June was bustin’ out all over – and so was COVID-19. Only not in the ACT just yet.
As the delta strain spread in NSW, Chief Minister Andrew Barr (opening a new Pfizer vaccination hub at the airport) declared the ACT faced its highest COVID-19 risk period for some time. The ACT Government shut its border to Greater Sydney, then made face masks mandatory for the first time.
Still, there was far more to June than the latest iteration of the plague. Canberrans again showed their compassion and courage, braving winter and discomfort to raise money for those in need.
Vinnies held its CEO sleepout at the National Arboretum; business, government, and community leaders gathered on one of the longest nights of the year to help change the lives of homeless Australians, and raised nearly $1 million. CW talked to dentist Dr Stephen Lising, who has raised more than $50,000 for the charity over the last six years. Pretending to beg for food, money, and shelter to protect children provided him with a glimpse of what more than 1,000 Canberrans face every day, he said.
Hardy souls celebrated the winter solstice by jumping naked into the icy waters of Lake Burley Griffin, a spiritually refreshing fundraiser for Lifeline’s Crisis Support Service. This year, a record 245 participants took the plunge, and raised more than $38,000.
In solidarity with Syrian refugee children, students and teachers at St John Paul II College in Nicholls ate like refugees for a week: a small amount of rice, beans, chickpeas, lentils, sardines, oil, and flour.
Rex’s first Melbourne to Canberra flight touched down at the airport after COVID-19 twice delayed its launch. Telstra Tower and the National Carillon glowed red to raise awareness of haemochromatosis (undiagnosed iron overload disorder). And Wintervention transformed the city centre into a family-friendly winter wonderland with ice skating, food, and market stalls.
In politics, the ACT Government announced electricity price hikes for Canberrans from 1 July – $195 more for an average household, $751 for small businesses – but the government said it would help 31,000 lower and fixed income households to pay their bills.
The government revamped its ChooseCBR scheme; it announced that $2 million worth of ChooseCBR discount vouchers were available for more than 560 businesses – then promptly suspended the scheme for a week when its website crashed. The government agreed to a full independent audit of the scheme (trialled at the end of 2020), following calls from the opposition to do so.
And more than 5,000 Canberrans were caught speeding in Civic’s new 40km zones.
The National Capital Authority gave the green light to early works for the controversial $500 million expansion of the Australian War Memorial. The works included excavation, the relocation of services, the removal of trees, and the demolition of award-winning, 20-year-old Anzac Hall. The Australian Institute of Architects was outraged, a spokesperson claiming: “Australia’s regulatory framework has failed Australians at every step of this abomination of an ‘assessment’ process.”
Finally, Bella the puppy won the public’s heart when she survived a fall from a fourth storey balcony onto a café table with a broken leg and minor fractures.
