
Bougainville Vice-President Patrick Nisira rejected Marape’s concerns about weapons, the Post-Courier newspaper reported.
“The usage of those guns, there is no evidence of that and if you look at the data on Bougainville where [there are] incidents of guns, it is actually very low,” he said.
Further talks are planned and are due to produce a report for the national Parliament by mid-2025, ahead of elections in Bougainville and PNG’s 50th anniversary celebrations in September.
The Hon Jim Chalmers MP Treasurer Member for Rankin
The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP Minister for Social Services Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme Member for Kingston
The Hon Steve Whan MP Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Member for Monaro
The Albanese and Minns Governments are partnering to connect disadvantaged young people with education, training and employment in NSW.
Both governments are investing $5 million each into the Get Back in the Game Program – helping local organisations deliver specialist support to young people aged 15 to 21.
The funding, through the $100 million Commonwealth Outcomes Fund, will support around 1,400 young people a year who may not have reached their full potential.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Get Back on Track would help to tackle intergenerational disadvantage in communities across NSW.
“This is all about helping more young people get great training, get a great job and get ahead,” the Treasurer said.
“No matter who you are or where you live, you deserve a decent education and a decent opportunity to earn a good living and provide for your loved ones.
“We’re backing local organisations to give local kids the opportunities they need and deserve.
“Programs like this one will help us tackle intergenerational disadvantage in communities right around Australia where a national approach on its own will never be enough.”
Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said investing in local partnerships ensures Government funding is tailored to the needs of young people and their communities.
“The Outcomes Fund will give community organisations under the Get Back in the Game Program the flexibility to design and deliver services for young people that recognises where they are at and will get the best results they need,” Minister Rishworth said.
“I am excited to be partnering with the NSW Government on the program so community organisations can get on with their important work with young people across NSW.”
Minister Whan said empowering our youth is crucial for building a stronger future for NSW.
“I’ve met some of the young people who have benefited from this program – it quite literally has changed their lives. From being disengaged from school to building a career. It is producing results for young people,” Minister Whan said.
“By investing in skills training and education opportunities, we are ensuring that no young person is left behind. This program will provide essential pathways for those who need it the most. Thank you to the Albanese Government for investing in this important program.”
Participants must be aged 15-21 and not be a current participant in any Commonwealth or NSW program or service supporting youth transitions to work or study.
The Get Back in the Game program is the last of the four projects to be announced from the first Expression of Interest process under the $100 million Commonwealth Outcomes Fund.
The Outcomes Fund gives providers the flexibility to tailor services to the needs of communities and young people. They receive payments when outcomes are achieved.
The Fund aims to achieve service delivery and funding reform as part of the over $200 million Targeting Entrenched Disadvantage package.
Sue Watson, Manager of Yourtown’s Get Back in the Game program, said that the program funding will make a real difference for disengaged youth.
“Yourtown works together with young people to uncover and supercharge their strengths, providing the practical training, education and skills development they need to land a job and break the cycle of unemployment,” Ms Watson said.
“Our program creates pathways to help young people unlock their potential and achieve a bright future. This funding makes a real difference to these young people.”
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium Releases, 252 Southern Pygmy Perch in a World-First for Conservation supported by NSW DPIRD Fisheries
Sydney, AUSTRALIA, Friday 21 March 2025 – In a world-first, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has bred and released 252 Southern pygmy perch (Nannoperca australis) at Lade Vale, New South Wales, marking a key milestone for conservation efforts to protect this native Endangered species.
“Though they are small, the Southern pygmy perch are mighty! They play a vital role in freshwater ecosystems by controlling insect populations and supporting biodiversity, which ensures the health of streams and wetlands,” said Laura Simmons, Head of Conservation, Welfare, and Education for SEA LIFE Aquariums Australia and New Zealand.
“Four years ago, when the NSW Government’s Fisheries Division approached SEA LIFE Sydney, we embraced the challenge to take on custodianship, develop best practices within the aquarium, and ultimately breed the Southern pygmy perch for a cooperative breed-for-release program to encourage wild repopulation. We are incredibly proud of reaching this milestone, which marks a significant step in recovering the species and securing its future in Australia’s freshwater ecosystems,” she added.
Southern pygmy perch were once widely distributed and abundant in the Murray, Lachlan, and Murrumbidgee catchments. The species has now disappeared from most locations in NSW and has only been recorded from a handful of sites in the last 30 years.
