Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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The ACT Government is investing $455,000 towards the implementation of the Canberra Region Local Food Strategy.

Part of the 2024–25 ACT Budget, this funding will help grow Canberra’s local food production sector.

The ACT is the first Australian state or territory to launch a plan to support and grow its local food system.

Funding for the first year of the Strategy’s implementation will deliver a Local Food Chain Infrastructure Study.

The study will explore opportunities to support small-medium sized local food producers in Canberra and the surrounding region who struggle to compete with larger commercial providers.

The study will focus on areas of food packaging, distribution, storage and networking. It will build on data from the Agriculture and Food in the ACT Study, currently underway.

It will also aim to reduce barriers for getting local food produce into local marketplaces and grocery stores.

Shaped by community feedback, the strategy will ultimately strengthen Canberrans’ access to healthy, affordable food.

Funding has also been provided to examine opportunities for using suitable ACT Government land to support local food production, and to help educate the community on how to grow food in the ACT.

The Canberra Region Local Food Strategy is available on the ACT Environment website.

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The ACT Government is investing in more health and community services in Gungahlin.

This includes building a new health centre for the growing region and taking the next steps on delivering a new ACTAS Ambulance and Fire station and indoor sports facility.

A new health centre in Casey

The 2024–25 ACT Budget will include funding for the design and construction of a new health centre in North Gungahlin.

The North Gungahlin Health Centre will be built on Kingsland Parade in Casey, conveniently close to the shopping centre and other facilities.

The centre will provide more free health services closer to where people need them, with easier access to preventative health services and treatment for chronic disease.

The centre will be staffed by a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals, including nurses and allied health workers.

This will continue to expand as the ACT Government recruits to grow Canberra’s frontline public health workforce.

The new centre will complement the territory’s existing network of nurse-led Walk-in Centres, community health centres and the hospital system.

More community facilities

The ACT Government is currently working through additional community uses for the remaining blocks on the 2.4-hectare site.

This includes an indoor sports facility to provide local residents, sporting groups and organisations with access to better amenities and state-of-the-art facilities.

It also includes a new ACTAS Ambulance and Fire Station, which will enhance response times to emergency incidents as the Gungahlin community grows.

Both these will be captured as part of the Estate Development Plan and the Subdivision Design Application to be completed through 2024–25.

The Government has already committed to a study on traffic and transport improvements surrounding the Casey Group Centre.

This work will also be considered in development processes as the ACT Government works with the community to design a precinct that suits the local community’s needs.

Share your thoughts

The community can now have their say on the design and future services of the North Gungahlin Health Centre.

Visit the YourSay Conversations website for survey details and dates for information sessions and pop-up stalls across Gungahlin.

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Improved skills, confidence and opportunities for friendship are key benefits of the ACT Women’s Return to Work Program.

The program offers a series of free workshops for Canberra women looking to return to the workforce after a long period away.

Whether the absence is due to parenting, an unexpected life event, or something else altogether, the program is ideal for women keen to brush up on skills required to begin working again.

The workshops provide skills and knowledge on:

• skill recognition and growth mindset
• creating professional resumes and cover letters
• interpreting job ads and applying for jobs
• online and government job applications
• job interview preparation and practice.

The workshops help women with skills and confidence on their journey  to obtain meaningful, ongoing employment, ultimately assisting them to achieve increased financial independence.

“I had a spinal fusion a couple of years ago, and I had been a registered nurse my whole life. Three years out of the workforce and I was just feeling overwhelmed and a colleague who has actually done the training, recommended it,” a previous attendee said.

“All the chatting, all the feedback, all the organisations, all the tips. There’s just been so much information shared in these four weeks, it’s worth its weight in gold.”

Registrations are open for the next Return to Work Program, which begins on Wednesday 31 July.

The workshop runs across four weeks. They will be held at the Nara Centre in the city, from 10am–2pm on the following days:

• Wednesday, 31 July
• Wednesday, 7 August
• Wednesday, 14 August
• Wednesday, 21 August

Attendees need to come to all four sessions. Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.

“You do meet these other women from every background, you can network you can continue growing that friendship,” another past attendee said.

“It’s a place where it’s very safe, it’s a place which is very friendly, it’s a place where you might surprise yourself.”

Registration for the workshops is essential.

Sign up by emailing csdrtw@act.gov.au

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Staff at Access Canberra Service Centres strive to help customers feel seen, supported and understood.

