Archive for the Gunsmoke 149 Category

– Gina Kingston – BeYouTifulStyle

With the advent of COVID-19 Australian’s have embraced online shopping to the extent that our letters are delivered less frequently so that more parcels can be delivered.

While on-lining shopping may assist with physical distancing, here are five reasons to don a mask, sanitise your hands and shop local; while physical distancing of course.

The first two are concerned with the limitations of online shopping, which the next three are reasons to stay local.

1. To know what you are getting
As an image and style consultant, I am all too aware of the difference between the online impressions and the reality when the final product arrives.

Colours can be faded, warmed, cooled or saturated so that you cannot tell the colour. Images can be enhanced, and design flaws hidden in online photographs.

You can’t tell how an item purchased online is going to feel. You don’t know if that beautiful blanket is going to be as soft as it looks, or how well that coffee cup will sit in the palm of your hand. Some things are better bought in person.

Take, for example, clothes. There are no standard sizes in clothes (and rightly so as we come in all different shapes and sizes) so getting a good fit requires trying things on in person.

While you can return online purchases, it isn’t a free solution. We pay for it with increased costs, more transportation emissions, and delays until we get what we were after.

2. Delays in overseas shipping
Many online purchases come from overseas. Due to reduced international flights, it can be hit and miss as to how quickly items from overseas are delivered.

The Australia Post website says, “There are still delays to all international destinations because of the impacts of COVID-19, including due to airline capacity and in-country delivery impacts”. My experience is that the same is true for items shipped from overseas.

If you want an item now, you are better buying local to make sure you get it in time.

3. To support local shops and keep jobs in Gungahlin
Gungahlin is coming of age as a community. Residents have invested time and effort to bring jobs to Gungahlin so that we don’t have to travel all over town to shop. We now have multiple supermarkets and department stores, a selection of boutique stores, and a variety of restaurants, hardware, pet and craft stores.

Shopping local helps keep the shops you buy from in business and with that local jobs. From the cafe where the workers spend their lunch or coffee break, to the local tax accountant, to the repairman who does odd jobs for the store, to the supply chain they use to source their goods.

As the ACT COVID-19 website says: “When you choose to support one local business, you are supporting the broader community”.

4. To minimise travel
Stage four restrictions in Melbourne required everyone to wear masks and shop within a 5km radius of their homes. While we are fortunate not to have this level of restrictions in place in Canberra at the moment, shopping local is a good habit.

It minimises travel, saves on petrol, and lets you get to know your local stores.

Shopping at your local Gungahlin supermarket, butcher and deli all assist with reducing the potential for transmission should COVID-19 reach Canberra again.

5. To grow our community
Finally, the most important reason for shopping local is to grow our community.

Going to the shops and supporting local business is not just about keeping jobs in Gungahlin, staying safe, or getting what you want when you want it, it is about keeping our community alive and growing. When we can’t travel to see friends and loved ones, being part of a community becomes more critical.

Shopping local lets you say hello to friends, smile at strangers, and generally, give yourself, and other people feel a sense of belonging.

It is these small things that will help us get through these unusual times.

As Helen Keller said: “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much”.

– Ralitsa Dimitrova

It has been a long time since the concept for building a Hindu temple (Mandir) with a large community facility in Gungahlin has been conceived. There have been long years of hard work, extensive public consultation, fundraising, and numerous volunteers devoting their time to the idea. Today I am pleased to introduce the person who brings many community groups together and provides the leadership throughout the different stages of the temple planning, Dr Krishna Nadimpalli OAM. Over the years Krishna’s social leadership qualities and devotion have inspired many volunteers in the process of uniting efforts to complete their mission Gungahlin to become the home of a remarkable Hindu temple.

Who is Dr Krishna Nadimpalli?
I am an environmental scientist by profession and a passionate community advocate by heart. I am the founder and leader of multiple community organisations including the Federation of Indian Associations of ACT (FINACT). In 2019 I was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for promoting multiculturalism in ACT. Over the years I have received multiple awards including the “ACT Multicultural Advocate of the Year” in 2015 and the “ACT Outstanding Volunteer of the Year” in 2017. I am also the initiator of the project for the construction of a Hindu temple in Gungahlin, in the suburb of Moncrieff.

How was the idea conceived?
The idea to have a temple in Gungahlin for the Hindu practitioners-residents was existing for a long time. Gungahlin is the fastest growing suburban area in Australia and is also a home to many multiethnic groups. Currently there are around five thousand Hindus living in the area. The idea to build a temple was picked up in 2014 by the Spiritual Master Shri Chandrabhanu Satpathy during his visit in Canberra.