The aquarium-bred Southern pygmy perch have been released into a waterway on a private property at Lade Vale, NSW, determined as a suitable habitat by the project experts. Post-release, project partners, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Fisheries and Gunning District Landcare, will closely monitor the fish to ensure their successful integration into the wild.
“It’s exciting to be working with SEA LIFE Sydney and the local landcare group on new and innovative ways to re-establish this unique and important species back in the landscape”, said Luke Pearce, DPIRD Senior Fisheries Manager.
Southern pygmy perch are threatened by habitat loss from flood control measures and dams, which disrupt river flow and temperature, as well as by competition and predation from invasive species like Redfin perch, common carp and Eastern gambusia.
As part of its broader conservation strategy, SEA LIFE Sydney will continue to support research, breeding programs, and habitat restoration projects, collaborating with government and conservation partners to secure a future for the Southern pygmy perch and other vulnerable species within Australia and around the world.
Merlin Entertainments is a world leader in branded entertainment destinations, offering a diverse portfolio of resort theme parks, city-centre gateway attractions and LEGOLAND® Resorts which span across the UK, US, Western Europe, China, and Asia Pacific. Dedicated to creating experiences that inspire joy and connection, Merlin welcomes more than 62 million guests annually to its growing estate, with over 140 sites across 23 countries. An expert in bringing world-famous entertainment brands to life, Merlin works with partners including the LEGO® Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Peppa Pig, DreamWorks and Ferrari to create destinations where guests can immerse themselves in a wide array of brand-driven worlds, rides and uplifting learning experiences.
HOUSTON – A total of 246 cases have been filed related to immigration and border security from March 14-20, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Of those, 91 face allegations of illegally re-entering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, violent and/or sexual crimes and prior immigration offenses, among others. A total of 145 face charges of illegally entering the country, eight cases involve various instances of human smuggling, and the remainder relate to other immigration matters and making false statements.
Among those charged include Rogelio Jaimes-Rodriguez – a Mexican male who was allegedly found in the United States near Roma having previously been removed Feb. 12. The charges allege he had been previously convicted of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. If convicted of this illegal reentry charge, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Onesimo Salazar-Torres is also a Mexican citizen charged with illegal reentry. The criminal complaint alleges he was found in the United States near Edinburg having previously been removed in 2018 and has a conviction of indecency with child sexual contact.
Other relevant cases include two more illegal aliens with significant criminal histories that were sentenced in McAllen this week after being previously removed and unlawfully reentered again. Jose Eduardo Soto-Hernandez has prior felony convictions for sexual assault of a child and possession of a controlled substance. He has been removed from the United States two previous times, most recently in 2019. He will serve 27 months, while Salvador Eduardo Gonzalez-Ledezma was ordered to serve 46 months. He has prior felony convictions for assault family violence impeding breath and harboring aliens. Authorities removed him most recently in 2022, but he has a total of four prior removals.
In Houston, Carlos Bedolla Sanchez pleaded guilty to using the identity of a U.S. citizen to fraudulently obtain a passport and identification. As part of the identity theft, he provided the name, Social Security number, date of birth and birthplace on the passport applications and fraudulently certified he was a citizen or non-citizen national of the United States. Sanchez began using the victim’s identity in approximately March 2009 to obtain state driver’s licenses and other U.S. identification.
On Feb. 17, a Corpus Christi federal jury returned a guilty verdict against a South Texas man for transporting illegal aliens. They deliberated for less than 45 minutes before convicting Alberto Chavez Jr. following a one-day trial Feb. 17. Chavez had claimed his two passengers were his cousins, but evidence proved they were not related to him and were actually Honduran citizens illegally present in the United States. Testimony further revealed Chavez bought them clothes to make them appear more “American” and coached them on what to say when trying to pass through the checkpoint.
Another illegal alien was indicted in Laredo in a multi-year human smuggling conspiracy. The charges allege Giovana Lozano Hernandez used multiple cellular devices that had numerous digital images of paper ledgers regarding the scheme. Voice messages with co-conspirators also allegedly detailed the smuggling activity including the many illegal aliens who had already been transported and housed for whom there needed to be financial accountability. Law enforcement also found video messages depicting the transportation of illegal aliens, according to the allegations.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The SDTX remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
Hickenlooper answered questions about Trump admin threats to our economy, national parks, scientific research, veteran care, and more
In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper held a statewide virtual town hall last week to answer questions from Coloradans about Trump’s attacks on our federal government and top-of-mind concerns from constituents.
