Articles by Suzanne Kiraly
Nigel Featherstone’s prose in The Beach Volcano is ample evidence of his literary writing skills. His mastery of nuance and clever character development techniques combine to drive the plot inexorably forward, and this novella is a compelling one, from beginning to end. You can (and probably will) read this in one or two sittings. The subtle nuances illuminate relationships that Canning has with both his family and significant others in his life. They give shape to his character.
Lockdown hits Red Hill Primary School’s 60th anniversary events but milestone still being marked | The RiotACT
Ian Bushnell 30 April 2020 29 April 2020 Red Hill Primary School historian Emma Campbell. Photo: Michelle Kroll. Events planned to celebrate Red Hill Primary School’s 60th anniversary have been cancelled due to COVID-19, the school’s P&C has announced. However, work is continuing on compiling a history of the school, and a souvenir magazine will be produced to mark the anniversary.
Celebrating Inspiring Women: International Women’s Day with Melita Pendergast
Better outcomes for children are at the heart of everything Melita Pendergast does. Photos: Supplied. Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the ACT Child Care Director of the Year, Melita Pendergast. Melita took top honours at the 2019 ACT Pedagogical Leadership Network’s Education and Care Awards. In the first of our ‘Inspiring People’ series, we speak with Melita about her journey and the women in her life who inspired her.
Bucking the trends: Finding Effective People will boost your business
Ian Lindgren and Dean Hill from Effective People. “We’re positioned to assist anyone seeking employment,” says Ian. Photos: Region Media. Whatâs the secret to running one of Canberraâs top recruitment companies? If you ask Ian Lindgren, who has owned recruitment agency Effective People alongside wife Maria since 2015, the answer may surprise you.
Principal busking his school’s way to Canberra for once-in-a-lifetime trip | The RiotACT
Greenvale State School principal and students are heading to the nation’s capital. Photos: Supplied. The thought of having to endure Canberra’s bitterly cold winter mornings is enough to deter most people from visiting the capital, but for a small bush school in Queensland, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime. Ten students and two teachers from two rural Queensland schools will touch down in Canberra on Sunday afternoon (18 August) for the first time.
Brindabella Christian College principal quits amid claims of chaos at school
Brindabella Christian College has lost its fifth principal in less than five years. File photo. Brindabella Christian College parents have described an “excruciating” standoff between the Board and the rest of the school community that’s resulted in the departure of the fifth school principal since long-serving head Elizabeth Hutton stepped down in tense circumstances in 2015.
Simon Winchester headlines dazzling Canberra Writers Festival program
Best-selling author Simon Winchester is one of the Canberra Writers Festival’s high profile guests. Photo: Supplied. Simon Winchester OBE has had a proper old fashioned buccaneering writer’s life. Expelled from school for blowing up the science laboratories, he joined a six-man sledding expedition to the East Greenland ice-cap and worked as a geologist in Uganda before deciding to become a journalist.
Bucking the trends: McIntyre Property
Col McIntyre, of McIntyre Property, says a set of solid principles holds his team in good stead. Photos: Supplied. The property market is crowded, with competition stiff and many jockeying for position, but that doesn’t phase Col McIntyre one little bit. You see, Col has the courage of his convictions and knows that he and his team operate with a set of solid principles that hold them in good stead.
Canberra mates kick global goal with Sponserve
Daniel Oyston and Mark Thompson of Sponserve. In three short years, two Canberra mates have taken their solution for managing sporting sponsorship contracts across much of the globe to help create the world’s biggest sports technology company. After launching in 2015, their Canberra-based sponsorship activation platform SponServe has been acquired by United States sports management company, KORE Software, a global leader in sponsorship and season ticket sales management.
Millhouse uses “good old capitalism” to do some good | The RiotACT
Millhouse Ventures founder Cindy Mitchell believes that doing good business can also do good. Photo: G Jacobs. There’s an odd belief that doing good and making money don’t go hand in hand. Cindy Mitchell doesn’t subscribe to that school of thought. The dynamic US-born businesswoman and founder of Millhouse Ventures is working flat out to help people to make money while changing the world for the better.
