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HARD KNOCKS

■■■■■ ‘Clarko’ lends his voice

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More on Page 17.

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Straight from the heart♥ E-Mail: [email protected]

Mark Richardson

NIGHT OF NIGHTS IN MALVERN

■ It's funny to think the best part ofmy day only came to light just hoursbefore its close.

I am not a show- or a performance-reviewer, or in any way qualified tooffer professional comment about theproduction that made this day memo-rable; although I can present my expe-rience on the Malvern TheatrePorch.

As member of my local commu-nity who paid $20s to be entertained,my evening at the opening night of their324th major production - The Diary ofAnne Frank (by Frances Goodrichand Albert Hackett) turned out to bethe 'night of nights' I wasn't expecting.

My $20 included sweet sherry uponarrival, cake and coffee during inter-val, whilst supporting the passion andtheatrical dreams of 10 actors, 15 back-stage crew members and several frontof house operators.

Everyone involved works for two

CommunityPorch

Thoughts

months on a completely voluntary ba-sis to present audiences with, what Idiscovered to be a highly professional,engaging and memorable production.

The varying shades of lighting,timely and creative sound effects, thedetail of the set, props, costumes, mu-sic and storytelling by the actors drewme in, almost teleporting my red seatinto the hidden loft in Amsterdam in1942.

Anne remained in hiding for twoyears with her diary, family, friends, astranger and for a time a cat namedMouschi, during the Nazi occupationof the Netherlands until being appre-hended in 1944.

My emotions were rife with joltsof fear, sadness, disappointment, de-spair, loss, anger and for a moment,hope.

I felt part of their journey and drawnto each of the characters for differentreasons.

Their compelling artistry ignitedmy desire to meet and congratulatethe entire cast and crew following theshow to simply say; “Wow! That wasincredible, thank you.”

The President of the MalvernTheatre Company Inc. (estab-lished in 1966), Dina Mac-Namara, explained that many localtheatre companies are struggling tosurvive and heavily rely on ticketsales to pay their overheads.

Apart from the sherry and refresh-ments (thank you), companies alsohave to purchase the rights to scripts,music licences and have the latesttechnology and equipment to keep at-tracting talented cast and crew mem-bers to their productions; and to en-sure audiences keep returning.

Just like in my own backyard, Iam positive the same experiencesare being presented by companies inMt Waverley, Clayton, Will-iamstown, Essendon, Shepp-arton, Frankston, Bendigo,Warrnambool, Geelong and intheatres in between and far beyond.

The Diary of Anne Frank pre-sented by Malvern Theatre Com-pany runs until Saturday (May 4) fol-lowed by What The Butler Saw (byJoe Orton) Directed by MichaelCoe from June 21- July 6.www.malverntheatre.com.au

For a comprehensive listing ofAustralian and Victorian commu-nity theatre companies visitwww.dmoz.org or read CherylThreadgold’s local theatre reportweekly in the Melbourne Observer.

- Mark Richardson

PH

OTO

: IKO

N IM

AG

ES

Off The Porch Thought For The Day

Brian AmosProgram ConvenorRadio Eastern 98.1, Croydon Victoria"Amateur theatre as it was once known is nowanything but amateur. Non-professional theatreis a great evening of entertainment with manypluses for patrons. The selection of plays andmusicals are performed with high qualityDirectors, talented casts with stunning sets andlighting. With parking close to theatres, mostcompanies offering pre-show sherry, refresh-ments at interval and light supper after theshow. Plays are priced between $15 and $20 andmusicals from $30 to $50. Why pay more?"

●●●●● David Earl

●●●●● Freya Timmer-Arends

●●●●● Alison Campbell

Geoff Hickey (Director - TheDiary of Anne Frank)

As a Director working with themany talented actors thatMelbourne is fortunate to have,and actively participating as theyhone the skills of their craft, is thereward that has given rise to a longand fulfilling lifetime in theatre.

Freya Timmer-Arends(plays Anne Frank)

One of the best things about com-munity theatre is the wonderful en-vironment and atmosphere createdwhen working with people who arepassionate about theatre. Not for-getting to mention the numerousfriendships you make along the way.

Nick Jacquinot (plays PeterVan Daan)

Community theatre provides atremendous outlet for young actorslike myself to sharpen their skillsand engage with new material.Malvern Theatre is not just this,but also family.

Alison Campbell Rate(plays Mrs Frank)

Theatre groups like Malvernprovides me with opportunities tolearn and grow as an actor, to be partof a great variety of excellent pro-ductions, to refine my skills as aplaywright and make some lovelyfriendships.

Trevor Hanna (plays MrFrank)

Amateur theatre provides localresidents with the opportunity to en-joy live theatre at an affordable cost.

Productions are often of profes-sional quality and Malvern The-atre Company has an exceptionalrecord in this regard.

David Earl (Lighting De-signer)

Creating the lighting plot for anyshow combines the obvious neces-sity of illuminating the cast mem-bers sufficiently whilst creating asuitable mood.

Malvern is fortunate in havinga large computerised control deskand 80 odd spotlights so manychanges to the feel of the play arepossible.

●●●●● Inset: Nick Jaquinot. Main photo: Trevor Hanna

●●●●● Geoff Hickey. Photos: Kon Iatrou and Joanne Nguyen

City DeskThe hottest news about Melbourne’s A-listers

City Desk

Ozcar presentation for Gerry Ryan

What’s On In Melbourne★ The March Against Monsanto will be held on Saturday, May 25.

Melbourne’s rally will be held in front of the State Library at 2pm,advises Tova Britbart of Caulfield, phone 0451 173 101.

★ Exercise your mind, body and soul with free Qigong classes, 8am-9am, every Friday morning at Federation Square.

●●●●● Molly Meldrum with Herald Sun Managing DirectorPeter Blunden at the OzCar presentation held on Wednesday

Melbourne Moments

Volunteer call■ The Starlight Children’s Foun-dation is making an urgent call formore than 5000 volunteers to supportits biggest annual fundraising day, Star-light Day on Friday (May 3)

Funds raised go will help Starlightcontinue to run programs like CaptainStarlight and the Starlight ExpressRooms, medical free havens givingsick kids an escape from the dailystress of hospital life.

Starlight CEO Louise Baxterhopes $1.5 million will be raised.

Those able to give some time to helpshould go to www.starlightday.org.au or phone 1300 727 827.

Simply cruising■ A Sydney radio broadcaster, JohnKerr, is seeking to recruit Victoriantravellers to join him on the CelebrityCruise Lines, Constellation on Au-gust 22 this year.

The 19-day $7895 twin share cruiseincludes 13 days/12 nights on the cruiseliner and sightseeing tours ofAmsterdam, Holland; Berlin,Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; St Pe-tersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Fin-land; Stockholm, Sweden;Copenhagen, Denmark and Paris,France, including a Moulin Rougedinner and show in Paris.

●●●●● John Kerr withKatherine Jenkins

Palace Of The End

●●●●● Hannah Norris

■ Hannah Norris (photographedby Sarh Walker) portrays anAmerican soldier in Palace Of TheEnd, at Theatre Works from June6-16.

March this year marked 10 yearssince the invasion of Iraq by the coa-lition forces and next month seesTheatre Works present the Aus-tralian premiere of JudithThompson’s critically acclaimedshow – a trio of monologues that tellthe stories of three people forever im-pacted by the war in Iraq.

Under The Clocks

The BuzzTea party time

HEY HEY!

●●●●● Daryl Somers and Anne Horiz

■ The Salvation Army is calling for volunteers to help with this year’s annualRed Shield Appeal doorknock weekend on Saturday-Sunday, May 25-26.

The Salvation Army help more than one million Australians in crisis ev-ery year – and now the Salvos needs support.

The Red Shield Appeal helps The Salvation Army provide more than100,000 meals and 5000 food vouchers to hungry people and 2000 beds for home-less people every week. The Salvos hope to mobilise 100,000 volunteers.

Dr Bruce Redman of The Salvation Army says there is a big need forcollectors this year. He says it is deeply disturbing to find that some people onlow incomes or government benefits may have just $50 a week to live on oncethey have paid their rent.

Dr Redman added: “Across Australia, our services are under significantpressure. We are seeing working mums and dads coming to our door who desper-ately need our help. All too often they are having to choose whether to pay bills orbuy food for their families.”

“It’s for this reason that we urge people to give up a small amount of time tolend a hand and to help make a world of difference. It is volunteers that are theheartbeat of The Salvation Army.”

The Salvos want to hear from individuals, businesses, local associations,schools and local community groups who could give a few hours of their timeacross the weekend.

To become a volunteer and get involved just call 13 SALVOS (13 72 58) orvisit www.salvationarmy.org.au

■ TV presenter and food writerAlana Lowes has joined thecountry’s biggest tea party as na-tional ambassador – helpingAustralia’s Biggest MorningTea celebrate 20 years this May.

The celebrity has joined the likesof Poh Ling Yeow, DominiqueRizzo and Matt Moran as a 2013ambassador, committed to makingevery cup count in the fight againstcancer.

One of Australia’s most popu-lar fundraising events, attractingover a million people every yearand raising $110 million in the lasttwo decades, Australia’s BiggestMorning Tea turns 20 this May23.

●●●●● Alana Lowes

Vale Jared

●●●●● Jared Sheldon

■ Former Triple M Melbourneand Joy 94.9 worker JaredSheldon, 28, has died in Thai-land.

He suffered several cardiac ar-rests at Paolo Memorial Hospi-tal in Bangkok, Thailand. Hisfuneral will be held in Melbourne.

ObserverMelbourne

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

●●●●● More on Page 75

●●●●● Gerry Ryan and movie director Simon Wincer

●●●●● Alan Johnson with Herald Sun reporter Luke Dennehy.

More photos on Page 77


Melbourne PeopleVIP performance of Legends Of The Skies

at the Australian National AviationMuseum, Moorabbin Airport.Photos: Malcolm Threadgold

●●●●● Australian National Aviation Museum's Chair ofCouncil, Graham Malcolm, with Mayor of Kingston, Cr

Ron Brownlees.

●●●●● 88.3 Southern FM's Terri Adams (left) andJoan Krutli from Golden Days Radio.

●●●●● Cameron McKenzie, grandson of aviatrix GertrudeMcKenzie, with Aviation Historical Society

Secretary Neil Follett.

