Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The hub will feature a child and family services and other community services.
A new Community Services Hub will be built in Woden.
The proposed location is on Callam Street, opposite the new CIT Campus Woden and with easy access to public transport connections and public carparking.
The new Hub will centralise community and government services under one roof.
Currently, Woden Community Service operates from three buildings in the region. Canberrans need to travel between them for the services they require.
Bringing services together in one place will ensure residents can get the support they need, efficiently and effectively.
This new four-storey facility will also offer much needed community accessible spaces in the Woden Town Centre such as meeting rooms, a multi-purpose hall and workshop spaces.
Once complete, the Hub will be part of a revitalised Woden Town Centre.
The project will also create more jobs in the construction industry.
Construction is expected to commence in 2026–27.
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Equipd Allied Health will re-open an upgraded facility from August.
The Chifley Health and Wellbeing Hub will re-open to the community from 1 August 2024 with an extensive range of clinical services for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) community members.
From 1 September 2024, gym and wellbeing services will commence.
A new provider, Equipd Allied Health, will manage the upgraded facility.
Investing in a unique service
The ACT Government has invested over $470,000 towards new equipment and upgrades to the facility, with
$350,000 for a range of training, weights, strength and conditioning and wellness equipment
$123,000 for a new clinical treatment room, new carpet and all-purpose gym flooring and improvements to the facility.
Equipd Allied Health will provide dedicated services and comprehensive care and wellbeing to community members and wellbeing for people of all abilities.
Canberrans with health conditions or impairments, older people with chronic pain or requiring rehabilitation can rely on tailored allied health care to meet their needs.
Clinical services
Clinical services will be available for Hub members from 1 August 2024.
Services will be improved by:
a new clinical treatment room
new testing equipment
exercise and resistance training equipment for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) community members.
Gym services
Gym services will re-open from 1 September 2024.
These include member access to:
new cardiovascular training equipment
pin-loaded fixed weights and strength equipment
free weights
balance balls
yoga equipment and accessories.
Members can expect to see new and familiar faces among the staff.
Continuity for community
Equipd Allied Health aims to ensure there is continuity for previous members.
Future members can expect a modern, fit-for-purpose environment that supports their health and wellbeing.
“We are dedicated to supporting the most vulnerable members of our community and fostering genuine connections through compassionate care, professional excellence, and evidence-based practices,” Dylan Grubb of Equipd Allied Health said.
“Our number one goal as health professionals is managing risk in an exercise setting and we have clinical equipment coming that will ensure gold standard of care.”
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Sports to use the oval include rugby league, touch football, soccer and cricket.
New upgrades to the Melba Neighbourhood Oval pavilion and a new canteen are now complete. The upgrades will make playing and watching sport in West Belconnen a more comfortable experience.
The upgrades include:
heating in the changing rooms
privacy screens at the entry to the changing rooms
lighting
mirrors, vanities and shelves
toilet cubicles
an accessible toilet with a foldaway baby change table
power points adjacent to wet areas
lockable shower cubicles
hygiene disposal points
nonslip flooring.
Sports to use the oval include rugby league, touch football, soccer and cricket.
Spectators cheering on their team will also benefit with:
three new public toilets (two unisex and one accessible)
a new water refill station
bike racks
a new canteen featuring a digital art wrap highlighting some iconic Canberra images.
A barbecue area is also close by. It is securely caged off to allow storage and for groups to cook the traditional fundraiser brunches and lunches.
“These enhancements will significantly improve the experience for our players, volunteers and the entire community, fostering a more welcoming, inclusive and comfortable environment for everyone in our club,” Belconnen United Sharks Junior Rugby League Club President Matt Brown said.
“As all sports, including the great game of rugby league, look to continue to grow female participant numbers in community sports, having more dedicated change rooms enhances our ability to make everyone feel welcome, valued and respected as they engage in junior sports in large part thanks to our new and upgraded facilities.”
Cricket ACT is pleased to see the upgrade works completed.
“For cricket in the Territory to continue on its current nation-leading trajectory of growth, we need to ensure male and female players of all abilities are able to compete in the best possible facilities, and we’re excited to see what impact these and other facility improvements around the region will have on our great game,” Cricket ACT Territory Infrastructure Manager Lauren Coates said.
The Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund made possible through Cricket Australia. Cricket ACT also helped to contribute to the upgrades to the pavilion with $25,000.
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Kids IP Incubator recipients in Melbourne for the workshop this week.
Eight teams have been selected to take part in the Kids IP Incubator Initiative, an Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) and Screen Australia program for children’s content makers to develop Australian IP for digital platforms.
Following a competitive assessment process, a mixture of experienced and emerging creatives has been selected for a three-month program which kicks off this week with an in-person workshop at the ACTF offices in Melbourne.
Digital content strategist Nico Lockhart will lead the workshop, joined by investment managers from Screen Australia and development managers from the ACTF. Nico has a decade of experience in online content, formerly leading the digital content division of animation and production studio WildBrain. He is the co-founder of a new venture which develops YouTube-first IPs.