More than 8,000 Coloradans from across the state attended the event live to ask questions and hear from Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper plans to hold in-person town halls across Colorado in the coming weeks. Since the beginning of his term, Hickenlooper has held at least four public town halls every year. Last year he held in-person town halls in Alamosa, Cortez, Eagle, Pueblo, and Walden.
Watch the full video of the event HERE or see excerpts below:
On threats to Colorado’s public lands:
“Coloradans overwhelmingly support protecting our public lands. You look at any poll there’s 75%, 80%, sometimes 85% of voters who support protections for our public lands. That doesn’t seem to stop or slow down the Trump administration. They’re threatening all of that.”
“They’ve fired over 3,400 US Forest Service employees. 3,400. They fired another 2,300 workers from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and there might even be another one. I mean, these are cuts that we’re going to feel. These are the folks who are being fired who are responsible for wildfire mitigation, for timber management, for all kinds of things. They are the people that remove hazardous fuels on federal lands, clean the campsites, or maintain the trails. This doesn’t all happen by itself. These cuts are going to put Colorado at a higher risk for wildfires. These cuts are going to hurt our economy.”
On protecting Medicaid:
“Health care is a right, not a privilege. Let’s recognize the Republicans’ budget for what it is: it’s a blatant attempt to strip critical services like Medicaid from Americans who need the help the most. They are stripping these critical services to fund these tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Bottom line: millions are going to lose their healthcare and the ultra-wealthy get tax cuts that in all cases they don’t need, and in many cases they don’t want.”
“We have 1 million Coloradans that are enrolled in either Medicaid or CHIP: that’s almost 1 in 6 Coloradans. 60% of seniors in nursing homes are able to be there because they are covered by Medicaid. You cut Medicaid at that level, and you are going to have a lot of grandmothers and grandfathers out of their ear, bankrupt.”
“We stayed up all night a month ago fighting for amendments to protect access, to protect Medicaid, investments in renewable energy, veterans benefits. The Republicans blocked every single one. I think we can use those votes to let the public know what the Republicans have been doing. In other words, they are on the record by those votes. We made them vote on those amendments and bills so that they are on the record and when the time comes we will be able to make sure that they can be held accountable. When they go back to their states or to Colorado when they hold town halls, they are going to have to answer for those votes.”
On efforts to make government more efficient::
“The first time I got into politics in 2003 I ran on the premise that I was going to come in as mayor and make the city government smaller and yet do more, but I didn’t come in and say I was going to use an axe to make cuts.”
“…We went into each agency and made sure we knew what everyone was doing so we knew how we were spending the money and what we were getting for it so that we could really look for actual fraud, waste, and abuse. If that’s what we are about then I am game, but that’s not what the Trump administration is doing. They’re taking an axe and sledgehammer to our federal government without any concern on the impact it has on Coloradans or Americans. You just can’t throw our veterans, working families, or the services we all depend on under the bus by saying you are looking for fraud and abuse.”
On supporting our veterans:
“What is happening is a travesty of history… Ever since I got to the Senate I’ve made supporting veterans and enhancing VA care a priority. The PACT Act, like I said, advanced care to over a million veterans. The news that the Trump administration is planning to fire 80,000 staff from the Veterans Administration is beyond words. It’s insulting to our nation’s heroes.”
“…We introduced an amendment during the reconciliation process, which of course they ignored, but this was an amendment seeking to reverse workforce cuts and fill frontline vacancies like at the Veteran Health Administration, particularly personnel who provide access to healthcare for rural veterans. We’ve joined many of our colleagues sending a very direct letter to President Trump demanding fired veterans be reinstated across the federal government. We also supported a resolution condemning mass termination of VA employees.”
“I mean I just can’t imagine what these people are thinking… I mean, firing veterans serving our communities is not a way to find fraud, waste, and abuse. It is not waste. It is not fraud. It is not abuse.”
On the importance of trust in science:
“The American people look to us, to science, for trust and for accurate, factual information so they can have the freedom to raise their families without fear. Now again, I’m not saying all science is perfect. I’m not saying that one agency or another hasn’t made mistakes, but when trust is broken, things fall apart.”
“…Unfortunately, the new administration has elevated people into cabinet positions who peddle some of these anti-science claims and mistruths and misinformation. This threatens not just Coloradans but our country. It puts us at risk. That’s why funding for things like medical research through the NIH or climate research through NOAA is so important.”
Two people have been arrested after a car and caravan crashed in the Adelaide Hills.
It will be alleged that about 2.20am today (Saturday 22 March), a man called police after his Nissan Patrol 4WD was stolen from his house in Finniss.