●●●●● CEO of Moorabbin Airport, Paul Ferguson, withPresident of Beaumaris Theatre, Janine Chugg.

●●●●● Cr Tamsin Bearsley and Cathy Wilsonrepresenting Mark Dreyfus QC MP

●●●●● Frank McCulloch and Julie Herbertat the VIP performance night

●●●●● David Johnston with Judy Sullivan

●●●●● Noel Pullen (left) representing Simon Crean MP,Cr Rosemary West, and Secretary of the Australian

National Aviation Museum, Mark Pilkington.●●●●● Kingston historian Graham Whitehead

with Jeremy Keyt

●●●●● Co-writer/directors of Legends Of The Skies:Cheryl Threadgold and Jim Williams ●●●●● Derek Adams with historian John McCulloch

●●●●● The Williams family: Julie (wardrobeco-ordinator) and Carlyn (performer).

Photographer Malcolm Threadgold was atthe VIP performance of Legends Of The

Skies held at the Australian NationalAviation Museum at Moorabbin Airport

Latest NewsFlashes Around Victoria

ObserverMelbourne

In This 88-Page Edition

Mark Richardson: On the boards .................. Page 2City Desk: Latest A-Lister gossip .................. Page 3Melbourne People: In the picture ................. Page 6News: Telstra mix-up .................................. Page 7Di Rolle: ‘I love my job’ ................................ Page 8Melb. Confidential: The Bitch, Rumour Mill ... Page 9Long Shots: New ‘Never Argue’ column .... Page 10Yvonne Lawrence: Life and Style ............... Page 11Melb. Extra: The Outback Legend ............. Page 12Telstra Testimonials: Customer complaints .. Page 14Readers Club: Birthdays, recipes, fun ........ Page 74

It’s All About You!

Disqualified driving■ Surf Coast Councillor David Bell is backin his big red truck after a magistrate spared hislicence over his second driving while suspendedcharge, reports the Geelong Advertiser.

Jailed after stabbing■ Pamela Turner, 71, of Rushworth, hasbeen jailed after stabbing her estranged husband,because she wasn't invited to his birthday party.

Weather Forecast■ Today (Wed.). Shower or two. 10°-18°.■ Thursday. Morning shower or two. 12°-17°.■ Friday. Partly cloudy. 9°-17°.

Country CrossroadsThe Hunt, Mr RobertsLocal Theatre Latest

Mega Crossword

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 -

ObserverShowbizObserverShowbiz

35%INTEREST■ The Australian Securities and In-vestments Commission has issued aninfringement notice to Foresters Com-munity Finance Ltd (trading as FairFinance Australia) for what it allegedto be false or misleading advertising.

Fair Finance is alleged to have ad-vertised on its website in October last yearthat the effective annual interest rate oncertain loans was 19.95 per cent, whenthe interest rate under the relevant creditcontracts was in fact 35 per cent.

ASIC subsequently contacted Fair Fi-nance who removed the ad.

Fair Finance contended the ad wasa result of compliance failure.

“Accurate advertising, especially inproviding credit, is essential so consum-ers are not misled and put in a potentialsituation where they take on too much debtand are unable to repay,’ said ASIC Com-missioner Peter Kell.

Fair Finance paid a $6600 penalty onMarch 22.

Fair Finance’s payment of the in-fringement notice is not an admission ofa contravention of the ASIC Act.

ASIC can issue an infringement no-tice where it has reasonable grounds tobelieve a person has contravened certainconsumer protection laws.

Previous ASIC actions over potentiallyfalse and misleading ads included GEMoney changing personal loan onlineadvertising, RAMS changing advertis-ing in response to ASIC concerns; andHSBC changing home loan advertising

●●●●● Laura Green, Ellie Johnston, Steven Walker, Teisha Cohen and Julia Walkerrehearse for The Producers, being presented by JYM Theatre Company May 11-25at the Phoenix Theatre, Elwood. Photo: Des McMillan

Springtime For Hitler

■ JYM Theatre Company has chosen MelBrooks’s hilarious musical The Producers fortheir next show, to be presented May 11-25 atthe Phoenix Theatre, 101 Glenhuntly Rd,Elwood.

The story tells of a has-been Broadway pro-ducer and a young naïve accountant whostumbles across the notion that more money canbe made from backing a sure-fire flop than try-ing to produce a success.

With this, the two embark on a whirlwindtour of the crazy world of showbiz, finding theworst script, schmoozing the worst director, and

romancing scores of little old ladies to ‘invest’in the worst show ever made. They plan to bankthe investments and abscond to Brazil as soonas the play folds, but their plans unravel as theworst show of all time goes horribly right!

JYM Theatre Co. is Australia’s onlyJewish musical theatre company and is com-mitted to providing an outlet for aspiring ac-tors, singers, dancers and crew members, of-fering a broad range of on-stage and behind-the-scenes opportunities. Tickets: www.jymtheatre.com or 0402088 797. - Cheryl Threadgold

Mike McColl Jones

Top 5THE TOP 5

THINGS THAT

WILL NEVER HAPPEN5. Indian rugs for sale at the recommended retail price.4. Digging up time capsules that were buried years ago.

3. A shop closing down after a ‘Closing Down Sale’.2. A "Celebrity" TV show that actually features a Celebrity.

1. John Singleton to sit down for dinnerwith Tom Waterhouse dot com

DOUBLE PASSES

TO ‘LEGALLY

BLONDE’

ObserverMelbourne

READER COMPETITION

The Melbourne Observer has fivedouble passes to give away for the 1pmshow of Legally Blonde at the PrincessTheatre, 163 Spring St, Melbourne, onWednesday, May 15, 2013.Legally Blonde stars Lucy Durack, RobMills, Helen Dallimore, Erika Heynatzand Cameron Daddo.To enter, clip out the entry form, placein an envelope, and mail to LegallyBlonde Competition, PO Box 1278,Research, 3095, to reach us by firstmail, Monday, May 6, 2013. Winners’names will be published in theMelbourne Observer on May 8, 2013.Tickets will be mailed to winners.Our usual competition rules apply.

To: Legally Blonde CompetitionMelbourne ObserverPO Box 1278, Research 3093

Name: ..................................................................................

Address: ................................................................................

......................................... Postcode: ...............................................

Entries need toreach us by first mail

Mon., May 6, 2013

WIN!


PeopleMelbourne

Send news to [email protected] Fax: 1-800 231 312

●●●●● 3AW’s Denis Walter interviewed World War II vet-eran Jack Bell, 95, last week. The former prisoner-of-war told of his experiences in the 1939-45 conflicts.

‘Nelson and me’

Melbourne’s Rosa In SoCal

Positive vibes with Oprah

●●●●● Toorak woman Megan Castran caught up with her friend Oprah Winfrey, who isconducting a series of evenings in the US and Canada.

●●●●● Pictured at the Legend Of the Skies VIP performance at the Aviation Museum atMoorabbin Airport were Rita Crispin who portrays late aviatrix Gertrude McKenzie;Gertrude's grandson Cameron; and Maggie Morrison, who lives on the site ofGertrude's former home in Mordialloc. More pictures on Page 4.

Legends Of The Skies

POW talks on 3AW

●●●●● Zoe-Leone Gappy met with Melbourne theatricalidentity Frank Howson who is overseeing the produc-tion of Good Morning Hong Kong

●●●●● Marney McQueen’s character Rosa Waxoffski has been making friends at VeniceBeach, Southern California.

●●●●● Observer arts columnist Julie Houghton met withWelsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel ahead of his Mel-bourne appearances. Julie recorded an interview forher program on 3MBS-FM. See more on Page 75.

●●●●● Movie star Nelson Eddy was pictured with Observerreader Faye LaGalle in 1962. Kevin Trask traces theNelson Eddy story on Page 12.

Opening night■ Tonight (Wed.) sees theopening of of musical com-edy Mother, Wife and theComplicated Life at ChapelOff Chapel.

It is written by AmityDry who won Channel 9’sThe Block All Stars.

She begins her New Yorkseason in late July.

It will be part of the NYMusical Theatre Festivalpresents 30 productions cho-sen from thousands of showssubmitted globally.

The script and music forAmity’s four-woman musi-cal was submitted to theNew York Festival anony-mously and went through arigorous month-long selectionprocess before being chosen.

Tonnes oflaughs

■ The Melbourne Inter-national Comedy Festi-val Funny Tonne compe-tition results were announcedduring the 16th AnnualComedy FestivalAwards.

Nick Taras, 22, has bro-ken the 2011 record of 145shows by clocking up a totalof 147 shows.

When Taras accepted hisaward he said, “It's been anamazing month of non-stoplaughter and enjoyment, butto be honest, I'm so happy togo back to my normal, sadlife."

Being a funny tonner hasits pitfalls; Taras has beenliving off take-out and lim-ited sleep throughout the fes-tival.

However, he feels privi-leged having discoveredoriginal and naturally funnylocal comedians that he or-dinarily would not discover.

Funny Tonne is an an-nual competition created tosee just how many shows itis possible for one ‘comedynut’ to see throughout the fes-tival.

This year the threeFunny Tonne ‘nuts’ all sur-passed the 100 show mark.Cathy Culliver came sec-ond place on 131 shows andJonathan Graham camein third place on 125 shows.

●●●●● Nick Taras

MIX-UP FIX-UPObserver

Melbourne

Breaking Newswww.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Briefs

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 -

●●●●● Alana Kiely as Charity in WilliamstownMusical Theatre Company’s production ofSweet Charity running from May 3-18.

Photo: Gavin D Andrew

■ Telstra customer Susan Campbell-Wright sayscalls to her family were wrongly directed to another fam-ily.

“Last month I moved to a housing estate where theowners corporation has decided that Telstra is the onlypermissible landline provider,” Susan told the Mel-bourne Observer.

“I’m not sure of the reasons or the legality, but we’rebehind a gate and we’re told we need a Telstra phone toactivate the gate (otherwise I wouldn’t need a land lineat all).

“I’ve been with Optus from day one so reluctantlytransferred to Telstra with a phone call on March 25.

“The Telstra operator sold me a home phone planand said that the phone would be connected at my newaddress on the day I moved in: March 28, by 10am.