Australian children have more content available to them than ever before across a range of multiple platforms and screens. This initiative will provide insight into the rapidly changing kids’ content landscape and empower creators with information and strategies to deliver distinctive Australian content for digital platforms like YouTube, which requires unique strategies to engage with audiences.
ACTF CEO Jenny Buckland said, “As the child audience fragments and more and more children gravitate towards digital platforms, we need to ensure that quality programming made specifically for them reaches them wherever they are. This unique initiative will allow new and experienced practitioners to learn, experiment and develop fresh and innovative content that is specifically created for the platforms they are accessing it on, and keeps up with the ever-changing kids’ content landscape.”
Screen Australia Director of Narrative Content Louise Gough said,“As the ecosystem for children’s content continues to shift globally, it’s essential that we provide our creators with the support and resources to innovate and take full advantage of new platforms and opportunities to reach Australian children. The Kids IP Incubator Project is a fantastic way to help both emerging and experienced creatives refine their skills and develop bold, original Australian stories for Australian children. We’re excited to see the projects that will evolve from this initiative and look forward to their contribution to a vibrant and sustainable future for children’s content in Australia.”
Projects selected for the initiative are:
Bookstore Duck: Angus Woodiwiss, Celine Goetz, Patrick Egerton and Sophie Knoblanche
Moving Out – The Mini Series: David Smith and Bill Northcott
My Brother the Monkey King: Nicholas Lin and Aven Yap
Pit-Pats: Darcy Prendergast and Josie Mackerras
Proudfoot and Friends: Lucas Proudfoot, Ellenor Cox, John Armstrong, Mikalya Nicol, Georgie Bauman, Freddy Komp, Tim Shultz, Jenny Hanslow, Lauren Woods and Douglas Watkin
The Void Diner: Monique Mulcahy, Millie Holten and Caitlyn Staples
Weird Warden: Nicole Delprado and Grace Rein
Woolings: Liam O’Leary and Amanda Spagnolo
Following the workshop, participants will undertake fortnightly online masterclasses with thought leaders, companies and creators in the space to further develop their practice over the coming months. Teams will receive a grant of up to $20,000 to develop their projects during this phase. At the end of the three months, teams will formally pitch their projects to a panel of ACTF and Screen Australia representatives and be invited to apply for a second round of development funding.
ACTF Media Enquiries
Emma Field | [email protected]
Media enquiries
Maddie Walsh | Publicist
+ 61 2 8113 5915 | [email protected]
Jessica Parry | Senior Publicist (Mon, Tue, Thu)
+ 61 428 767 836 | [email protected]
All other general/non-media enquiries
Sydney + 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne + 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]
Woman, youth charged by Taskforce Raven during CBD patrol
Wednesday, 9 April 2025 – 11:56 am.
An 18-year-old woman and 17-year-old girl have been arrested following an incident in the Launceston CBD yesterday afternoon.
Members of Taskforce Raven were conducting routine patrols of the CBD at the time, and arrested the 18-year-old who was wanted in relation to outstanding shoplifting matters.
She was charged with five counts of stealing, unlawful possession of property believed to be stolen, and possessing and consuming liquor in a public place.
She will appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court at a later date.
The youth will be proceeded against by summons for possessing and consuming liquor in a public place.
Taskforce Raven is continuing to target recidivist offenders, including youth offenders, through routine patrols and proactive investigations.
Anyone with information should contact the taskforce on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au
Police investigate serious pedestrian crash in Hobart’s CBD
Wednesday, 9 April 2025 – 11:40 am.
Police are continuing to investigate a serious crash involving a pedestrian and a vehicle in Hobart’s CBD last night.Police and emergency services were called to the scene in Davey St near the intersection of Hunter St just before 8pm.Initial investigations suggest that a 75 year old man and a 73 year old woman were crossing the road just down from the traffic lights when the man was hit by a vehicle travelling along Davey St.Upon arrival, the man was provided with medical assistance and then taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital for further treatment. He remains in a critical condition.The woman was not physically injured but was taken to hospital as a precaution.Two lanes of Davey St were blocked for 2.5 hours while specialist resources including crash investigation and forensics attended the scene to carry out examinations.Police are calling for witnesses or anyone who has CCTV or dash cam footage to contact police on 131444.
Leadership during a bushfire is a complicated and multifaceted undertaking, something that CFA Goroke Group Officer Justin Batson came to understand firsthand this fire season.
Not only are you preoccupied with ensuring resources are where they need to be, trucks in position, crews supported and plans in place, you’re also carrying the weight of decisions that can affect an entire community.
In the early hours of 2 February, after a sudden wind change pushed the fast-moving Little Desert National Park bushfire toward the small community of Goroke in Victoria’s west, CFA Goroke Group Officer Justin Batson was forced to make an uncomfortable decision: Should we issue an emergency warning to leave immediately?
With conditions worsening and the fire’s behaviour becoming more erratic, Justin made the call.
