Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Belconnen shop upgrades continue

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Those visiting Macquarie shops can now take a load off with new seating beside an improved play space.

In brief:

  • Improvements are being made at several local shops across Canberra.
  • Public space improvements will improve safety, accessibility, look and feel.
  • This story looks at work taking place at three shopping areas in Belconnen.

Have you noticed some work going on at your neighbourhood shops lately?

Several local shopping areas are receiving a bit of a facelift through important public space upgrades.

These include Macquarie shops, Kippax Group Centre and Evatt shops in Belconnen.

Some of the upgrades include new play equipment, more places to sit and gather and improved access and parking.

You can also expect improvements to each centre’s overall look and feel, through the addition of murals, new trees and landscaping.

It’s hoped these improvements will encourage residents to shop local and spend more time in their suburbs.

Community consultation

Each project has involved community engagement.

Community groups and local businesses have shared feedback on the changes they’d like to see. This has informed individual designs.

You can find more on the consultation process and feedback received for each project by clicking on the links below.

Macquarie shops

Upgrades to the local shops at Macquarie Place are now complete.

Key features include:

  • extra landscaping and tree plantings to provide more shade and enhance the spaces around the shops
  • new tables and seating
  • an upgraded playground with nature play and play elements such as balancing logs and steppers
  • new accessible parking bays
  • upgraded lighting to improve public safety
  • art murals (still to come).

Find out more about the improvements at Macquarie shops.

Kippax Group Centre

Public space improvements have been made along Hardwick Crescent between Luke Street and the service station.

These improvements took into consideration the other significant projects underway, both in and around the shopping area.

Key features include:

  • better accessibility along shopfronts. Wider shopfront pavement will allow space for outdoor cafes and public outdoor furniture.
  • upgrades to the three pedestrian crossings in this section. These will become new raised crossings with new lighting. This change will improve safety for pedestrians and also slow traffic along Hardwick Crescent.
  • line marking within the carparks. This will direct pedestrians between the currently separated shops on either side of the large carparks.
  • two new parallel timed parking spaces along Hardwick Crescent and six loading zone spaces.
  • two new accessible parking spaces within the carpark adjacent to Hardwick Crescent.
  • an enhanced streetscape. There will be new plantings and landscaping, including 12 new Chinese elm trees expected to grow to 10 metres tall.
  • new seating.

Some minor works to finish the streetlighting will be completed in early 2025. This work will have no impact to traffic arrangements along Hardwick Crescent.

Find out more about the improvements at Kippax Group Centre.

Evatt shops

Upgrades are also underway at Evatt shops, on the corner of Clancy Street and Heydon Crescent.

The public space improvements will include new play equipment – a priority raised through community consultation.

Key features include:

  • new seating and tables
  • proposed nature play and accessible play elements
  • an art mural to brighten up the area
  • new accessible parking bays
  • a new toilet block
  • more trees and better landscaping
  • improved access for pedestrians including paths, safe crossings and stairways
  • resurfacing of the service area off McClure Street and improved access and safety at Heydon Place.

Find out more about the improvements at Evatt shops.

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Canberra’s most popular library books in 2024

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton was most popular with Canberrans this year.

In brief

  • The list of most-borrowed books from Libraries ACT in 2024 has been released.
  • Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton was most popular with Canberrans this year.
  • This article includes the top five books across five categories.

Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton was the most-borrowed book from ACT libraries in 2024.

The story, featuring the unforgettable heroine Lola, takes the crown from another gutsy female: Elizabeth Zott from Lessons in Chemistry. This Bonnie Garmus book claimed the top spot last year.

Tenacity and resilience are qualities both Lola and Elizabeth have in spades.

As did Eileen O’Shaughnessy, the subject of Anna Funder’s Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life. This came in at number 1 in the adult non-fiction category.

Local interest in strong female stories continued in the young adult fiction and graphic novels category. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas introduced Canberrans to protagonist Feyre Archeron.

Lola in the Mirror

Canberrans couldn’t get enough of Lola this year. The book topped both the adult fiction and all-formats categories. At one stage, there were 525 reservations to borrow the book.

The title has been shortlisted for many awards and was named 2024 ABIA Book Literary Fiction Book of the Year.

Its Australian author, Trent Dalton, also wrote the bestselling Boy Swallows Universe.

