April (contrary to T.S. Eliot) was not the cruellest month Canberrans endured this year, but it began with a jolt for many of the ACT’s most disadvantaged people, as the Federal Government removed the fortnightly $100 Coronavirus Supplement. The ACT Council of Social Services feared people on JobSeeker would be pushed “deeper into poverty”.
Housing stress and rental prices soared. Everybody’s Home predicted homelessness would rise by 7.8% in the ACT this year, and housing stress by 23.7%; Domain revealed rental prices in the ACT were at an all-time high (and not the good sort Rita Coolidge sang about); and the ACT’s median house price was $927,577, almost 20% more than last year.
In happier news, Kat Reed, CEO of Women with Disabilities ACT, was named 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year for their work across community services and the arts, and their distinguished service to the LGBTIQ+ community.
Local Lego lovers Michael Ryan and Harrison Barnett appeared on hit TV show Lego Masters, representing the ACT and NSW. CW found out what inspired them to take a tilt at the title.
We went behind the scenes of the RSPCA shelter in Weston, where staff use “love and passion, spit and Blu Tack” to hold things together in ageing facilities. We also met RSPCA ACT long-term fundraiser Shanaika Perera and her dog Thor, who walked every day in May as part of the RSPCA Million Paws Walk to fight animal cruelty.
The Canberra National Zoo and Aquarium welcomed a baby zebra foal and four African painted dogs. Canberra Bushwalking Club celebrated its 60th birthday. And sky watchers headed to mountaintops to watch a pink supermoon.
More than 100 eucalypt trees, some older than the Australian War Memorial itself, were at risk of being cleared as proposed early works for the institution’s controversial $500 million redevelopment project. The Heritage Guardians held a gathering around the trees to draw attention to their proposed removal, tying red ribbons around them.
April was also a month for solemn reflection. Christians celebrated Easter, while the long weekend was also marked by chocolate egg hunts in Corin Forest, a folk music festival in Queanbeyan, and the first men’s AFL match at Manuka for almost two years. Muslims celebrated Ramadan; CW visited the Canberra Islamic Centre to hear how the holy month would be different this year. And Australians celebrated Anzac Day with the Dawn Service and National Ceremony at the War Memorial.