When did the project commence?
The Canberra Hindu Mandir Incorporated was formally registered in May 2014. The first activity under this banner was to lodge an application with at that time Land Development Authority to identify and allocate the land. Many volunteers and trustees joined the project to raise funds and resources required for the facility construction, which will be built by the community and for the community.

What are the challenges faced during the different stages of this project?
The project has faced several challenges such as:

• The time period of six years taken for the identification of land during which it was a challenge to keep the community engaged.
• Community engagement and involvement in planning and fundraising activities
• Raising funds for building the entire temple. We have taken a staged approach to ensure we have enough funds for each phase with four phases in total.

What are the capacity and the amenities which the temple will offer to worshipers?
The temple is designed to focus on the social and physical environment and be in harmony with the surroundings. The facility will be built in compliance to the ACT Government Environment Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate guidelines and regulation.
It will be a hub for spiritual progression as well as practicing religious rituals aligned with the Hinduism principles based on Sanatana Dharma such as compassion, harmony, inclusiveness, respect and tolerance. In addition, there will be a community hall, canteen and a parking that can be used for different events such as weddings, community events, meditation, yoga, ethnic language and Vedic classes. The community hall will be open to all communities subject to terms and conditions of the facility. Its capacity will be 300 people while the shrine will accommodate 200 people. At any given time, the facility will have a capacity to host 500 people.
Providing free food to the homeless and the general community is a big part of the Hindu tradition. Therefore, free food will be served once a week to visitors from every community. The canteen will have a kitchen big enough to cook and serve food to 500 people.

When is the project expected to be completed?
The project was originally planned to commence in October 2020. However, due to the current situation the completion of the Development Application (DA) will significantly postpone our construction commencement.
Phase 1 of the project is expected to commence its construction activities late 2020 and to be completed by October 2021. Phase 1 will be focused on the central shrine dedicated to Shirdi Sai Baba, the kitchen and amenities. Phase 2 will see the completion of the shrine dedicated to Lord Siva and his family, while Phase 3 will complete the construction of the shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu and family. The entire temple is expected to be completed by 2026. The landscape and gardening will take place in parallel to each phase of the construction.

Will the temple be open for the general public visitors and people who would like to know more about the Hinduism as a religion and worshiping practice? 
The temple will be open to everyone who respects and follows the principles of Hinduism. In addition, the facility will have a library which will be open to the general public interested in the Hindu culture and way of life. There will be dance, music and language classes, meditation, yoga and spiritual discourses open to the communities with an inclination to learn about the Hinduism, its religious teaching and practices, or to do a research.

More than three years ago, in November 2016, the Gungahlin Community Council (GCC) raised these concerns with the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD) based on strong community feedback regarding the high-rise residential developments at the Western edge of the Town Centre including Geocon’s Infinity Towers and Mezzo, Ruby, Lumi, Jade, the Establishment and others. EPSDD acknowledged that the multiple high rise developments were inconsistent with the objectives of the Gungahlin Town Centre planning rules, and initiated the Gungahlin Town Centre Planning Refresh as a response.

• The scope of the Refresh was limited to
• building height and character,
• upgrading and enhancing public spaces and
• walking, cycling and road transport.

It undertook a range of community consultation processes, including an online survey, street stalls, dropins and a facilitated workshop. The results were published online, presented at GCC meetings and the Community Engagement report and subsequent Snapshot report captured the community’s views pretty well. However, one of the key recommendations in the Snapshot seemed at odds with the community’s feedback. The Snapshot itself states that currently for the Gungahlin East precinct:

Residential development is prohibited. This provision was put in place in response to significant community desire for more employment in the town centre in 2010.
The Gungahlin community has consistently consistently supported this position – 58% of residents indicated they wanted no more residential development in the town centre in the GCC’s 2019 Community Survey. Nevertheless, the Refresh recommendations for the Gungahlin East include:

• Remove the existing Territory Plan restriction on residential uses, which will allow mixed uses.

This recommendation was included in Draft Variation 364 (DV364) to the Territory Plan released in October 2019, along with other changes of significant concern to the GCC. Although the issues of building height have been addressed, arguably after the horse has bolted for the the developments in the western precinct, DV364:

• Proposes changing all of the Eastern precinct to mixed use (ie. predominantly residential)
• Removes references to the role and importance of the town centre
• Substantially reduces the amount of land reserved for commercial (office) use
• Changes how space for community facilities will be provided
• Removes references to the overall plan for transport infrastructure including roads, walking and cycling

The changes proposed in DV364 do not have the support of the GCC as they entrench the notion of Gungahlin as a dormitory district with a small employment base and limited services as detailed below. We have raised our concerns with EPSDD, the Planning minister Mick Gentleman, numerous media outlets and with Yerrabi MLA’s seeking the support of the ACT government to explore active mechanisms to develop/attract more commercial interest in Gungahlin.