Most popular books in all formats, including audio books

  1. Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
  2. Past Lying by Val McDermid
  3. Sanctuary by Garry Disher
  4. The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves
  5. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

Top five adult fiction

  1. Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
  2. Past Lying by Val McDermid
  3. Sanctuary by Garry Disher
  4. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
  5. Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

Top five adult non-fiction

  1. Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
  2. RecipeTin Eats Dinner: 150+ Recipes From Australia’s Favourite Cook by Nagi Maehashi
  3. 4 Weeks to Better Sleep: A Life-Changing Plan for Deep Sleep, Improved Brain Function and Feeling Great by Michael Mosley
  4. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathon Haidt
  5. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan

Top five junior fiction and graphic novels

  1. Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea (Dog Man #11) by Dav Pilkey
  2. Hypno-Ninja! (Ninja Kid #12) by Anh Do
  3. Ninja Games! (Ninja Kid #13) by Anh Do
  4. The Scarlet Shedder: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #12) by Dav Pilkey
  5. The Race Is On (Wolf Girl 10) by Anh Do

Top five young adult fiction and graphic novels

  1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
  2. Powerless by Lauren Roberts
  3. Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman
  4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
  5. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Libraries ACT over summer

All library branches are closed for the current holiday period with branches re-opening on Monday 6 January 2025.

For more information on library opening hours over the summer period, visit library.act.gov.au

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Construction to start on new CIT Yurauna

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

An artist’s impression of the new Yurauna building at CIT Bruce Campus.

In brief:

  • Yurauna, CIT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Centre of Excellence, is moving from CIT Reid Campus to CIT Bruce Campus.
  • Construction will soon begin on the new, purpose-built building.
  • The centre has been designed in collaboration with the Yurauna and First Nations community.

CIT Bruce Campus will welcome a new Yurauna, CIT’s dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Centre of Excellence.

The centre is relocating from the Reid Campus. This is part of CIT transition out of the Reid Campus in mid-2025.

Purpose-built facilities

Yurauna is a Wiradjuri word meaning ‘to grow’.

The new centre will feature culturally sensitive, purpose-built and sustainably designed facilities. These will provide wraparound support for students and their families.

They include:

  • learning spaces
  • art rooms
  • community meeting spaces
  • childcare facilities.

About CIT Yurauna

CIT Yurauna provides tailored Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander courses, study support and cultural advice.

It supports students with reading, writing, job skills and more. It also celebrates and keeps Indigenous culture strong, offering diverse courses beyond vocational training.

These include art and cultural activities, empowering Indigenous communities, and preserving culture.

Collaborative design

The ACT Government partnered with Guida Mosely Brown Architects and Kaunitz Yeung to ensure the design for the centre was culturally appropriate.

This resulted in a series of co-design workshops with representatives from Yurauna and the First Nations community including Ngunnawal Elders.

The workshop outcomes have informed the design and ensured strong Connection with Country principles throughout.

BYCC Alliance, a First Nations controlled company, is the building contractor.

Opening in 2025

The new CIT Yurauna is due to open in late 2025. It will be ready to welcome teachers, students, community members and those passionate about preserving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

A smoking ceremony and official sod-turning have cleansed the site and marked the beginning of demolition and construction.

Part of a broader process

The new building is part of the broader CIT Woden Campus project.

It will feature the same smart technologies incorporated into the new Woden campus.

Find out more about the project on the Built for CBR website.

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Arrest – Aggravated assault – Alice Springs

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 38-year-old female for aggravated assault in Alice Springs this morning.

About 9:30am, police received reports of an aggravated assault on Gregory Terrace involving a 38-year-old female who allegedly assaulted her male partner by striking him to the rear of the head, rendering him unconscious.

Police allege the female continued to assault the male whilst he lay unconscious on the ground. A female victim who was with the male at the time was followed by the alleged offender along Hartley Street and was stabbed with a pair of scissors multiple times.

General duties members attended and apprehended the female a short distance away. St John Ambulance conveyed the injured male and female to Alice Springs Hospital for medical treatment.

Charges are expected to follow.

Investigations are ongoing and police urge anyone with information in relation to the incident to call police on 131 444 and reference job number P25115909. You can make anonymous reports via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Drug and Alcohol seizures – Yuelamu

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has served notices to appear in court to two women following seizures of alcohol and cannabis in a restricted remote community.

Last Thursday, police seized a traffickable quantity of cannabis, around 63 litres of alcohol and drug paraphernalia from two 30-year-old women following intel received.

The two women were charged with Bring liquor into a restricted area and Supplying a traffickable quantity of cannabis, they will appear in Yuendumu Local Court on 11 June 2025.

Southern Desert Division Senior Sergeant Conan Robertson said “We know all too well the devastating impacts of alcohol related harm in our remote communities and will continue to pro-actively target those intending to bring alcohol into restricted areas.”

“Thank you to the community who supported Police with information to stop this offending. It is important that we continue to work together to keep people safe.”

Anyone with information on the supply of alcohol or drugs into remote communities can call police on 131 444 or make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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UPDATE: Arrest – Aggravated Assault – Katherine

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has now arrested a 38-year-old male in relation to the aggravated assault in Katherine yesterday evening.

The man was arrested by members of the Katherine Criminal Investigation Branch just after 11:00am this morning after which he was taken into custody at Katherine Police Station.

Charges are yet to be laid.

Detectives continue to urge anyone who witnessed the incident to make contact on 131 444 or make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, and quote reference NTP2500043016.