Police located the Nissan soon after driving east on Callington Road and pursued the vehicle. A second vehicle, a Great Wall station wagon towing a caravan then overtook the police car, sideswiping it as it drove past.
Both officers inside the vehicle were not injured.
The Great Wall station wagon and caravan then lost control and crashed on Callington Road at Woodchester, with the male driver running away from the scene.
The 35-year-old Wellington man returned to the scene soon after and was arrested. He will face numerous charges including endanger life, drive disqualified and illegal use of a motor vehicle, after checks showed the caravan had been stolen from Mount Compass.
The Great Wall station wagon was not stolen.
The Nissan returned to the scene and the driver, a 30-year-old Murray Bridge woman was also arrested.
She has also been charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle, breach of bail and drive unlicenced.
Both people have been refused bail to appear in court on Monday.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The townhouses are ready to welcome tenants and families most in need of housing support.
Construction is now complete on 30 new public housing homes in Calwell.
The townhouses are ready to welcome tenants and families most in need of housing support.
The 30 two- and three-bedroom townhouses are built to Class C Adaptable standards. This means they can be easily adapted to meet changing accessibility needs and support tenants to remain at home as they grow older.
The new homes are located close to schools, shops, services and transport.
They add to the category of public housing in highest demand – with approximately 80 per cent of all housing applicants able to be housed in a two-bedroom dwelling.
Construction took less than nine months for this project, which began in November 2022.
The project is a positive example of government and industry collaborating to deliver for the community.
More than 500 homes have been delivered under the ACT Government’s commitment and another 700 homes are currently underway in design or construction.
This is another step towards providing more people in need with safe, secure public housing.
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Thor Diesendorf, founder and owner of Thor’s Hammer which makes use of recycled timber.
The ACT Government is providing a plan to create new jobs and develop innovative sustainable businesses by delivering Canberra’s first Circular Economy Strategy and action plan.
The new circular economy strategy recognises benefits of supporting businesses that reduce waste, while supporting solutions to product development and investment.
Through the strategy and plan, the Government wants to give businesses the tools they need to support more sustainable jobs, create stronger supply chains that reduce waste, and make the most of materials.
The strategy and action plan aims to achieve this across a broad range of industries, from technology and hardware, right through to food waste and building products.
It also addresses land use for businesses that might need to process materials that support resource recovery or to help design waste out of our systems in the first place.
The strategy identifies six areas of the economy to lead first efforts:
Food and garden organics
The built environment
Emerging and problematic waste streams
Consumer goods
A circular economy innovation precinct
Procurement, skills, and governance.
Importantly this strategy is backed by a series of individual action plans, which outline specific objectives of Government, industry, business and our community.
Major reforms have already started to improve resource recovery outcomes for the region.
This includes the bulky waste pick-up service, building a new materials recycling facility, a food organics collection service pilot and the ACT container deposit scheme.
Canberrans are also demonstrating leadership in growing the circular economy, with some great initiatives such as repair cafes, Community Toolbox Canberra, Lids for Kids and thriving second-hand markets.
Once the strategy is in place across a broad range of industries, the ACT Government aims to make further changes to supply chains and education, and help make jobs and businesses more innovative, sustainable, equitable, fair, and profitable.
Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Future Swirl founder Maddalena Eastbrook at her pop-up van.
Future Swirl is a Canberra-based start-up whipping up a storm in the ice-cream world.
Founder Maddi Easterbrook wanted to challenge the popular coconut, almond and soy-based ice-creams that dominate the dairy free alternatives market, with an oat milk soft-serve.
A hugely successful summer season with a pop-up van in Braddon showed Maddi that her idea had real potential.
“We opened Summernats weekend in Braddon and I was blown away by the response,” said Maddi.
“It was by far our best weekend during that January to May period in the van. It was really reaffirming. I thought the Summernats demographic would not be my audience, but we had so many converts and repeat customers over that weekend who turned into oat milk soft-serve lovers! It showed me there’s a lot of potential for us to grow.”
That experience paved the way for Maddi to secure an Innovation Connect (ICON) grant from the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN).
CBRIN receives funding from the ACT Government to support entrepreneurs, innovators and start-ups—like Future Swirl—in Canberra. It offers business support, programs, grants and access to networks of other entrepreneurs.
“The idea [for the ICON grant] was to take that soft-serve, which you can only get when I’m selling at markets in the van, and bring it to independent grocers in Canberra and straight to our customers in take home tubs.
“I received matched funding for $30,000,” Maddi said. “I contributed $30,000 myself and bought machinery to scale the business and work on product development.
