I lean left and eavesdrop that sugary drinks dispensed in vending machines will be removed from all schools in Canberra. Good idea! Then it emerges there are only five schools which have these. Five!

And, I overhear that Shane Rattenbury has outlawed sow stalls and battery hens. Another good idea until you realise that neither currently exist in Canberra. None!

I keep my head down and hope that no one notices that my numberplate shows I come from such a big-thinking capital city, CBR – Comic Book Resource, no wait, Confident, Bold, Ready. Ready for what? A small town more suited to a local town council. Come on, aren’t there more meaningful issues to address?

Head down. No extolling CBR today.

Margaret Victor, Deakin

Thank you, shoppers

ALDI would like to thank all residents who helped donate funds to Barnardos Australia by purchasing a CD from ALDI’s Christmas range last year.

Together, ALDI shoppers have helped us to successfully raise over $140,000, which will help Barnardos to find real and permanent solutions for Australian children in desperate need.

Barnardos has over 100 programs and one of the programs for which the donation might be used is towards the Indigenous Learning Centre in Waterloo called Yurungai. The Barnardos Yurungai Learning Centre provides after-school educational support to 40 highly vulnerable children aged 5-12 years, in the inner Sydney area.

By providing high-quality educational services that employ indigenous staff who can be role models to the children, Barnardos works towards improving children’s retention rate and experiences of educational success. Although they are centred around education, they also incorporate nutritional education, social wellbeing, physical fitness, leadership skills and building self-esteem.

By purchasing the ALDI Christmas CDs, shoppers helped us go above and beyond. We were able to join forces to raise money and help fight the disadvantages that these children are suffering from.

ALDI Australia