“Since then I’ve rung them (12 times, counting today)to find out why I still have no phone and although they’repolite and helpful, they can’t say.

“They promise to connect it within a certain time frame(usually 48 hours although today it was ‘about May 6’)but nothing happens.

Complaint“I lodged a complaint with Telstra, explaining all the

contact I’d had with them, and that I believed that myphone was still connected at my old address from whatI’d been told in various calls.

“They responded after three days to say that my ac-count is active and that I should check my handset. Theyclearly hadn’t read my complaint, so at that point I lodgeda complaint with the Teleomunications IndustryOmbudsman.

“So it seems that Telstra has transferred our numberfrom our old address but not to our new address – some-how along the way it has been patched into someone else’sline and they’re receiving our calls.

“We rang faults and explained that Telstra is nowseriously inconveniencing two families (we can’t openthe gate and they’re getting baffling veteran car calls)but they said they can only book a technician to come out‘about May 6’ and that it’s not a priority case.

Problem solvedSusan contacted the Melbourne Observer office on

Friday, and we gave the challenge to James Howe,Telstra Media Relations/Corporate Afairs man.

The problem was fixed by late Monday afternoon.Mr Howe said: “We had technicians on site today

and it appears as though Ms Campbell-Wright’s faulthas been repaired.

“There was initially a delay with her order and whenwe went to work on it was discovered it was on a faultyline. A technician was needed to visit to replace somehardware but the upside is the service is now working.”

Sweet Charity

The Best of Melbourne Observationswith Matt Bissett-Johnson (Dec. 2010)

Media FlashMedia FlashMedia FlashMedia FlashMedia FlashInside news from TV, radio,

press and online

■ Do you ‘wanna have fun’? Williamstown Mu-sical Theatre Company is proudly presenting SweetCharity from May 3-18 at the Williamstown Me-chanics Institute, corner Melbourne Rd and ElectraSt, Williamstown.

Have you ever known a girl who wanted some-thing so badly, that she tried too hard to get it? MeetCharity, the girl who wants to be loved so much,she has lost sight of who she is.

Charity sings, dances, laughs and cries her waythrough romances with the ‘animal magnetism’ hero,the ‘ultra-chic continental’ hero, and the ‘impossible-to believe-but-he's-better-than-nothing’ type hero.

The wonderful musical numbers include BigSpender, If My Friends Could See Me Now, There’sGotta Be Something Better Than This, I’m A BrassBand and The Rhythm Of Life, plus dance routinessuch as Rich Man’s Frug, made famous by the 1969movie version starring Shirley MacLaine.

Co-director/choreographers are Narelle Bonniciand Samantha Heskett, with musical direction byDaniel Heskett.

Samantha Heskett says the reason people stillwant to hear Charity’s story is “Because we all wanta little bit of what Charity has got.

“Charity has the innocence of a child. She cansee the good in all people, even those who can’t seeit in themselves.”

Tickets: $32/$28. Bookings: www.wmtc/.org.auor 1300 881 545.

- Cheryl Threadgold

●●●●● Whatever happened to Jeanette Mac-Donald and Nelson Eddy? Kevin Trask hasthe story on Page 14.

Stars in love

Radiothon time■ Melbourne's gay-lesbian commu-nity radio station, Joy 94.9, will launchits annual week-long membership drivein June, kicking off its 2013 radiothontheme, ‘Joy To The World’ on airfrom Friday, May 31.

Prizes include a 2012 SuzukiSwift GLX Manual in Boost Blue,valued at $21,465.

Joy is 100 per cent reliant upon pub-lic contributions to stay on air, and witha 5 per cent increase on membershipsin 2012, the station hopes to exceed itsnumbers this year.

The station is powered by approxi-mately 250 volunteers each year. Thisincludes 130 presenters, 40 news read-ers, 30 producers and podcasters and a50 behind-the-scenes program supportand administration team.

The money raised during Joy's an-nual Radiothon determines its opera-tions for the ensuing 12 months.

Ballarat plant expands

■ The Age and The Australian Financial Review willsoon be printed at the Ballarat Courier plant. BallaratCouncil has fast-tracked a planning developmentpermit for a $15 million expansion of its Ballaratprinting centre.

The premises will nearly double in size. The workswill include a new reel store building, an existing reelstore expansion to provide for more publishing opera-tion space, a new workshop, compressor and servicerooms, and awning works.

Ain’t what it used to be

Makeup

■ Monash Galleryof Art will featureMake up: painted facesin contemporary pho-tography from May 3.

Some 38 works willbe exhibited by leadingcontemporary Austra-lian photographersEric Bridgeman,Bindi Cole, RayCook, Sandy Ed-wards, Siri Hayes,Owen Leong,Darren Sylvester,Nat Thomas andConcettina Inserra,Christian Thomp-son and Justene Wil-liams.

●●●●● George Calombaris

■ A gaggle of Age jour-nalists is keeping a tally onwho gets the most men-tions in one scribe’s col-umn in the circulation-compacted daily.

They say restaurateurGeorge Calombarisand Catholic irritator FrBob Maguire are at thetop of the 2013 leaders’board.

George, who hasGreek-Cypriot heritage,is doing well because itusually helps to be Italianto ensure a mention.

My Calombaris Rules

●●●●● Jonathan Holmes

■ Jonathan Holmes issoon to leave the post ofcompering ABC-TV’sMedia Watch.

He is due on May 16 todeliver the HenryMayer lecture in whichhe is expected to arguethat the program is nolonger, as it used to be, theonly effective check on themisdeeds of the Austra-lian media.

More than 30 namesappear in the ABC1program’s credits. Theshow runs for 15 mins atapprox. 9.15pm Mondays.

Discipline

■ A DandenongHospital registerednurse with 16 years ex-perience has been dis-ciplined for respondingto a violent risk.

The nurse was work-ing night shift in a se-cure section when hewas approached by aman who had breachedsecurity to gain entry tothe area.

The nurse and anearby doctor broughtthe man to the ground.Both the nurse and theman sustained injuriesduring the incident.

The AustralianNursing Federationhas called on manage-ment to withdraw itspunitive actions againstthe nurse.

Facebook quiz for cadets■ “What would the last person you ‘de-friended’ onFacebook say about you in three words?"

That is one of the 32 questions asked of candidatesfor News Limited journalist cadetships.

Candidates are asked to complete an 11-page docu-ment, and also file a 30-second video complete withvoiceover.

- Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013

DiTo

For with leading Melbournepublicist DI ROLLE

DALAI LAMA VISITS BRAYBROOK

●●●●● Kristin Chenoweth

■ His Holiness theDalai Lama will begiving a one-day teach-ing at Quang MingTemple in Bray-brook on Wednesday,June 19.

Sharing his uniquemessage to loving kind-ness and to practise thegood heart, His Holi-ness will be teachingfrom two well-knownTibetan Buddhisttexts, the Eight VersesOf Mind Training andthe Heart Sutra.

These texts repre-sent what are called themethod and wisdom ofBuddhism.

The Eight Verses ofMind Training showsus how, through gener-ating compassion, lov-ing-kindness and altru-ism, we can transformour ordinary mind intoattaining enlighten-ment. This sounds goodto me.

The Heart Sutra is aconcise text that bringsout the essence or‘heart’ of the Budd-pha’s teachings.

It shows that throughthe gradual process ofcultivating wisdom, wecan develop our abilityto cut through delu-sions, and understandthe ultimate nature ofthe way in which ‘I”and all phenomena ex-ists.

This is what isknown as wisdom andtogether with ‘method’it becomes the trium-phant seed of our last-ing happiness.

To get the basicBuddhist blueprint forhappiness in just oneday from one of theworld’s most eminentthinkers is amazing.

In India, teachingsby His Holiness oftenattracts hundreds ofthousands of attendees,so this is a rare oppor-tunity to hear him teachin what will be themost intimate setting ofhis Australian tour inJune this year in one ofMelbourne’s most

beautiful Buddhisttemples. You really canbe up close and per-sonal, as the total seat-ing capacity in the mainteaching hall is just1100 people, whilethere is space for 640people to watch pro-ceedings on a screen inthe Shrine Roomwithin the Temple.

Don’t miss this in-credible opportunity toexperience in personthe love, wisdom andcompassion of His Ho-liness.

Tickets for the daystart at $50, but bequick – the premiumreserve seating sec-tions are either sold outor selling fast.

For more informa-tion about the event, orto purchase tickets online, visit www.heartsutra2013.org,au

Good witch■ There is more excit-ing theatre news forMelbourne.

Set to cast a spellover Australia,Glinda the GoodWitch of the North,Kristin Chenoweth,is coming south for herAustralian debut inJune.

Presented by ArtsCentre Melbourne,

in association withAdelaide CabaretFestival, KristinChenoweth will taketo the stage at ArtsCentre Melbourne’sHamer Hall at 8pmWednesday, June 12,as part of a nationaltour.

Kristin Cheno-weth will enchant au-diences at this once-in-a-lifetime concert tra-versing opera, (she is awonderful operasinger) and the Broad-way classics that havemade her a star.

Once seen neverforgotten, KristinChenoweth will bestunning.

“I have never beento Australia and I amso looking forward to

it,” said Kristin, “Ihave heard about somany great places tovisit while I am thereand I am especiallylooking forward tomeeting my fans!

“I am bringing myparents on this tourwith me for their 50thwedding anniversary.

“They are so excitedto see Australia andlooking forward to theexperience!”

Best known on-stage for creating therole of Glinda in theoriginal Broadwayproduction of Wicked(2003), which tells theuntold story of theWitches of Oz,Kristin Chenowethis one of Broadway’smost celebrated stars.

Most recently, shestarred opposite SeanHayes from TV’sWill And Grace inthe Broadway revivalof Promises, Promises.to rave reviews.

Kristen Cheno-weth will perform witha live band led by mu-sical director Mary-Mitchell Campbelland directed by Rich-ard Jay-Alexander.

Arts CentreMelbourne, HamerHall, 8pm, WednesdayJune. 12.

It’s a must see.Tickets direct fromArts Centre, Mel-bourne www,.artscentremelbourne.com.au

Stop, smell the roses

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

■ The world seems to be getting crazier andcrazier each day. I find it mandatory to stopand smell the roses.