“It was the first time I’d ever been asked to make that kind of call, and it was something I didn’t take lightly,” Justin said. But with the fire behaviour we were seeing, there was no question in my mind. We had to get people out.”
The fire had jumped containment lines and was moving quickly. Crews had trucks and fallback plans in place, but the risk to life was too high to not take action.
“We had plan A, B and C ready to go,” Justin said. “But we also knew if the fire broke through at the wrong time, we’d be dealing with houses under threat, maybe worse.
“If people left early, it meant we didn’t have to wonder who was still in the town, or where they were.
That knowledge changes everything for our firefighters and community reassurance.”
The decision was made, and the emergency warning was sent. To Justin’s relief, the community responded exactly as hoped.
“There was no pushback. People understood the risk and they trusted us. That’s not always the case during emergencies, and it made a huge difference.”
Knowing residents were safe allowed firefighters to focus entirely on asset protection and fire suppression.
“We were dealing with winds that changed without warning,” he added.
“The fire did things that didn’t make sense, it didn’t follow the usual patterns. There’s no rulebook for something like that.
“We’re all so thankful to CFA strike teams from across the state who assisted us, working in tough conditions, and to the local farmers and private units who did their bit too,” Justin said.
“It was a team effort, and everyone was doing what they could to protect their neighbours and stop the fire from escaping the desert. The work on the ground was huge.”
In the end, no lives were lost. No lived-in homes were destroyed. And while the nearby Little Desert Nature Lodge was sadly destroyed, the town was spared the worst.
“People thank us for the outcome, but I think the community deserves just as much credit,” Justin said.
“Their trust gave us the breathing room to do our job.”
“You don’t forget the weight of that call. You think about the elderly, the families, your own mates.
You’re asking people to leave their homes, maybe not knowing if they’ll have one to come back to. But when it’s life or death, you can’t afford to hesitate.”
In the days that followed, messages of thanks poured in, from handwritten notes by local schoolkids to homemade meals delivered to staging areas.
“If I had my time again, I’m sure we’d make the same call.
I didn’t want to issue the emergency warning. But I’m glad we did,” Justin said.
The City of Greater Bendigo is developing Environmental Management Plans for Kennington Reservoir, Riley Street, Ryalls Lane and Crusoe Reservoir and No. 7 Park Natural Reserves and is inviting the community to have input into the plans.
City of Greater Bendigo Climate Change and Environment Michelle Wyatt said the purpose of developing the plans is to establish a set of goals for the protection and enhancement of local biodiversity.
“The plans will identify the values and threats of each site and establish goals and actions aimed at enhancing environmental and passive recreation opportunities for the community,” Ms Wyatt said.
“The community has a wealth of knowledge of the flora, fauna and ecological communities and use many of the natural reserves we manage. Their feedback is important to help us understand how they use the sites, what is important to them and how the City can enhance the values and use of each site.”
Community engagement is currently underway to gather information on how the community uses the following reserves and their priorities for future management:
Crusoe Reservoir and No.7 Park (Big Hill) Home to Box-Ironbark forest, reservoirs, walking and cycling trails and abundant native flora and fauna, including 190 species of bird
Kennington Reservoir (Kennington) This site supports recovering Box-Ironbark forest and a reservoir which is home to three species of turtle, abundant birdlife and several fish, frog and mammal species
Ryalls Lane and Sheepwash Creek (Owl’s Roost Reserve) (Strathfieldsaye) This site encompasses parts of Sheepwash Creek and a number of smaller tributaries that support creekline grassy woodland and plains woodland vegetation communities. The Ryalls Lane site was a recent acquisition and is a popular roosting spot for the endangered Powerful Owl
Riley Street Natural Reserve (East Bendigo) This former quarry has been transformed into an important urban natural reserve, supporting threatened fish species and providing a haven for frogs, reptiles, mammals and birds. Formed tracks allow walking and nature watching
Residents can have their say on the City’s Let’s Talk website until 5pm on Friday May 9, 2025.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Prescribed hazard reduction burns in Hardy’s Range and Uriarra – Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
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Two prescribed hazard reduction burns in Hardy’s Range and Uriarra Station will commence today, subject to suitable weather and fuel moisture conditions.
The prescribed hazard reduction burns in Hardy’s Range and Uriarra Station are being conducted to reduce the fire hazard in the area.
Experienced ACT Parks and Conservation Service fire managers will conduct and oversee the burning operations. Every effort is made to conduct burns in weather conditions that will minimise the impact of smoke, but temporary smoke cover is possible and may be visible across parts of Canberra.
Fire crews will be on the ground monitoring and patrolling the prescribed burns to their conclusions.
Smoke, flame, and glowing embers may be seen at these sites, which is normal for these types of operations. The public are asked not to call emergency triple-zero unless they see any unattended fire.
Prescribed burns are an important part of the ACT’s annual Bushfire Operations Plan to enhance ecological quality, reduce the risk of bushfires and help keep Canberrans safe.
More information about prescribed hazard reduction burns is available on the Parks ACT website.