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Canberra Today 11°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Welsh / Liberated, Virginia lets her opinions run free

VIRGINIA Haussegger’s favourite day of the year is International Women’s Day. The director of the University of Canberra’s 50/50 by 2030 initiative says her new job affords her space to speak openly on women’s issues.

Mike Welsh
Mike Welsh.
The former Canberra ABC TV news anchor told an IWD gathering, including former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce and former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, that her role at the national broadcaster “became too difficult” as there “was an attitude that you were not to express personal opinions”.

Ms Haussegger said March 8 was “a moment to grab the opportunity to make a bit of noise and acknowledge the progress we’ve made”.

Hawker Tennis Centre courts… almost overgrown with weeds and strewn with rubbish. Photo Mike Welsh
THE courts on which Canberra tennis star Nick Kyrgios polished his early game have fallen into shameful disrepair. Established by professional player Todd Larkham’s family, the Hawker Tennis Centre’s courts are almost overgrown with weeds and strewn with rubbish with dilapidated out buildings covered with graffiti.

But the future of the site is back on the front burner with developers seeking discussions with the Friends of Hawker Village group. The complex is zoned “restricted access recreation” which saw a DA for a child-care centre lodged in 2016 knocked back by the ACT government.

KINGSTON Square was recently overtaken by the excitement and glamour of a film set. A day of shooting for the second series of the Foxtel drama “Secret City” took place at the Otis restaurant in Jardine Street. Filming for the political thriller, which stars Jacki Weaver and Marcus Graham, and features locals hired as extras, continues at several locations across Canberra until March 26.

CANBERRA bred AFLW trailblazer Bec Goddard has called for a blind selection process to eliminate gender bias in the league’s coaching ranks. Only two senior and four assistant coaching roles in the league are held by women.

Goddard, who coached the Adelaide Crows to the inaugural AFLW premiership, says gender should be taken out of the equation.

“I’d love to see a blind process where the name is taken off the CV and you therefore don’t know if the coach is male or female and you can see from their experience, it makes it a merit-based process if they’re good enough to get the job”.

ACT Senator Zed Seselja has finally conceded a small portion of his parliamentary perks. The Assistant Minister for Social Security and Multicultural Affairs is (along with all Canberra based MPs and senators) entitled to claim an allowance of $90 per sitting day “for meals and incidental expenses”.

Seselja will no longer claim the allowance after pocketing almost $13,000 since 2013. The allowance is not claimed by Katy Gallagher, Gai Brodtmann and Andrew Leigh although he has claimed it in the past.

ONE-time NRL bad boy Todd Carney may have another shot at the big time with the North Queensland Cowboys. The deal, yet to be ratified by the NRL integrity unit, would see him at his fourth NRL club. After a well-documented and controversial career the 2010 Dally M winner says: “I think I’ve become a better player, a smarter player. I definitely believe I can handle the NRL.”

MEANTIME, the Raiders have ditched AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” as their run-on theme, returning to the familiar sound of the club’s original song. The Green Machine composer Les Gock from the ‘70s glam-rock pop band Hush will be on hand to blow the Viking horn in round two.

THERE are fears an internal ACT Health investigation into bullying at Calvary Hospital, following the suicide of nurse Andrew Earl in 2017, will be a whitewash. Earl’s friends, who claim bullying contributed to his death, are concerned staff are not being made aware of the inquiry and are using social media to encourage anyone with a story to come forward, posting on Facebook: “The investigation will only make a difference to the bullying culture at Calvary if more people contribute.”

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Ian Meikle, editor

Mike Welsh

Mike Welsh

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