I remember once getting quite ‘antsy’ whena well-meaning friend said to me to “stop andsmell the roses” and I wondered what theywere talking about.

I was working like a whirling dervish andthought “Good heavens, what are they think-ing telling me to do that!”

As I work harder each day and realise verymuch so what it exactly means, I do make sureI do indeed ‘stop and smell the roses’.

It is almost paramount these days to sched-ule it into my diary.

I call it ‘Me Time’– even if it’s for half anhour to go for a walk, or take a break and havea coffee by myself and look around me.

Stopping and smelling the roses is the bestprescription and a gentle reminder to take afew minutes for myself each day.

It is a wonderful expression. I did a bit ofhomework on it, wondering what the originand meaning of ‘stop and smell the roses’ wasand where it came from.

It’s a cliché, I found out, from a wonderfularticle I read by a writer Angela Russell onYahoo.

A cliché that is widely used in the UnitedStates. Some believe it dates back 100 years;however there is no documentation supportingthe belief.

One particular reference suggested that itoriginated with an album released in the early1980s by Ringo Starr.

The album was called Stop And Smell TheRoses, however I feel the expression has beenaround much before Ringo recorded his al-bum.

One reference that Angela Russell found sug-gested that ‘stop and smell the roses’ was usedin a conversation between friends, one ofwhom had a beautiful rose garden.

The friend worked so diligently in the rosegarden that she did not take the time to enjoyher work.

Her friend gently reminded her to stop work-ing and experience the beauty she had created.

I for one will be making sure I make a regu-lar practice of stopping to smell the roses on adaily basis!

I love my job!I love my job!

●●●●● Ringo Starr stops andsmells the roses

●●●●● His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

Aussie religion■ A lot of people find happiness and peace ata game of football. I know my mother did. Shetold me in her later life that she always sawfootball as her religion.

Every Saturday her mother would take herto the football.

It wasn’t until later in life that she reflectedthat a lot of people felt the same way: thatpeople that worked hard, saw football as theirreligion and it gave them a peace and a senseof rejoicing and companionship.

I can understand that, so it is with that inmind I was very pleased to hear that DavidWilliamson’s The Club is coming back toThe Athenaeum for a season this month.

David Williamson wrote a wonderful sa-tirical play about football and follows the for-tunes of an Australian Rules football clubover the course of a season and explores theclashes between “human loyalties versus thematerialistic gain”.

The play follows the seismic shift from Aus-tralian spirit to Australian business.

Can the proudest club in the history ofAussie Rules football survive the back roomdramas and the boardroom brawls that are moreferocious than any on-field dust-up?

Football has never been played like this.Following Hit Productions’ phenomenallysuccessful tour of this seminal work in 2007-2008, one of the nation’s favourite actors, GoldLogie Award winner John Wood, returnsto the role of Jock for a brand new nationaltour.

The Club is a tale of greed and corruptionin the world of sport.

Denis Moore, who performed in the 2007-2008 tour, returns to the play as director.

Speaking about his forthcoming perfor-mance, John Wood says: “The Club is oneof the funniest Australian plays ever written.

“In my opinion it’s got the best first-act end-ing line of any play, Australian or otherwise.It makes absolutely certain the audience willbe back to see act two!” he added.

“Denis Moore and I performed togetherin the last tour, more importantly for me, Denisdirected A Stretch Of The Imagination (a 2009Hit tour).

“I love working with Denis as a directorand I’m really looking forward to working withhim on this. It’ll be great fun.”

The Club will be great, Thurs., May 16 at8pm. Fri May 17 at 11am and 8pm. Sat., May18, at 2pm and 8pm at the wonderful Ath-enaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Mel-bourne.

Bookings: 9650 1500 or Ticketek 132 849 orwww.ticketek.com.au - Groups and students1300 364 001.

●●●●● Peter Byrne appearsas Neil Diamond

Hot August Nights in Melbourne■ Neil Diamond is a nice man.It was so good to see him get upand donate royalties from his songSweet Caroline to Boston Char-ity OneFund.

Sweet Caroline, a top five hithas been played at every BostonRed Sox home game for morethan a decade.

The great man himself, NeilDiamond, got up and sang thesong at the Boston Red Sox gamelast week in front of a very sur-prised audience.

Sales skyrocketed after thebaseball anthem was performedlive and 19,000 copies walked outof the stores and royalties went intothe Boston charity.

Diamond tweeted, “Donatingthese royalties to #OneFund!”

The song has now become in-trinsic to the healing process fol-lowing the recent bombings.

Turn To Page 11

ConfidentialMelbourne

BitchMelbourne’s Secrets

Whispers

Rumour Mill

Hear It Here First

RATEPAYERS SLUGGED WITH$100,000 LAWYERS’ BILLS

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 -

E-Mail: [email protected]

Talk is cheap, gossip is priceless

■ Former Hobsons Bay MayorTony Briffa is believed to clockedup more than $100,000 in legal ex-penses in a case where he hasapologised.

Cr Briffa apologised after thecase made its way late last month tothe Victorian Civil and Admin-istrative Tribunal.

Cr Briffa was taken to a Coun-cillor Conduct Panel relating toemails he sent regarding then Mobilemployee Maureen Short.

The Panel found Cr Briffa hadbreached the councillors code of con-duct and ordered him to attend 12months counselling and apologise toMs Short.

“I am pleased the matter at VCAThas finally been resolved,” CrBriffa’s website says.

“As that resolution is based onconfidential terms I ask the media andcommunity to understand that I can’tdisclose or comment on them.

“I am happy with the outcome andthat it is now behind us.

“I again apologise for this matter.”Cr Briffa states: “In 2011 I was

the subject of a proceeding before aCouncillor Conduct Panel as a

Rafters

No stopping this Star

●●●●● Paul Thomas

●●●●● Cr Tony Briffa

To marry in New Zealand■ Cr Tony Briffa (pictured above) claims ‘inter-sex’ status, and has asked fellow Hobsons Bay Coun-cillors not to label as “him” or “her”.

“Public life and relationships are difficult when na-ture makes you both male and female, but I 'm notashamed of who I am,” Briffa says on Facebook.

Briffa has lauded the Kiwi move to approve gaymarriage: “I think my fiancee and I will be going toNew Zealand to marry later this year.”

Too talented for short time

■ M e l b o u r n eshowbiz reporterPeter Ford says thefinal episodes ofPacked To TheRafters have beenfilmed. He creditsthis news to actorFiona Spence.

To Court

■ Who remembers 'Black Saturday' 2009? In Yea,the internet was down for days, mobile coverage severelylimited.

When the many complaints were published, internetspeeds increased.

I was able to get a decent signal from my Telstramobile phone in places where there had been no signalbefore.

After the catastrophic event, these services fromTelstra returned to their original abominable state.

I read later that Telstra can supply these services,but don't because there is no competition and thereforeno reason to provide mobile coverage to isolated areas.

They can, they did, but they won't.Stuart Dean, Yea

PHONE COMPANYCHOPPED SERVICES

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

“The Panel found that I had en-gaged in misconduct and directed meto apologise to Ms MaureenShort. I accepted the outcome of thePanel process and did not appeal. Ialso made a written apology to MsShort. I regret that some of my state-ments following the Panel decisioncaused some people to doubt whetherI had genuinely accepted the outcomeof the Panel process and also causedthem to doubt whether my apologyto Ms Short was made in good faith.

“Those statements did not reflectthe principles I should have upheld.

“ I accept that, having regard tothe Panel's findings and to theCouncillor Conduct Principles,I should not have repeated after 25August 25, 2011 statements that hadbeen found by the Panel to be un-substantiated.

“I accept the Panel decision ofAugust 2011. Since the Panel deci-sion I have apologised twice to MsShort publicly on November 8, 20ll,and March 28, 2012. I again apologiseunreservedly to Ms Short for anyfurther offence or embarrassment Imay have caused to her. I regret myinappropriate behaviour and I believeI have learned from it. I promise touphold all of the Councillor Con-duct Principles in future.”

result of certain statements made byme about Ms Maureen Short.

“For personal reasons I did not at-tend the final hearing before thePanel. However I was representedby a representative who made sub-missions to the Panel on my behalf.

■ Experts full of gloomy predictions for print mediahave obviously forgotten to tell Melbourne publisherPaul Thomas.

The newspaper owner based at Pakenham con-tinues the expansion of his Star News Group.

In recent months, his company has expanded be-yond the Victorian border, with takeovers of TheArmidale Independent and Port Macquarie Indepen-dent titles in NSW, the Tweed Coast Weekly on theQueensland border, and the Southern Free Timesin Warwick Queensland.

The Thomas family interest in newspapers startedmore than a century ago with the Pakenham Gazette,which they continue publishing, along with withneighbouring titles at Berwick, Pakenham andDandenong.

For close to a decade, the Star News Group hasproduced titles at Footscray, Keilor, Werribee, andmore recently at Melton.

Former Victoria Police Communications Direc-tor Stephen Linnell signed on as Editor in the West.

The group tried titles in the northern suburbs butretreated from publishing at Whittlesea, Wallan,Hume, Thomastown and Bundoora.

Likewise, it had a crack at the classifieds marketwith Star Trader, after the demise of the MelbourneTrading Post but it too closed.

The Thomas family’s publishing company boughtthe Geelong Independent title, which also publisheswith Bellarine and Surf Coast editions.

It has a half-interest in the Yarra Valley News-papers group, which publishes five editions fromoffices at Mount Evelyn and Healesville.

The Star News Group also publishes the AlburyWodonga News Weekly.

The Vexnews website published by AndrewLanderyou commented that Star News Group hada bank loan of more than $7 million, and pondered onits future. That was four years ago - and the StarGroup seems to be expanding just fine.

FILE IMAGE

Vic. groups lose status■ A Number of Victorian associations are set to losetheir incorporated status, advises Deputy Registrar DavidBetts: Marilen Centre for Unity Foundation Inc.; NorthEast Expo & Leisure Show Inc.; Forefront MinistriesInc.; Short & Sweet (Victoria) Inc.; Korean CommunitySoccer League Inc.; Melbourne University Horse RidingClub Inc.; Agelidis Foundation Inc.; Ararat ChineseHeritage Society Inc.; Returned War Service VeteransCommunity Welfare Association Inc.; Kyneton & Dis-trict Heritage Association Inc.; Pink Poetry Inc.; Aus-tralia-Wuhan Business Association Inc.; AlbatrossGerman-Australian Club Inc.; Owners Corporation Net-work of Victoria Inc.; Wyndham Lodge Community AgedCare Inc.; Mission Impossible: (The Resource Centre)Inc.; Utes From The Bush Inc.; Lakes Entrance ArtWorkshop Inc.; Macedonian Performing Arts School“Bozilak” Inc.; Indigenous Community Golf (ICG) Inc.;and Mighty Khalsa Australia Inc.