Bucking the trends in business – Ray White Canberra | The RiotACT
Ray White Directors left to right – Ben Faulks, Scott Jackson and Sam Faulks. Photos: Supplied. Like any business, it takes a certain amount of tenacity to open a real estate agency. But to open a real estate agency having never sold a house before – and with a business model that runs counter to industry norms – takes serious guts. That’s exactly what Ben Faulks did when he started Ray White Canberra (then Ray White Belconnen) with his brother Sam Faulks and Scott Jackson in 2010.
Canberra cyber-security firm Penten wins Telstra Business of the Year award
Canberra has made its mark as a centre of innovation at the Telstra National Business Awards in Melbourne on Thursday night (20 September), with two local businesses taking out two of the four awards, including the main prize. Cyber-security firm Penten was crowned 2018 Australian Business of the Year, while strategic design consultancy ThinkPlace won the Social Change Maker award. Penten also took out the Medium and Making waves award.
Business Chamber head is moving on
Canberra Business Chamber CEO Robyn Hendry is moving on after guiding the ACT peak business group for the past four years. With the Chamber moving into a new phase, Ms Hendry felt it was the right time to step away and pursue new opportunities. “I have enjoyed my time at Canberra Business Chamber immensely and am sad to be leaving,” Ms Hendry said. “The private sector in the ACT is flourishing and I am proud of the role the Chamber has played in creating a positive business environment in Canberra.
How well are ACT schools performing?
Hot on the heels of the Auditor General’s inquiry into the performance of ACT schools, the Australia Institute has released a new report that suggests that ACT schools in high socio-economic regions are performing poorly compared to similar schools across the country. This report raises further questions regarding whether or not we are doing the very best in relation to children and young people’s education in the Territory.
Bucking the trends in business – Monaro Screens | The RiotACT
One wonders how many public servants have dreamt of throwing in the towel and starting their own business. It might sound exciting but it is also risky and involves a lot of hard work, determination and luck. This is the tale behind what is now one of Canberra’s business success stories – Monaro Screens in Fyshwick.
Local leader: Hannah Gill mixing footy and property management at Independent Property Group
The morning I spoke to Hannah Gill she was blocked up with a Canberra cold, she’d had a couple of days working from home, keeping her germs quarantined, but her passion for her profession still shone through despite the coughs and runny nose. Hannah has worked at Independent Property Group (IPG) since 2008 and is currently the Managing Director of Property Management. “I am deeply passionate about improving the standards and reputation of the industry,” Hannah says.
An inclusive and diverse workforce is good for business | The RiotACT
The ACT has the highest labour force participation and the lowest unemployment rate for people with a disability in Australia. While these are statistics to be proud of, there is still a need to educate more businesses on the benefits of employing people with a disability and create more employment opportunities. Canberra Business Chamber, the ACT Inclusion Council and the ACT Government have partnered and developed the Inclusion in Employment Project.
Go Go Gadget listening device: admissible evidence or not?
“It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove in Court” – Jamie Foxx, Law Abiding Citizen (2009). When pursuing justice, many people do not consider that some of the evidence they know and hold to be true may not be admissible in legal proceedings. This distinction is not academic, as any argument in Court is only as strong as that which can be proven, which requires one’s evidence to actually be considered, at all, by the Court.
Harvesting Smart Seeds for business innovation
If there’s one thing you learn as an adult, it’s that the real world is nothing like school or university. It’s hard. It’s challenging. Workplace problems don’t have easy answers and being an innovative thinker also requires practical outcomes. As Canberra pitches itself as a knowledge economy, the globally-based Smart Seeds program is into its second year of pushing young leaders out of their comfort zones in a competition that delivers real-world answers here in the ACT.
Canberra Business Architecture Guild Community launch good news for local practitioners, business and government
Five or ten years ago, terms like ‘business architect’ and ‘business architecture’ left even the most informed C-level executives scratching their heads. But as organisations aim to modernise and thrive in the digital era, the need for complex organisations to transform and adapt has paved the way for business architecture to emerge as a practical, effective solution for navigating change.
EU privacy laws just got real for Aussie businesses – and you thought Australian Privacy Laws were strict | The RiotACT
Data security and privacy are trending topics. While the Australian Government introduced a new mandatory notification procedure for data breaches earlier this year, on 25 May 2018 the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) comes into force and imposes further potentially significant obligations on Australian businesses. This might explain why you are receiving a constant stream of emails from international organisations updating their privacy policies.