To help ensure this, Access Canberra is now a member of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative.

This aims to ensure Canberrans living with non-visible disabilities are better supported when visiting service centres.

Not all disabilities, conditions or chronic illnesses can be seen. The Hidden Disability Sunflower initiative encourages inclusivity, acceptance and understanding.

Hidden disabilities may be:

• neurological
• cognitive and neurodevelopmental
• physical
• visual
• auditory.

This also includes respiratory conditions, rare diseases and chronic conditions like diabetes or chronic pain.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative

The global Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative gives people a tool to share that they have a hidden disability – if they wish to do so.

They can opt to wear a sunflower lanyard or pin. This visual cue shows they might need extra help, understanding or time, without them having to ask.

All Access Canberra Service Centre staff have received Hidden Disabilities Sunflower training.

They also have their own sunflower supporter pins.

This shows customers with hidden disabilities that they have the awareness and training to support them when carrying out government transactions.

“By joining the Sunflower Initiative it’s another way for Access Canberra to show that ‘we see you, we value you and we want to service you in way that best works for you,’” Service Centre Operations Manager Paige Ryan said.

Staff now have a greater understanding of the types of disabilities and/or conditions people experience and how common these are in our community.

“This training also helps encourage our staff to continue to challenge our way of thinking when it comes to how we offer our help, support and guidance to those we service,” Paige said.

More support for Canberrans with neurodiversity

There will be a quiet hour each Wednesday at Access Canberra Service Centres.*

From 10am to 11am, service centre staff will help to facilitate a calmer, less stimulating space for customers to complete their transactions.

Where possible, service centres will have music turned down and mobile phones on silent.

“The aim is to create a less stimulating environment for one hour each week, which will help provide a more inclusive offering to our community,” Paige said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 30-40 per cent of the Australian population is neurodiverse.

*The Dickson service centre, which is appointment-only, will not offer the weekly quiet hour.

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyards and pins are available on the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower website.

Find Access Canberra Service Centre locations.

From 10am to 11am on Wednesday, service centre staff will help to facilitate a Quiet Hour at most service centres.

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Clement Chauvin, Head Chef and sole owner of Les Bistronomes, has taken out the Waste Minimisation Award at the 2024 Climate Choices Business Awards.

He has been acknowledged for his creative and community-minded sustainability initiatives.

The Awards recognise climate leaders in the business arena across eight categories.

Les Bistronomes was celebrated for making sustainable choices for everything from sourcing ingredients to disposing waste.

“It was wonderful to receive the award,” said Clement.

“As a chef, I’m aware that my produce comes from mother earth and the land we live on. It makes sense to be considerate of the earth that gives us the food that nurtures and feeds us all,” he said.

Some of the ideas Les Bistronomes was recognised for as part of the award came about during COVID.

“It was a difficult time, but it really created community around our restaurant, and led to some great ideas for sustainability and waste minimisation,” Clement said.

The idea to create a ‘green card’ came about from a woman who donated 80 kilograms of Jerusalem artichokes to Clement. She had an excess and didn’t know what to do with them.

“I wanted to repay her in some way, and that’s when the idea came,” he said.

“Local home growers in Canberra can bring in their raspberries, flowers, lemons, rhubarb or homegrown veggies in exchange for a 10 per cent discount at the restaurant.”

This initiative reduces food waste and grows community connection, as well as limiting food miles.

Les Bistronomes also gives growers food scraps for their compost.

This is a way of sequestering carbon and returning nutrients to the soil. Their approach is not only great for the business, but also gives back to the local community.

Clement has now established strong relationships with a number of locals who love growing fruits and vegetables and who regularly supply food for the restaurant.

“I now work with two local ladies, and we plan out crops so that the restaurant has a steady and seasonal supply of produce,” he said.

The Sustainable Business Program

Clement said the future for Les Bistronomes is to go all-electric and move to solar if he can.

He has reached out to the ACT Government’s Sustainable Business Program to help him.

The program has technical experts who can provide all ACT businesses with free advice on ways to improve their energy efficiency; including transitioning off gas with rebates of up to $10,000, installing solar panels and battery storage.

“The Sustainable Business Program helped me look at what options were available to improve sustainability, but from an infrastructure point of view,” Clement said.

“We’re looking to switch from gas to electric induction cooking and we’re investigating how we can use solar to offset electricity costs.”