●●●●● Turn To Page 12 ●●●●● Gina Rinehart

■ The Rumour Millhears that executives inGina Rinehart’s $20 bil-lion empire are keeping asharp eye on “the enemieswithin” ... the journalistsemployed by FairfaxMedia who are usingFairfax print and digitalspace to criticise MrsRinehart, Fairfax’slargest shareholder.

Do the critics thinktheir critical stance is sus-tainable? News flash!

On board■ Ross Maxtedhas been appointedto the Magis-trates' Court ofVictoria.

●●●●● Rebecca Gibney

■ Emotions are cer-tain to be triggeredwhen Kath Gann-away launches his-torian Peter Stan-ley’s Black SaturdayAt Steels Creek bookat 11am on Satur-day, May 11 at thelocal communitycentre.

By George■ Miner ClivePalmer wants to bePrime Minister.

His father,George Palmer,was founder of Mel-bourne radio sta-tion 3AK in 1931 atYerrin St, Balwyn.

■ Mater ChristiCollege has an11am appointment atRingwood Magis-trates’ Court onFriday, and is due toallege that a civildebt is owed byCindy Davies.

New book

OFF THE BUSES

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Contents of Court Lists are intended for information purposes only. The lists are extracted fromCourt Lists, as supplied to the public, by the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, often one week prior topublication date; for current Court lists, please contact the Court. Further details of cases areavailable at www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au The Melbourne Observer shall in no event acceptany liability for loss or damage suffered by any person or body due to information provided. Theinformation is provided on the basis that persons accessing it undertake responsibility for assess-ing the relevance and accuracy of its content. No inference of a party’s guilt or innocence shouldbe made by publication of their name as a defendant. Court schedules may be changed at anytime for any reason, including withdrawal of the action by the Plaintiff/Applicant. E&OE.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT COURT REPORTS

Thought For The Week■ “I figure you have the same chance of winning thelottery whether you play or not.” - Fran Lebowitz

Observer Curmudgeon■ “Love is the delightful interval between meeting a beau-tiful girl and discovering that she looks like a haddock.”

- John Barrymore

Text For The Week■ “"Woe to him who builds his house without righteous-ness and his upper rooms without justice, who uses hisneighbour’s services without pay and does not give himhis wages." - Jeremiah 22:13

ObserverTreasury

ObserverMelbourne

Ash On Wednesday

Long Shots

with Ash Long, Editor

[email protected]

“For the cause that lacks assistance,‘Gainst the wrongs that need resistance

For the future in the distance,And the good that we can do”

■ A couple of weeks ago,new Premier Dr DenisNapthine reminded Vic-torians about the impor-tance of buying ‘local’.

On Friday, Dr Nap-thine dumped Mel-bourne company Ven-tura Bus Lines in favourof the French company,Transdev.

Ventura was started in1924 as a one-man busi-ness at Box Hill byHarry Cornwall.

It grew to be a businesswith 2500 employees and1300 vehicles, carryingmore than 60 million pas-sengers across Mel-bourne each year.

Public TransportVictoria awarded the con-tract to operate 30 per centof the city's bus routes toFrench firm Transdevfor the next seven years,with an option to extend fora further three years.

Transdev is a formerlypart of the Veolia Group,which has links to theformer Connex railwayempire which was dumpedby the State Govern-ment.■ Melbourne BusLink has also beendumped in the changeover,expected to take placefrom August.

True blue

●●●●● Harry Cornwall, Ventura Bus Lines founder

The Melbourne Observer is printed by Streamline Press,155 Johnston St, Fitzroy, for the publisher, Ash Long, for

Local Media Pty Ltd, ABN 67 096 680 063, of theregistered office, 30 Glen Gully Road, Eltham,

Distributed by All Day Distribution.Responsibility for election and referendum comment is

accepted by the Editor, Ash Long.Copyright © 2013, Local Media Pty Ltd

(ACN 096 680 063).

Our Doors are Open!

To find out more about Freemasonry, howto become a member, attend upcomingpublic events, or to take a tour of the

Masonic Centre, please visitwww.freemasonsvic.net.au or 'Like' our

Facebook page, www.facebook.com/freemasonsvic for the most up to date

information.

Freemasons are men from all walks of life; many ofits members are or have been involved in the AustralianDefence Force.

It is reassuring to know that the legacy ofFreemasons who have paid the ultimate sacrificenever goes unnoticed or forgotten.

In almost all of the masonic buildings acrossVictoria there are honour rolls, showing the namesof Freemasons who belonged to a particular lodgeand the valiant service in which they conductedthemselves for their country.

After most campaigns there have been lodges like,Vietnam Veterans Memorial Lodge, United Service,Victorian Naval and Military Lodge, Lodge Liberation,Army Lodge and Memorial Lodge formed specificallyfor members who have returned home, to honourthe memory of the Freemasons, men and women whohave died in fighting for the freedom we enjoy today.

At the headquarters of Freemasons Victoria in EastMelbourne, they honour the memory of our servicemen and women with a Perfect Ashlar or Stone.

Laid by Past Grand Master Neville Smith in 1995it is to remind all who enter the Grand Lodge building,that we as Australians are thankful for the serviceand dedication from our service men and womenand their memory will always be respected andremembered by the Freemasons community.

"It's the spirit of this day that reminds me howlucky we are as a country, and how lucky I was toreturn safely from active service," says Justin White,Membership Manager at Freemasons Victoria.

"ANZAC Day brings the community together; itelevates mankind, while making them more human.It is one day where we can give thanks to thosecourageous men and women, to honour their unselfishacts of bravery and mateship," says Justin.

The ANZAC story continues this year with manythousands of Australians and New Zealanders makinga pilgrimage to the shores of Gallipoli where 2000ANZACs would die that first day on the beaches ofGallipoli, where more than 6500 would be killed orwounded by the end of the week in the trenches,gullies and ridges up to one kilometre inland, andwhere eight long months of bitter fighting wouldfollow.

More than 10,000 ANZACs would never returnhome to their loved ones.

Although their Gallipoli campaign would not resultin victory, the remarkable bravery and courage shownby the ANZACs during that time would long beremembered.

Stories such as their fierce attack at Lone Pinewhere they fought their way through the logs andmud in trenches and battled with their bare hands,and reports like that of the terrible attack at the Nekwhere wave upon wave of ANZACs charged the Turkishlines to their certain death, would be told forgenerations to come.

Against all odds, the ANZACs had shown they werea force to be reckoned with.

Their Aussie sense of humour while facing deathdaily and their bonds of mateship would later inspirenot only Australians, but people from all over theworld.

We will remember them.

At the going downof the sun

The Perfect Ashlar or Stone. Laid by PastGrand Master Neville Smith to

commemorate Victorian Freemasonswho served their country.

Privacy■ We received an unso-licited e-mail on FridayAustralian PrivacyCommissioner Timo-thy Pilgrim about Pri-vacy Awareness Week.

We adore the irony.

‘Never pick afight with a man

who buys inkby the barreland paper by

the ton.’

Wise words from Ben

●●●●● Benjamin Franklin

■ Our new column,Never Pick A Fight WithA Man Who Buys Ink ByThe Barrel And Paper ByThe Ton, has many fa-thers.

The quote has beenvariously credited toBobby Valentine(2012), William JGreener Jnr (1978),Mark Twain (1835-)and H L Mencken.

We point the credit to newspaper editor Ben-jamin Franklin (1706-1790). Then again, as USPresident Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is cred-ited as saying: “You can never trust anything you readon the internet.”

‘Watch AGL’, says Janette■ Observer readerJanette Paterson likesour Telstra Testimonialspage, which holds the na-tional communicationscorporation to account.

We are told that thepage is driving Telstranuts.

Janette says: “Welldone to the Observer for giving people the opportu-nity to voice their concerns, frustrations and issueswith Telstra. Can you start one for AGL too?”

Yes Janette. Line them all up.

Fairfax figures slide

●●●●● Garry Linnell

■ The Age newspaper isthumping that its conver-sion to a tabloid size re-sulted in a 3 per cent in-crease in sales, for Marchcompared with February.

The figure that you willnot hear is that Marchsales in 2013 are 4 percent down, comparedwith last year.

Fairfax Editorial direc-tor Garry Linnell said:“We couldn’t be happierwith how the new papershave been received.

“They continue to do well in surveys among bothour most loyal and occasional readers.”

Mumbrella said: “According to data released byFairfax on the afternoon before ANZAC Day, TheSydney Morning Herald’s combined Monday to Fri-day print and digital paid circulation was down by 17per cent in March compared to the same time a yearbefore.”

Multi-million $ problems

●●●●● Simone Semmens

■ ‘Barrel’ sometimesponders how people accu-mulate what seems to bewonderful wealth.

The benchmark for‘Barrel’ was when PrimeMinister Paul Keatingmade millions for sellinghis share in a piggery.

Another success storythat prods our curiosity isPR woman SimoneSemmens, who hadbought the 30-room Ed-zell House mansion at St Georges Rd, Toorak. Theproperty was repossessed in a Federal Police raid,over an alleged unpaid $10.6 million tax bill.

Simone had been hoping to sell another property,‘Rosecraddock’ at Caulfield North, for $15 mil.A $13.1 mil. buyer backed out, forcing the price to$10.6 mil. The cash was seized by Westpac.

●●●●● Loretta Smith(nee Johns)

■ Former 3AW reporterLoretta Smith (neeJohns) has handed in herresignation at Sky News... and is to become MediaManager at the CarltonFootball Club.

Congratulations to theBlues.

●●●●● Harry Beitzel hassome wonderfulANZAC Day memo-ries in his FootyWeek column on P84


ObserverMelbourne

Life & Style

Yvonne’s Column

with Yvonne Lawrence

[email protected]

■ I seem to have been been ensconced in frontof the television for days, and for once I don’thave a single regret at the cost of having Foxtelinstalled.