EvoEnergy is investigating ways to convert the Natual Gas Infrastructure to renewable gas. Renewable gas comes from the conversion of organic waste to methane and hydrogen produced from renewable electricity. The investigation includes an experimental project at the Fyshwick CIT campus. Members of the ACT Energy Consumer Reference Council (ECRC) received a briefing and toured the facilities. The following are some questions and answers from the briefing.

Is there a website with more information?
www.futurefuelscrc.com has extensive background information.
Sign up to EvoEnergy portal and send your questions directly to Evoenergy.
portal.evoenergy.com.au

How important is Natural Gas to ACT consumers?
During the winter Natural Gas supplies two-thirds of the energy used by households in the ACT. Replacing gas with electricity would require an expensive upgrade of the electricity network and electricity is more expensive than using natural gas for heating.

Can the Natural Gas Network use gas from Renewable sources?
The test facility at Fyshwick is investigating whether the existing gas network can use hydrogen. The early indications are that the ACT gas network can handle hydrogen as most of the network is made from plastic pipes. The network can use 10% hydrogen without any change and can use methane from renewable sources without change.

Are there precedents for changing from one form of gas to another?
Before natural gas, the gas networks in Australian cities used town gas. Town gas was created from coal and has different properties compared to natural gas. The town gas networks were converted successfully.

Could households generate their own hydrogen for their own use?
They could but it would be more expensive and more dangerous. It would be better to install neighborhood or town conversion facilities and use the gas network to deliver the hydrogen.

What are some of the issues with using Hydrogen instead of natural gas?
Hydrogen is odourless and leaks are difficult to detect. However, hydrogen is lighter than air while natural gas is heavier and so leaking gas does not accumulate. Hydrogen can be mixed with methane that has an odour and so it is easier to detect leaks. When the gas consists of more than 10% hydrogen appliance burners have to be replaced or adjusted.

– Anke Maria Hoefer
Frog Watch Coordinator

While many activities are on hold at the moment, we still have plenty of options to keep ourselves busy and engaged. A great way of getting active is a walk – on your own or with a walking buddy keeping an appropriate distance – to your local wetland or creek. With a bit of luck, you will hear some frogs calling in their desire to find a mate, triggered by the recent rains. Many different frog species call Gungahlin their home and the Mulligans Flat area and the Forde Wetland are amongst the frog-hotspots in Canberra. Most other wetlands, ponds, dams and the beautiful Ginninderra Creek provide important habitat for our local frogs, which is much needed to support these amazing animals.

Similar to the human COV-19 Pandemic, frogs are threatened globally by a fungal skin disease, called chytridiomycosis, or chytrid fungus for short. In Australia alone, over 40 frog species have significantly declined over the past decades and 13 species have become extinct or are almost extinct. Scientists all around the world are studying the impact of the chytrid fungus and potential mitigation processes.

We as a community can help as well by minimizing any additional threats to our local frogs, creating and protecting good frog-habitat, and admiring these creatures from afar. Spotting a frog is not an easy task as they are mostly nocturnal = active at night, and very well camouflaged. However, hearing a frog is much easier, especially after dark, and can be done by anyone. And it is getting even better: each frog species has a different call! So, by learning the calls of your local frogs you will be able to identify the frogs that live in your local wetland/creek.

Now is the perfect time to get started. With the arrival of cooler temperatures and shorter days, the frog activities are winding down for winter, only to get back into full swing in late winter/early spring.

In the ACT we have only two frog species that call during the cold winter months .

1. the Common Eastern froglet (Crinia signifera), which sounds like crick-crick-crick, sometimes described as a ratchet, and

2. the Whistling Tree Frog (Litoria verreauxii) with its series of whistling sounds weeeee-weeeee-weeeee.

Once the warmer days return, one species after the other will re-emerge and start calling. When things are in full swing you might be able to hear up to eight species calling at a pond. We shall introduce these to you in due time.

The FrogWatch Program, run by the Ginninderra Catchment Group, teaches people how to identify frog species and how to help monitor these awesome creatures. The program runs an annual October FrogCensus across the Capital Region.

If you would like to become a FrogWatcher, please contact Anke Maria, the Frogwatch Coordinator (frogwatch@ginninderralandcare.org.au, 62783309)