Graffiti with rhyme, grannies under pressure, lady Raiders and prices going down! It’s another “Seven Days” in Canberra with IAN MEIKLE. 

THE Great Wall of Curtin, said to be the longest stone wall of its type in Canberra, has been sullied by graffiti… and a joke.

The stupid-head goblins have been out at night defacing the 650-metres of 20,000 hand-placed stones along Cotter Road with a burst of incomprehensible spray paint to the southern end of the handsome noise-prevention wall.

So I stopped for a closer look at the colourful mess that sends an ignorant middle finger to the workmanship and skill of the stonemasons. And there, amidst the ugliness, in orderly capital letters, is an affirmation of the academic quality of the ACT education system in a message that says: “STEEM CLEEN MEE”. 

The $1.2 million wall’s building in 2018 was subject to National Capital Authority approval because of Cotter Road’s proximity to Government House and its location on designated land.

Will that help to get it “cleened” off any quicker given it’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee? 

THE silent Housing Minister Yvette Berry was stung into public comment this past week at the accusation from the ACT Council of Social Service that Housing ACT was coercing long-term and mostly female tenants to attend do-or-die meetings with the directorate-appointed Tenant Relocation Exemption Panel that they hadn’t had time to prepare for. 

No, no, no, nothing of the kind. The minister said the invitation was made to 10 tenants who applied for an exemption to relocation early in the process and were simply offered an opportunity to meet with the Tenant Relocation Exemption Panel at the first available opportunity.

“However, these meetings will be ongoing and no one needs to attend a meeting this week if they don’t want to,” she said. But anyone objecting will have to show up and be judged at some point.

“These meetings are just an opportunity for tenants, and any support people they’d like to bring, to attend a meeting to discuss their needs and reasons for seeking an exemption to relocation to support their application if they wish to.”

ACTCOSS CEO Dr Emma Campbell said: “No information has been made available to tenants or the community sector as to the criteria for decision making; composition, qualification and independence of the panel; time period for the delivery of decisions; whether decisions can be appealed; and whether tenants can appear remotely.”

And that panel? Housing ACT says it “includes external representatives” and will “support decision making in a transparent and holistic manner”.

Transparent? Can’t wait to see that.  

PLEASING news in the Canberra Raiders being licensed to field one of four new clubs joining the NRL Women’s League next year.

The Raiders join the Cowboys, Sharks and Tigers in bringing a new team to the NRLW, which will see the competition expand to 10 teams.

Raiders CEO Don Furner said the inclusion of the Raiders in the NRLW was a very proud moment for the club.

“Having a team in the NRLW has been a huge focus for our club and now that we’ve been granted a licence, we look forward to providing a pathway for local female participants to play at the elite level.”

AS the stock exchange convulses and inflation runs faster than a Gungahlin tram (joke), there’s relief at the news residential water and sewerage rates are going to fall in the ACT this coming financial year. 

While the average drop of 50 cents a week is unlikely to curl many toes with excitement, the fact prices aren’t going up is the godsend.

This comes on the news earlier this month that electricity prices are also going to drop – by a measly 83 cents a week – but buoyed by relief they aren’t going up.

However, there will be no escaping the impending shock of the annual increase in ACT property rates. 

WHILE on the subject of saving money Barry Peffer, of Nicholls, wrote to say a friend of his has placed bubble wrap over her south-facing kitchen window and has noticed a beneficial difference in temperature.

He was writing to suggest we invite readers to share economical,  non-traditional ways of keeping warm in the especially cold winter weather.  

“It would be for the benefit of those people who can’t install adequate heating,” he says.

“This particularly applies to people renting or living in lower-rated EER dwellings. Any tips on how to reduce energy bills, I’m pretty confident, would be appreciated by all, especially with the cost of living rising so quickly at the moment.”

All ideas and tips welcome to editor@citynews.com.au

AND to close, a bon mot: Irony. The opposite of wrinkly. 

Ian Meikle is the editor of “CityNews” and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast” news and interview program, 2CC, 9am-noon.