We’ve had it for a few years, and every nowand then we think we’ll cancel it.

But we don’t regret one cent after watchingthe saga of the terror of the Boston bombing un-fold right before our eyes as it happened on theother side of the world.

It took me back to the night of 9/11 when Pe-ter heard the tail end of Keith McGowan onovernight radio saying that the news breaking wasunbelievable and concerning something cata-strophic happening to a world famous building.

Peter immediately thought of London’s StPaul's Cathedral, Rome’s St.Peter’s Ba-silica or perhaps the Louvre in Paris.

He woke me and turned on the television inthe bedroom. We could hardly believe our eyes.

It was one of the New York’s iconic twin tow-ers imploding before us as we watched.

Suddenly, we saw another plane heading forthe other tower on its suicide mission to destroy.

Hate knows no bounds■ We watched in amazement and didn’t say aword to each other as the massive horror of thisact of terrorism was screened.

This was America for goodness sake. Thingslike this just don’t happen. But hate knows nobounds.

Once again, we almost became part of thedrama as the exploding bombs in Boston struckdown innocent spectators and marathon runnersas they approached the finishing line.

How on earth would the perpetrators of thisvile and cowardly act ever be located?

But they were. And so ended a futile act ofaggression.

I can’t imagine what hate in their hearts madethem think they were entitled to kill in the nameof religion, innocent fellow human beings.

Watched every minute■ My head was still reeling after watching thehunt for the killers and it seemed that I was feel-ing more emotion as I tuned in to watch theANZAC Day march and heard comments fromthose wonderful old diggers who were determinedto march despite their infirmities.

It was always a very sad day in our house be-cause my father died as a direct result of injurieshe received in the Second World War.

Peter and I used to brave the elements andattend the dawn service. But this year, I justcouldn’t make it.

We were there in spirit no less and watchedevery minute of the coverage.

Who could not be moved and shed a few tearsas the cameras panned over the faces of diggerstoo old to march, but with their mates in their heartevery step of the way?

Call to arms■ Peter’s grandfather used to be ready forANZAC Day a week early.

There were his boots to be brought to a mirrorshine. His medals got a real going over withBrasso or whatever he used.

Somehow his uniform, although skin tight man-aged with a little help from Nana’s needle andthread to cover his now ample girth.

He did have photographs to show us how talland slim he was when he went to war, singing nodoubt. He was so young.

After the march, Grandpa met up with hismates, and talked about the war as they consumedmore pints than was necessary.

Normally, nothing could get men to talk aboutthe horror that they endured and indeed saw, butsomething happens on ANZAC day.

It’s like a call to arms all over again, but in-stead of a call to war, it’s a call to recall the hor-rors of war in their own way.

Grandpa would arrive home full of the kin-dred spirit to be greeted by Nana with a disap-proving voice and look as she delivered the an-nual lecture.

What has the war in Afghanistan reallyachieved?

Fields of red poppies■ I heard a commentator say that he couldn’t

believe how incongruous it was to see fields ofred opium poppies flowering next to a killing field.

There were enough poppies in this one planta-tion to supply most of the opium to the world andkeep the underworld thriving.

That’s the futility of war.I went to Changi prison in Singapore and

was indeed fortunate to be permitted to see thechapel built by the Australian prisoners.

My microphone was not permitted, but theCommander of the prison escorted me and aswe sat in this hallowed building he would answermy questions.

Men suffered unspeakable torture at the handsof the Japanese but they still came to worship inthis tiny chapel.

Around the walls were dozens of framed mes-sages such as 'in remembrance of my mateBluey’, or ‘Ken’ or ‘Stretch ‘ and so on.

I felt that I was not alone in the chapel, and thememory will live with me forever.

Heart burst with pride■ One of the things that I really enjoy whenwatching the march are the wonderful bands thatkeep the men in step.

But, there is nothing like the skerl of the bag-pipes to make my heart burst with pride.

And as the Last Post was played, and I dried afew tears, I was grateful that I could honour ourservicemen and women who did not return.

Vale Billie Karen■ I felt another touch of sadness when I readthat Billie Karen, a former 3AW personality,had died in Brisbane at aged 93.

Billie will hate that her age was revealed inthe paper because she guarded it jealously. Shesaid it was a state of mind, and she hadn’t reachedthe halfway years yet.

It was she and Mary Hardy who taught methat we should only ever have un-birthdays. I’vebeen having them ever since. So much so I candecide what age I am depending on my mood.

It does confuse those who keep records. But itdoes give them a laugh when I tell them I’m notsure, and why.

I loved and respected Billie. She was one ofa kind.

A great colleague and she always gave it toyou straight!

On the mark■ Billie had a wonderful sense of humour, andwhen the edicts came down from high, she al-ways had a caustic remark that would have usrolling on the floor. Mind you, it was usually righton the mark.

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 -

To go out to lunch with Billie and MaryHardy was a joyful event.

Billie always told it how it was. I wonder itshe was born under the sign of Sagittarius. Shetook no prisoners.

Bridge was her first love; much to the chagrinof her then husband Ormsby Wilkins.

But her talented children came first.There was no drama about her divorce. She

was very matter of fact, and there were no dis-cussions around the water cooler.

Billie came on air one day and said that shehad decided to wash her right arm first under theshower, and leave the left till last.

The experiment didn’t work she said becauseshe was conditioned to washing herself the otherway.

I think every woman in Melbourne tried it. Iknow I did. She was right. It didn’t work and youare all out of kilter for the rest of the day.

What a silly thing to remember her by whenthere was so much more. But that was Billie.

Heaven will be alive■ Billie would play bridge non-stop for ever, andshe was an excellent opponent. In fact, it wasthe game of bridge that took her away fromOrmsby into the arms of her second husband.

When Ormsby died, Billie arranged every-thing and invited a few friends to a small recep-tion after the funeral.

I am pleased to say that I was one and theafternoon will stay in my mind.

I loved Ormsby too, and I’m sure some ofhis talent with the written and spoken words rubbedoff on me.

I still recall that I didn’t know that he had died,and as I read the news of his death on air thatmorning, it was hard not to cry. I kept back thetears until after the bulletin.

Goodbye dear Billie.You and Ormsby will keep heaven alive with

your lively conversations.- Yvonne

Contact: Editor. Melbourne Observer,P.O. Box 1278, Research, 3095

ObserverMelbourne

News Briefs

■ Diamond’s impromptu visit to Boston’s FenwayPark was the Boston Red Sox first game since the in-cident that sent shockwaves through the beautiful city.

So it didn’t surprise me when I heard that the man him-self had acknowledged Peter Byrn, who is going topresent in Melbourne, a re-creation of the one of thegreatest live albums of all time.

Hot August Night was when he celebrates the legend-ary recording together with a world class 30-piece sym-phony orchestra.

It is over 40 years since Neil Diamond stepped onthe stage at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles with asymphony orchestra and recorded what is still known to-day as one of the greatest epic live albums of all time.

Now that album will be re-created in its original for-mat in a national tour by Peter Byrne and The Austra-lian Philharmonic Orchestra and The Sydney In-ternational Orchestra.

The show will tour through New South Wales,Victoria and Tasmania. Featuring classic songs CrunchyGranola Suite, Cherry Cherry, Sweet Caroline and I Am ISaid.

The audience will see the same spontaneous displayof energy and sensuality of Neil Diamond with the su-perb talents of Peter Byrne.

Swim star sues■ Grant Hackett is suing a sec-ond law firm, Nevile & Co, overwhat he says was a botched pre-nuptial agreement with wifeCandice Alley. He is also takingaction against Mullins Lawyers.

Howzat? Out! Peter’s capacity to recreate Neil Diamond to a stan-dard that Neil himself has endorsed on many occasionshearing Peter’s tribute.

“Thanks for the great tribute.” - Neil Diamond.It doesn’t get much better than that. Peter is a con-

summate performer. Each year Peter has thrilled audi-ences around Australia playing tributes to Hot AugustNight at many fabulous venues.

In 2010 he played to 4500 people at the Twilight AtTaronga series with electrifying performances.

Peter recreates every song from the album just as NeilDiamond recorded it.

Peter Byrne will perform Hot August Night: The Con-cert in Victoria at the Frankston Performing Arts Cen-tre, on Thursday, August 22. Tickets throughwww.artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au/WhatsOn/ orphone 9784 1060,.

He will perform at Geelong Performing Arts Cen-tre , on Friday, August 23. Tickets throughwww.gpac.org.au or phone 5224 1200.

Melbourne fans can see Peter at The Palms AtCrown on Saturday August 24. Tickets throughwww.crownmelbourne.com.au/events or phone 1300795 012.

- Di Rolle

Hot August Night●●●●● From Page 8

■ The Observer hears of bloodlettingat the Nine Network’s Wide World OfSports department. Executive Producerof Cricket, Graham Koos, left on Fri-day after almost 35 years.

Lesley Tapsall, EP of Sport, alsoresigned after 19 years. Will a big on-air name also follow?

It is rumoured that the Nine Net-work staff cutbacks will see theWWOS team reduced from 35 to 10.

Ken Sutcliffe seems safe. Heworks for the Nine News department.

●●●●● Grant Hackett

●●●●● Billie Karen

A TIME FOR FAREWELLS


■ I have no hesitation in saying that I am a hugefan of the films of Jeanette MacDonald andNelson Eddy.

They starred together in film operettas and overthe years their love for each other was the sub-ject of many articles in the press.

Jeanette MacDonald was born in Phila-delphia in 1903. She was the youngest of threedaughters.

Her eldest sister Edith became an actress alsoand was known as Blossom Rock - she is wellknown for her role as ‘Grandmama’ in TheAddams Family.

Jeanette learnt to sing and dance at an earlyage. In 1919 she began working in Broadwayshows and over the next 10 years gradually workedher way up to lead roles in musicals and plays.

Jeanette was cast in her first leading role inthe film The Love Parade in 1929 and her co-starwas Maurice Chevalier.

The two songs she sang in the film, DreamLover and March Of The Grenadiers, were re-corded by His Masters Voice and became verypopular throughout the world.