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NT man charged over Territory’s largest ever ketamine importation

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

A Northern Territory man appeared in Darwin Local Court last Thursday after being charged with the alleged importation and possession of more than 4kg of ketamine.

It is believed to be the Northern Territory’s largest ketamine seizure.

The man, 32, who was arrested on Wednesday 23 April 2025, is due to face court again on 2 May 2025.

A Northern Territory Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (NT JOCTF) investigation began in April 2025, after Australian Border Force (ABF) members at Sydney Airport identified a consignment suspected of containing ketamine that arrived on a flight from Germany.

Investigators from NT JOCTF, which comprises of members from the Northern Territory Police Force, Australian Federal Police, ABF and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), replaced the illicit drugs – which were disguised in several sports energy drink and protein bar packages – with an inert substance.

After retrieving the crystallised ketamine from the packages, officers determined the estimated weight of the illicit drugs to be 4.08kg. This amount of ketamine has an estimated street value of $800,000.

The parcel was then delivered to its intended address in Zuccoli, near Darwin, where officers allegedly observed a man signing and taking possession of the delivery.

NT JOCFT investigators then executed a search warrant at the property and arrested the man.

During the search, officers allegedly located the opened parcel containing the substituted illicit drugs.

The man, 32, was charged with the following offences:

  • One count of importing a commercial quantity of ketamine, contrary to section 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
  • One count of possessing a dangerous drug, contrary to section 7(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1990 (NT); and
  • One count of supply a dangerous drug, contrary to section 5(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1990 (NT).

Each of these offences carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

NT Police Force Detective Superintendent Lee Morgan said, “This operation has resulted in the Northern Territory’s largest ever recorded ketamine seizure. 

“4 kilograms of Ketamine is 40,000 times the minimum commercial quantity and is estimated to be worth $800,000 when sold.

“This package was delivered from outside of the country and the NT Police Force reiterate that these drugs are manufactured in unregulated and unhygienic conditions, and anyone choosing to use them is gambling with their life. We will continue to work closely with our partner agencies to combat imports of illicit substances into the Northern Territory.”

AFP Superintendent Greg Davis said the AFP and its law enforcement, intelligence and border agency partners worked tirelessly to identify, target and disrupt criminal syndicates in their attempts to import and distribute illicit drugs into Australia.

“The AFP, together with our partners under the NT JOCTF have prevented ketamine from reaching Australian streets under this investigation,” Supt Davis said.

“Our investigators continue to work collaboratively to ensure Australia remains a hostile environment for criminal syndicates in order to prevent any form of illicit drugs from entering the Australian community and causing widespread harm.

“Ketamine specifically is a dangerous sedative; its dissociative effects block sensory brain signals and can cause memory loss, feelings of being detached from one’s body and the inability to perceive dangers.

“This operation should serve as a significant warning to transnational serious organised crime syndicates – the AFP and our partners remain one step ahead of your illicit activities and will ensure you are brought to justice.”

This is a joint media release between the Northern Territory Police Force, Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

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Call for Information – Recklessly Endanger Serious Harm – Alice Springs

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force is calling for information in relation to a serious assault in Alice Springs yesterday evening.

About 6.20pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report that a 41-year-old male had been assaulted with an edged weapon by an 18-year-old male at a residence in Larapinta.

The offender, who is well-known to the victim, has allegedly swung an axe toward the 41-year-old’s head who has then raised his arm to protect himself and suffered a deep laceration to his forearm as a result.

The offender has then left the scene of the incident with the victim’s ex-partner.

Northern Territory Police members arrived a short time after and provided the victim with first aid before St John Ambulance conveyed him to Alice Springs Hospital.

The offender remains outstanding and Police are urging anyone with information in relation to this incident to make contact on 131 444 and reference job number P25114821.  You can make anonymous reports via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

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Update: Call for witnesses – Aggravated Assault – Katherine

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has now arrested a 38-year-old male in relation to the aggravated assault in Katherine yesterday evening.

The man was arrested by members of the Katherine Criminal Investigation Branch just after 11:00am this morning after which he was taken into custody at Katherine Police Station.

Charges are yet to be laid.

Detectives continue to urge anyone who witnessed the incident to make contact on 131 444 or make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, and quote reference NTP2500043016.

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Arrests – Aggravated Robbery – Casuarina

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested 2 women in relation to an aggravated robbery that occurred at Casuarina last night.

At 10.27pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report from a security services company that a service station on Vanderlin Drive was being held up.

Casuarina General Duties officers attended the scene immediately and arrested 2 women aged 21 and 23 years old.

Earlier, the two women had been viewed by the service station employee attempting to steal a number of items.

When he confronted them the women allegedly threated him with edged weapons before he retreated behind the service counter and managed to lock the door.

The employee then opened the main doors to allow the offenders to exit the store where they proceeded to throw rocks and tools at the station window.

Soon after they were located and arrested and had in their possession a number of stolen items and edged weapons.

The offenders are in custody and are set to appear in Darwin Local Court on Monday, 28 April.