Find out more about the Sustainable Business Program and the other Climate Choices Business Awards winners.

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The ACT Government will work with Telstra on a plan to redevelop and reopen Telstra Tower.

This will help reinstate it as an iconic Canberra visitor destination.

Features will likely include a café, retail space and observation deck.

It is too early to say if the tower’s renowned revolving restaurant will return.

Over the past two years, Telstra has carried out planning and engaged with the community about re-developing the building.

Telstra Tower has been part of the Canberra skyline for over 40 years.

The company recently approached the ACT Government to consider operating it as a visitor attraction.

“For many years it was a popular tourist attraction, and we believe this site can offer that again for Canberrans and visitors to our country’s capital,” Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said.

“Black Mountain also has ongoing cultural significance to the Ngunnawal people, and any new development of the Telstra Tower should also reflect and incorporate this as a key element.

“As a national telecommunications and infrastructure provider, Telstra does not have the expertise to develop or manage a tourist attraction, so we need a partner with the skills and local knowledge to help make that happen,” she said.

“That’s why we are pleased to be entering into a partnership with the ACT Government to leverage their local expertise in running world-class tourism venues, and hope this enables the Tower to once again be open to the public.”

The Government has signed a Letter of Intent with Telstra.

They will work together on commercial and financial arrangements before final decisions are made on the partnership.

Both will continue to engage with the Ngunnawal community and other families and stakeholders with an interest in the Tower, looking to incorporate local culture and stories.

Telstra has already begun working with national design firm Architectus to look at what a modern Telstra Tower may look like as a public venue.

“Our proposed design will respectfully acknowledge the significant stories of place and history bringing new life to this Canberra icon,” Architectus Principal, Sophie Cleland, said.

Design concepts: Architectus

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The ACT Government is continuing to invest in the nursing and midwifery workforce to support staff safety and wellbeing and improve patient care.

More than $86 million will be allocated in the 2024–25 ACT Budget to recruit more than 137 new full-time equivalent nurses and midwives.

Nurse-to-patient ratios

The ACT Government is committed to ensuring safe nurse and midwife to patient ratios – something the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has advocated for on behalf of its ACT members.

These are being implemented in a phased approach, with this investment supporting the Government’s commitment to implementing phase two of Mandated Minimum Nurse/Midwife-to-patient ratios.

Nurse and midwife to patient ratios are mandated minimum staffing levels.

These are necessary to support safe nursing and midwifery care and improve working conditions for nurses and midwives.

The implementation of phase two will see both minimum staffing levels on each ward and additional team leaders or support nurses and midwives.

This will ensure there are even more nurses and midwives across frontline hospital services and an appropriate skill mix on each shift to provide the best possible care for patients, including women and babies in maternity services.

In 2022, the ACT Government delivered the first phase of nurse-to-patient ratios across general medical and general surgical medical wards and acute aged care and mental health. This occurred through an investment of $50 million through the 2021–22 Budget.

Phase two ratios will be implemented across Canberra’s public hospitals and Clare Holland House, including:

• maternity services
• neonatal intensive care unit and special care nurseries
• critical care, including intensive care units and emergency departments
• perioperative areas
• subacute mental health units
• cancer services
• rehabilitation units
• palliative care services.

By including ratios across maternity services, including postnatal wards, the ACT will be the second jurisdiction in Australia to implement ratios that count the baby in the ratio as part of minimum staffing levels.

Further support for nurses and midwives

This investment follows the more than $21 million allocated in the mid-year Budget Review to support other elements of the proposed ACT Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Enterprise Agreement, which is currently being considered by public health system nurses and midwives.

This includes a $2000 education and development boost, an annual $750 professional development allowance, an increase in pay, and a comprehensive review of rostering in nursing and midwifery to improve work patterns and health and wellbeing.

This will help to ensure Canberra has a health workforce that is highly skilled and supported, to continue to deliver great care to the community.

The ACT Government will continue to invest in the nursing and midwifery workforce to ensure staff are supported to deliver the best care to the Canberra community.

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Applications are now open for the 2024–25 Community Garden Grants program.

This year’s Community Garden Grants program provides up to $100,000 in funding for projects that:

• build healthier communities
• demonstrate best-practice sustainability
• have strong community support.

Over the past nine years, the program has helped establish 87 community gardens across Canberra.

One of these is in Charnwood. There, local gardeners have shown how a community garden can offer refuge in a changing climate.