“With that money I can move manufacturing out of the pop-up van and into a premises.”
The take home tubs are being manufactured at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Technology (CEAT) at ANU. CEAT is another ACT Government grant-funded spin out from the Priority Investment Program.
“I would encourage anyone who is thinking of applying for an ICON grant to do it,” she said.
“I was nervous about pitching my idea against people developing AI and high-tech solutions.
“But plant-based food alternatives are a growing and global industry, valued at nearly $5 billion and it’s expected to reach just over $100 billion by 2030. Being a vegan myself, I’m in a unique position to create a product that I would want to eat, rather than multi-nationals that are producing because there is a gap in the market.
“CBRIN could see my product has the capacity to scale and succeed.”
Maddi’s oat milk soft-serve is also filling a much-needed gap in the food allergen market. Her soft-serve is nut free, dairy free and soy free.
“It was amazing to see children who had never eaten a soft-serve or ice-cream before, sitting in the park enjoying their first taste in their 10 or 12 years of life,” Maddi said.
“My desire to start Future Swirl came from being vegan and being passionate about sustainability and plant-based food being the best way for individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. But meeting this need in the food allergen market has been an added bonus.
“It’s pretty great seeing the joy of a kid eating an soft-serve in the park! And soft-serves are very nostalgic.”
Future Swirl’s signature and most popular vanilla and chocolate oat milk based soft-serve.
As for what’s next for Future Swirl, Maddi is preparing to bring her take home tubs to Canberrans but also has her eyes set on the Sydney and Melbourne market.
CBRIN’s ICON grants are currently open and close on 11 September.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Professor Leonie Quinn, Canberra Brain Cancer Collaborative Lead and Research and Innovation Fund recipient
Canberra Brain Cancer Collaborative has created Canberra’s first Brain Cancer Biobank.
Headed by Professor Leonie Quinn and her team, the collaborative has been able to develop this with a $300,000 grant awarded in the 2022 Research Innovation Fundround.
The biobank stores brain cancer biospecimens and genomic data from patients treated at Canberra Hospital.
It contributes to Brain Cancer Biobanking Australia – a virtual biobank hub that allows researchers around the country to access brain cancer tissue, samples and data.
The information gathered by the biobank enables researchers at ANU’s John Curtin School of Medical Research to create 3D bio-printed ‘mini brains’.
This allows them to analyse how tumours grow and respond to treatment, and to trial new therapeutic drugs tailored to each patient. It is hoped this will help develop new cancer treatments and improve clinical care.
“The ACT Health Research Innovation Fund has provided us with an exciting opportunity to explore the complex environment where brain cancer occurs and ultimately develop new treatments,” Professor Quinn, Canberra Brain Cancer Collaborative Lead and Research and Innovation Fund recipient, said.
“The biobank will enable more personalised treatments, which are critical to improving survival rates and quality of life for people diagnosed with the disease. It will secure the ACT as a health research hub and improve the clinical experience of cancer patients around Australia.”
The Research and Innovation Fund is guided by Better Together: A strategic plan for research in the ACT health system 2022-2030.
Five fellowships through the Research Innovation Fund2023 have recently been announced, supporting early and mid-career Canberra health researchers.
The diverse research projects selected include enhancing post-diagnostic care for dementia patients, supporting community response to voluntary assisted dying, and studying allergies and immunodeficienciesof patients in the ACT.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Downer Community Centre recently received a rebate to replace gas heating with efficient reverse cycle heating.
ACT small businesses can now access rebates of up to $10,000 to help transition their workplaces and work practices away from fossil-fuel gas to efficient electric appliances.
The rebates will support businesses to be more sustainable, in reducing both their emissions and operating costs.
Small to medium business can take advantage of the rebate, to upgrade to efficient electric appliances.
The rebates can pay for up to half the upfront cost of upgrading.
The ACT Government’s Sustainable Business Program complements the new rebate. The program provides expert advice at no cost, helping businesses identify areas of their business they can improve and act in the smartest, most cost-effective way.
The Downer Community Centre is using the new rebate to switch from gas heating to efficient reverse cycle heating. This change will help them save $1900 per year in bills and two tonnes per year of CO2 emissions.
ACT businesses with fewer than 20 employees are eligible for up to $10,000 in support through energy efficiency rebates.
The maximum rebate for electric-to-electric upgrades is $5,000 (incl GST), while fossil-fuel gas-to-electric upgrade rebates are capped at $10,000 (including GST).