Jeanette was a very busy film star in the early1930s and made another three films oppositeMaurice Chevalier.

Nelson Eddy was born in Providence,Rhode Island, in 1901 and was two years olderthan Jeanette.

Nelson Eddy was an established opera singerbefore the young baritone was cast opposite

WhateverHappenedTo JeanetteMacDonaldand Nelson

EddyBy KevinTrask


for Rose Marie. The film was based on the stagemusical but their interpretation of the charactersand the song Indian Love Call, which hit one mil-lion sales in 1959, was just amazing.

They made another six films together Maytime,Sweethearts, Girl Of The Golden West, NewMoon, Bittersweet and I Married An Angel.

Jeanette married the famous actor and com-poser, Gene Raymond in 1937. In 1939, Nelsonmarried Ann Denitz Franklin and they estab-lished a home in Brentwood, California.

Jeanette left films in 1949 and concentratedon concert tours, radio appearances and record-ings.

Nelson and Jeanette both went their sepa-rate ways but did reunite for television shows in-cluding the This Is Your Life surprise show forJeanette.

Nelson Eddy toured with the singer GaleSherwood and came to Australia for four tours. In their first Australian show in 1962 the sea-son at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney was asell out and extended by two weeks. NelsonEddy also appeared at the Tivoli Theatre inMelbourne.

Jeanette had a weak heart and finally died in1965. On her deathbed Jeanette was half con-

scious and asked her husband Gene Raymondto rub her feet.

Gene knew that Nelson was the only one shewould ask to rub her feet and as she whisperedher final words "I love you", he knew that shethought it was Nelson in the room with her.

Gene whispered back, "I love you too" shesmiled and passed on at that moment. When Genetold Nelson what had happened he was inconsol-able. Such was the love they shared but for somereason they never married.

Nelson Eddy died of a cerebral hemorrhagein 1967 during his night club act at the Sans SouciHotel in Palm Beach, Florida.

There is a Jeanette MacDonald and NelsonEddy Appreciation Society in Melbourneand I had the great pleasure of being invited to apast meeting.

Most of the members have fond memories ofmeeting Nelson when he toured Australia andspoke of his kindness and attention to his fans.

Thank goodness we can still enjoy their filmsand recordings from the golden days of Holly-wood.

- Kevin TraskThe Time Tunnel - with Bruce & Phil-

Sundays at 8.20pm on 3AWThat's Entertainment - 96.5FM

Sundays at 12 Noon96.5FM is streaming on the internet.

To listen, go to www.innerfm.org.au andfollow the prompts.

HAVEN’T SEEN A DOCTOR IN 20 YEARS■ Usually it is Alice Springs' alco-holic antics which I can report on, butthis time it's good old Tennant.

Whenever I've driven through, I'll ad-mit that I do see lots of drinkers in parksand on lawns, but that's not too muchdifferent to the Alice Springs situa-tion.

However, every so often residentsof local outlying communities through-out the Territory are paid a lump sumof royalties from mining companies forthe ‘use’ of their land.

So, these individuals were awashwith cash last week, and descendedupon the Tennant Creek hotel.

Hundreds of drinkers were scatteredabout the town - "It was bedlam," onewitness reported.

"Cars could hardly drive round forfear of running someone over - there'sbeen a large amount of drunks and vio-lence with a huge amount of police,working double shifts."

And, to add to the excitement, ap-parently a ‘girl gang’ has been runningaround causing mayhem.

During all this other activity theygrabbed another girl and bashed andstripped her.

Just another minor incident for thepolice to deal with.

An eventful night in TennantCreek.

■ Those of us who are not of a svelteand willowy persuasion, who eye thesize of the trousers of our youth withwistfulness, know how Nicky Gallusfeels!

She weighed 212 kg, was sufferingfrom depression and had all but givenup on life.

She experienced a minor heart at-tack in her hairdresser's, and was tooembarrassed to seek assistance.

So, to bed that night, "waiting to die".However, when she awoke, she

found some renewed strength ("fromher deceased father"), and decided anew course of action lay before her.

So, it was a final feast of everythingshe loved to eat - how many times havewe heard that before. And have doneourselves. A quick scurry down to thechip shop for one last gorge.

However, she kept it up, lost 115 kg,no longer experiencing the verbal slingsand arrows and snide remarks from theun-obese.

So what's she doing now to celebrateand hopefully help others suffering thesame afflictions? She's walking fromAlice to Adelaide.

Lightning Ridge Opals175 Flinders Lane,

MelbournePhone 9654 4444www.opals.net.au

TheOutbackLegend

with Nick Le Souef

She's hoping to do this in sevenweeks to inspire others to overcome de-pression and obesity along the way.

Good on 'er!

■ With the year-long drama withteachers in Victoria, rolling strikes andother assorted industrial action, it'sstrange to hear of a group of teacherswho are willing and ready to take anactual cut in pay!

This is currently happening in theNT. When I was at Sorrento State,our teachers commanded our respect.

If we misbehaved there was a visitto Mr Holman's office; a quick tickleon the hand with the trusty strap for usboys.

Upon graduation to Rosebud High,‘Old Tom’ Hudson kept us all in fearwith his ‘six of the best’.

Not in our wildest dreams would wecontemplate any remonstration.

Not so these days!In remote Central Australia

teachers are so afraid of violence fromthe students that they are willing to ac-cept less pay to gain some protectionfor themselves!

Australian Education Union

NT President Matthew Greenwichsays that teachers are left to fend forthemselves.

"A safety team could fly in and of-fer counselling and teacher support af-ter serious assaults".

Teachers in Alice Springs and onremote communities are regularlykicked, head butted, pinched andpunched by students. Some of the per-petrators are pre-teens.

I was shocked to hear of this - I can'tbegin to imagine the home environmentthat these kids grow up in.

■ I wish I had found Cassandra aboutsix months ago.

About then my right leg began to se-verely pain me, almost to tears.

I've had more than a few mates whohave recently had hip replacements, andI vowed that this wasn't going to hap-pen to me.

I haven't been to a doctor for 20years, and wasn't about to start now,

Anything that's ever been wrongwith me in the past I've healed with‘alternatives’ and hocus pocus, and thiswasn't going to be any different.

So, with a fierce determination, Iembarked on a regime of everything Icould think of - Krill oil, exercise, rub-bing in various potions, and a heap ofmumbo-jumbo - eating yellow foods,mysterious massages, even a colonicirrigation!

Then, voila! - six months later, backto normal.

I hadn't at this stage heard ofCassandra Stewart's PurpleHouse in Alice, otherwise I probablywould have dived right into her magicjars and, who knows, I may have foundan instant cure!

She runs this traditional Aboriginalbush medicine centre, using productspicked from the Outback for her mix-tures.

She treats many dialysis patients whooften bring herbs with them when theycome into town for treatment on the ma-chines

A bit of soothing Outback balmmay have done just the trick, and savedme a pang of pain or two!

■ If a 15-year-old boy was fishing inthe Yarra at Templestowe, and wasnearly grabbed by a crocodile, a cer-tain degree of panic would result.

However just such a situation arosein Darwin last week in MillnerCreek, just south of the city.

Dylan Mortimer was untangling

his line when his best mate JoshuaCawthorne wandered up next to him,with his pit bull.

A croc must have been stalkingDylan, and when the dog jumped intothe water just behind him, it instantlyended up in the croc's jaws.

I don't like pit bulls much, but thereare better ways to go than beingdrowned in a crocodile's jaws.

Then there was Yoann Galeran,who decided to swim out and retrieve

his dinghy at about 8pm one eveningrecently in Gove Harbour.

A croc instantly grabbed his head andtried to drag him under. He managedto fight it off and get to the dinghy, butended up with bites and scratches onhis head and neck and shoulders, buthappily he survived.

A late evening swim around Dar-win - not a good idea!

- Nick Le Souef‘The Outback Legend’

●●●●● Tennant Creek

Jeanette MacDonald in their first film NaughtyMarietta in 1935. I

have heard a radio interview with Nelsonwhere he described the first time they met andher beauty "took his breath away".

Together they introduced songs such as Ah!Sweet Mystery of Life, I'm Falling In Love WithSomeone, Neath The Southern Moon and Tramp,Tramp, Tramp.

Naughty Marietta won an Oscar for sound re-cording and received an Oscar nomination forBest Picture.

The next film for Jeanette was San Fran-cisco with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracybut the public wanted more of the new singingteam and in 1936 Jeanette and Nelson reunited

Victorian associations lose status■ More Victorians associations soon to lose incorporated status are: TheBennelong Society Inc.; Probus Club of Numurkah Inc.;Camperdown Old Time Dance Club Inc.; Australian Aid AbroadInc.; Viva Fm Inc.; The Kahlia Wilson Inc.; Warrnambool QuiltersAssociation Inc.; Allegratay Inc.; Barwon Heads Art/Educative As-sociation Inc.; Music to Go! Inc.; Melbourne Mardi Gras GroupInc.; Timbarra Kindergarten Committee of Management Inc.; Haw-thorn Recreation Centre Squash Club Inc.; Greenhill Fly FishersClub Ararat Inc.; Swami Jagannath Hindu Centre of Australia Inc.;Stewarts Lane Kindergarten Inc.; Bendigo Anglican Diocesan His-torical Society Inc.; Croydon Baptist Church Inc.; Unison Associ-ated Inc.; The Ladies Probus Club of Box Hill Inc.; Boort T.O.W.NClub; Bellerive Adult Riding Club Inc.; Bariak Peace FoundationInc.; Courage Inc.; Bailey Park Eastmoor Cricket Club Inc.; Egyp-tian Television Group Inc.; Meniere’s Support Group of VictoriaInc.; Castlemaine Maryborough and District Poultry Club Inc.; andYarra Resident’s Coalition Inc.

●●●●● From Page 9

Emma Ayres tells Afghan music story■ ABC Classic FM presenter and musician Emma Ayres travelled toKabul earlier this year to teach viola at the Afghanistan National Insti-tute of Music in the lead up to their historic tour of the USA. Emma sharedher experience in this Music Makers feature aired last Sunday (April 28).

Between September 1996 and October 2001 you could hear no music inAfghanistan. Many musicians fled and those who stayed behind buried theirinstruments.