The group used their funding to build a shelter to protect gardeners in extreme weather events.

“In recent years, we’ve had a lot of hailstorms,” Charnwood Community Garden Convenor Teresa Rose said.

“One time, two gardeners got caught in a hailstorm and there wasn’t anywhere to shelter. They really got pelted. They were quite upset and very afraid. That’s when we decided to apply for a Community Garden Grant to construct a shelter.

“We were pleased to receive about $4,500 in Community Garden Grant funding. We got matched funding from the Canberra Organic Growers Society. We also matched the funding with nearly $5,000 raised by our gardeners at Bunnings barbecues,” she said.

Once they had finished, it was time for celebration. However, Teresa doesn’t think the shelter would be complete, without the grant.

“We wouldn’t have made that extra effort to go ‘okay, we’ve got the money from the government, now we’ve got to do it,’” she said.

Under the shelter, it is several degrees cooler than outside.

“People come down after a stressful day at work and come and dig in the garden. Even on a hot day you can come here and it’s so much cooler with all the grass and the gardens,” Teresa said.

The shelter now serves as a central meeting spot for Charnwood Community Garden committee meetings and community-building events. It also protects fresh produce from wilting in the sun and offers respite for gardeners during working bees.

Grant applications

This year, there is $100,000 of Community Garden Grant funding available, split across two streams.

• Stream One includes $40,000 (up to $8,000 per project) to fund minor improvements or expansion of existing gardens and establishing new, small low-impact gardens.
• Stream Two includes $60,000 (up to $30,000 per project) to establish new large-scale food production community gardens, and significant garden infrastructure to increase food production in existing gardens.

Not-for-profit community organisations, schools, churches and owners’ corporations are eligible to apply.

Community gardens have many benefits, including:

• creating opportunities for people to grow and consume local food
• offering a place for people to meet with others and connect with nature
• providing opportunities for movement and recreation
• helping people to develop skills and knowledge, and much more.

For more information, please visit the Community Garden Grants webpage.

Applications close 5:00pm on Thursday 11 July 2024.

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Eight local First Nations artists will receive a share in over $100,000 in funding to support their creative work.

The ACT Government’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts Program helps fund self-determined activities led by local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities.

Launched last year, it helps develop creative works that reflect Canberra’s culture and identity.

It also aims to help build artistic and cultural leadership.

Self-determined projects

Self-determined projects eligible for funding can include:

• creating arts and cultural works
• presenting or performing arts and cultural works
• artistic professional or skills development
• arts mentoring and artists’ residencies
• community arts and cultural development
• marketing and promotion of arts activities.

Among the recipients

Senior Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Violet Sheridan will receive $15,000 to write an autobiographical manuscript.

She will work with the support of a professional writer to draft Roots Reclaimed: A Journey of Identity, Family and Ngunnawal Heritage.

Aidan Hartshorn will receive $15,000 for glass mentorship. His work will focus on Walgalu Country and cultural objects for his project Water Futures.

Emma Laverty will receive $15,000 to explore cultural identity and collaboration through dance.

She will develop Project Dust, a cultural dance group performance.

“This grant will mean we can continue to provide pathways in the arts for our young people. Pathways that directly relate to our culture and link to building strength and confidence in our next generations,” Emma said.

“We can build on what we have developed and now open new doors, realising our dreams to be behind the theatre curtain and provide our first performance season to the community.”

Aunty Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng and Uncle Dr Paul Collis will receive $10,000 in funding.

This will help them carry out two community cultural development sessions on poetry writing.

They will also produce a showcase of poetry through performance at two venues.

Stronger partnerships

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts Program launched last year.

It is designed to empower, inspire and foster ACT First Nations creatives to pursue their art, explore their culture and present their works to the community.

The ACT Government is committed to building stronger partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

The program helps to do this through shared culture and arts practices.

“Opportunities such as these are unique and the positive flow-on effects to other aspects of our Project Dust community cannot be understated. We are building a confident and connected community that we are proud of,” Emma said.

“With the assistance of the ACT Government, we look forward to seeing our young mob reach new heights and further develop with our local arts community.”

Find details about the program and the other successful applicants on the artsACT website.

Senior Ngunnawal Elder,  Aunty Violet Sheridan, will use her funding to write Roots Reclaimed: A Journey of Identity, Family and Ngunnawal Heritage.

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