Dr. Ahmad Sarmast returned to his country in 2008 and set about re-building Afghanistan’s music education with the Afghanistan NationalInstitute of Music. Emma says: "In the time I was editing this documen-tary, 10 Afghan children were killed in a US air strike and the 25-year-oldUS diplomat, Anne Smedinghoff, was killed in a Taliban attack.”

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Victoria Pictorial Historic Photo Collection

●●●●● Collins St, west end. Circa 1956.●●●●● Russell Street, Melbourne. Circa 1956.

●●●●● Swanston Street, Melbourne

●●●●● Bourke St, from Parliament House steps ●●●●● Panorama from Flinders Street Station

●●●●● Elizabeth St, City. Circa 1955 ●●●●● Flinders Street, City

●●●●● Government House entrance gates


Put on hold

Communication■ Romany Smith asks Telstra:“Do you think it might be a good ideato notify residents when you plan tobe laying cable in theirneighbourhood from 10pm to 4am?”

Put on hold■ Anand Jayaraman said: “Cansomeone please advise of how to getin touch with a manager or genuinesupervisor?

“I have just been placed on mutedhold by Rik D608322 from "Bill-ing" who was most patronising andrude.

“I have over six hours of recordeddisgraceful customer service calls.

“I came so close to getting myissues resolved ... to only be passedon to Rik - who said " you can takeyour recordings to the TIO (Tele-communications Industry Om-budsman), they won't be able tohelp you".

“FYI - I am still on muted holdfor 23 minutes now ... to add to theother six hours of recordings.

“This is the kind of service andexperience that causes Telstra to notonly lose customers, but give them adisgraceful name.” Slow service

■ Lachlan Kidd said: “Your 4Gis slower than dial up and I won’t bepaying for Telstra’s screw-up re-garding You Tube downloading datathen having to buffer and re-down-load all over again.”

‘Over it’■ Sharon Eagles told Telstra:“Do the right thing and cancel thecontract. Over it.”

Breakdown■ Olivera La Torre said: “Isn'tamazing you can provide a worldclass 4G network but cannot retrievea call for the purposes of verifyingwhat your consultants say!”

Wait for an hour■ Michael Hoogland said: “HeyTelstra, I'm back ... just call a call-back from your Mumbai office,only to stay on the phone for anotherfreaking hour to be told the same thingthat I was told last Thursday night!

“Except now it’s apparently aTelstra computer glitch but you can'tfix it for another two weeks!

“Piss weak service guys, if youweren't the only phone carrier whereI live I'd be looking elsewhere now.”

No call backs■ Michael Rihma said: “I wrotesometime ago a(about) my three daycall back that took over three weeks.

“Someone did call me and saidthey will call me back as they neededto look into things further - guesswhat?

“Three weeks again later and nocall back, it was someone from yourcustomer complaints team. Pleaseassist.”

No connection■ David Bishop asked Telstra:“Just wondering do you guys do anywork? If so why has it taken 13 weeksand counting for us to still have nointernet?”

How long?

Got a complaint aboutTelstra? E-mail to editor@

melbourneobserver.com.auor mail to PO Box 1278,

Research, Vic 3095

Telstra TestimonialsSend your contribution to [email protected]

Weak serviceat Bittern

■ Rachel Rowe wrote: “Arethere problems with towersaround Bittern (MornintgtonPeninsula area)?

“(I) have noticed there hasbeen a big drop in reception qual-ity and black spots with drop outslately.

“The signal used to be excel-lent. I have an iphone5, hubbyhas iPhone 3GS, and we bothhave noticed it.

“What used to be near full sig-nal is now weak and sometimesno signal! Bit disappointed.

“Have been feeling like theMornington Peninsula is ne-glected by Telstra lately!

“We are with a Telstra whole-sale supplier internode and ourlandline has also just died. Thereis no dial tone (apparently remotetesting has shown no fault found)so we have had to organise a techwhich is scheduled but had to waitover a week!

“Pretty long time to wait es-pecially seeing as I'm a web de-signer and need the internet forwork.

“This is about the third orfourth time we have had a fault(other times have had static orweak dial tone, this is first for nodial tone).

“Getting frustrated as I feelcorners are being cut and thingsare just getting patched up insteadof properly fixed.”

Promises

These are all real stories. Customer ‘feedback’ sourced from Telstra’s 24/7 page on Facebook

■ Felipe Alexandre N. Santoswrote on Wednesay: “No phone lineand consequently no ADSL+ (nointernet) since Friday morning ... howmuch longer to have everythingfixed?”

No ‘log-in’■ Vanessa Kelly wrote: “Howmuch longer till I can log on. Havebeen trying for 24 hours now and keepgetting that you are experiencing tech-nical difficulties ... ??”

‘Very angry’■ Louise Starr wrote: “I calledyour number in concerns of a lostphone and requested for the phonedevice and sim to be blocked.

“However, since the call to someIndian woman who confirmed thatshe had blocked both the phone andSim

“I can still call my phone and itcontinues to ring and shows no signof the Sim or phone being blocked.

“I am going to be very angry if thephone was never blocked and thethieves take full advantage of myphone.

“Please tell me who I can actu-ally talk to for the phone to getblocked/locked.”

Supervisornot available

■ Anand Jayaraman contin-ues: “Having once representedTelstra many years ago, such ser-vice was unheard of.

“The consultant Rik, justpicked up and said he can't findthe supervisor and asking me tocall back.

“Such staff should not be incustomer contact, let alone work-ing for Telstra.

“I have lodged a complaintback on the March 23 and wasgiven a reference number, to onlybe told on April 17 that it was stillsitting there unassigned.

“After 5 years of being aTelstra customer and ex staff. Ireally don't have the energy forthis.

“Please help and advise whomcan actually help me and maywant to listen to my recordings'for coaching purpose'!

“Please note - I have told allconsultants and/or supervisors upfront that I am recording the calldue the extremely poor handlingof recent experience. I am guess-ing none of them believed me.

“Rik is now saying that his su-pervisor is in an executive meet-ing and he has been advised toschedule a call back. Please help!I am pulling my hair out!”

Stop billing me■ Jude Mulhuijsen wrote: “I can-celled my internet account on Feb-ruary 7 but am still getting invoiceseach month and would like it to bestopped and reimbursed.”

‘Unhelpful’■ Kalynda Madge said: “Everysingle day since we signed up, ourinternet service has been a joke.Internet cuts in and out every day.Please advise of a phone number thatwe can call to speak to someonehigher up about this matter. Your callcentre is extremely unhelpful.”

‘Defies belief’■ Lee Vallance wrote: “Justwant to put on here what an abso-lutely disgracefully service youhave provided to us this past fourweeks.

“We have recently movedhouse and all we wanted was totransfer our existing service to ournew place.

“I have lost count the amountof calls we have made to yourmany under trained and incompe-tent staff in the Philippines.

“One even told me, from Ma-nila, the reason for our problemswas because we live in a floodarea and its currently flooded.

“I stood here in glorious sun-shine and the safe knowledge thatwe have had no flood since Janu-ary.

“I then moved onto the Aus-tralian complaints branch whosetactic is to just promise you theservice will work tomorrow, dayafter day after day until you stopbothering them.

“Don't fob us off with prom-ises you have no intention of keep-ing!

“Then today to top it off youhad arranged a technician to visitfor the second time to check theline with yet another promise of itbeing fixed today, only for him notto show up at all with no courtesycall to warn us of the no show!

“Are Bigpond going to payfor the time off work I had todaywaiting in vain for him?

“When we called to ask whatwas going on, we were told he wastoo busy and can't make it todayand then to rub salt in the woundtold we have to wait another twoweeks to have him visit again!

“WTF ... how about ‘sorry youhad to take the day of work for ano show but he was really busytoday but we will get him to youtomorrow’!

“Why do I now have to waitfor another two weeks to get himhere?

“Is there just one guy servic-ing the Gladstone region? Is heon annual leave? It's the cherry onthe cake of an appalling serviceexperience from top to bottom.

“It’s 2013 and we have inBigpond the largest internet pro-vider in Australia and are a so-called technology power housewho are so bureaucratic andriddled with in-house politics andprocedures that you can not trans-fer a internet service from onephone line to another! Take a bow... you defy belief!”

ObserverMelbourne

●●●●● ‘Telstra testimonials’ is aweekly section of the Melb-ourne Observer, where wehold the national communi-cations company to account.

Australians are sick andtired of breakdowns, and apoor service attitude.

Every week we send acopy of the Melbourne Ob-server to David Thodey, CEOof Telstra, Locked Bag 5639,Melbourne, Vic 3001. He andhis staff are always welcometo comment on, and fix, thecomplaints

■ Declan Baker wrote: “HiTelstra. Is it your standard formto promise customers servicewithin three days, make them waitat home for four hours for a tech-nician that doesn’t arrive, callthem to say the technician hasn’tbeen and advise that the appoint-ment needs to be rescheduled forsome four weeks later?

“That’s exactly what you didto me today!”

●●●●● Declan Baker, aspictured on Facebook

Call answered

●●●●● James Howe■ Telstra Media Relationsstaffer James Howe made con-tact with the Observer:

“I saw the articles in lastweek’s Melbourne Observer andfirstly wanted to reach out andoffer assistance where possible.

“It certainly sounds like youhad a bad run and I apologise forthat, however I am happy to helpwith any problems you may have.

“It is sad to see the complaintsfrom customers of times wherewe have let them down.

“The directive from DavidThodey down has been one ofputting the customer at the cen-tre of everything we do.

“We know we have a historyof bureaucracy and to turn thisship will take some time.

“We are starting to see im-provements but, as evidenced bythe feedback from your readers,there is still much work to do.

“I am happy to follow up oncustomer issues if, through your-self, they are happy to providedetails.”

■ Aaron Luxmoore said: “On thephone for one hour and 14 minutes.(See pic)

“Passed on to five different apart-ments to try to find out why my SIMcard on my iPad wasn't working.

“You were sending my bill to anaddress from five years ago.

“And still the problem is not fixed!Not impressed at all.”

●●●●● Aaron Luxmoore waitedfor more than 1 hour, 14 mins


Melbourne Observer. 130501A. May 1, 2013. Part A. Pages 1-14

Documents

Transcript of Melbourne Observer. 130501A. May 1, 2013. Part A. Pages 1-14