Meet the Canberra business revolutionising how we view strategy
What if I said you never had to read another less-than-inspiring strategy report or sit through another humdrum presentation ever again? If you’re excited by the thought, you’d be pleased to hear that the days of bland strategy documents and mundane presentations could soon become a thing of the past thanks to one Canberra consulting firm that’s making waves both locally and globally.
Behind the scenes of Canberra’s thriving business analysis community | The RiotACT
If you ever wanted proof that government departments and agencies are serious about building their digital capabilities, you’d need look no further than Canberra’s booming business analysis community. As specialists in analysing business processes, applying IT solutions and acting as catalysts for change, business analysts are uniquely placed to support digital government initiatives – from improving how agencies use technology to developing reusable products and platforms.
Bucking the Trends in Business: Achieve Homes
In an industry that’s renowned for its fancy marketing campaigns, flashy display homes and sneaky sales agents who have a habit of over-promising and under-delivering, there’s one home builder in Canberra who’s doing things a little differently—Achieve Homes. While most new home builders’ primary focus is to get you to sign on the dotted line before worrying about whether they can feasibly deliver on their promises, this home builder prefers to adopt a more ‘real’ approach.
Bucking the trends in business – Plaspress | The RiotACT
Enamoured with his accent, I met Andy Tattam several years ago, when I was looking for a highly specialised business (in Sydney at the time, as I didn’t believe I could find anyone here in Canberra), and came across his little shop in Holt, purely by accident. I have been working with him ever since, and in the intervening years, Andy has expanded the business to include extra offerings.
From typewriters to the cloud – OPC IT continues to grow | The RiotACT
OPC IT is a beacon on the Canberra managed technology services landscape. Their light is shining even brighter after the recent announcement they have acquired another local provider, Sennell. OPC IT has operated in Canberra for over 30 years – yes kiddies, that’s before the internet – and have moved from typewriters to the cloud and beyond.
Bucking the trends in business – Sold on Styling | The RiotACT
Catching up with Mel Jamieson and Suzy Piani, who are just entering their third year in business, was an absolute joy. Their business is unique and so is their story. It’s a partnership that works and the business is going from strength to strength, after breaking even in their first year and growing 50% every six months since. What do they do?
The science (and art) of business architecture, and why government needs it
Let’s face it. Enterprise architecture’s sister discipline, business architecture, has a ‘hit and miss’ reputation in this town. Why? Because it’s often not user-friendly enough to be quickly absorbed and understood by the business. This is especially true in government, where outputs are rarely measured in terms of return on investment and profit and loss. It generally plays out like this: architects start modelling away, engaging with stakeholders and capturing data.
The Business Marketplace Canberra
Canberra businesses now have a marketplace where they can showcase/meet/buy/sell/connect and interact with other businesses. Suzette Bailey, founder of AutoPilot Business Systems along with The Business Marketplace have created this uniquely customised occasion for people in business to build immediate strategic alliances at the rendezvous on Friday, May 18th at the Hellenic Club in Civic, 13 Moore St, Canberra City.
Jemimah Ashleigh: one of Canberra’s Top female entrepreneurs | The RiotACT
It’s not every day you come across remarkable women who have the strength and courage to use their talents to embark on a successful entrepreneurial journey. Canberra businesswoman, Jemimah Ashleigh is named one of Australia’s Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs by My Entrepreneur Magazine and a Woman to Watch in 2018. This inspirational businesswoman has created three businesses from scratch and earned her stripes as one of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs.
Business community in shock at sudden passing of trailblazer Pawl Cubbin
Canberra’s business community is in shock at the sudden death at the weekend of entrepreneur and advertising guru Pawl Cubbin, who is being remembered as an inspirational leader and innovative trailblazer across a range of industries. Aged 57, Cubbin was the founder and CEO of ad agency Zoo Group but also had interests across hospitality and property in Canberra, and was pivotal to the creation of Academy nightclub in Civic, the Public bar in Manuka and the Belluci’s restaurants.
Jeffery Gray announced as chief commercial officer for Dexar Group
What makes Dexar Group‘s new chief commercial officer, Jeffery Gray, stand out from the crowd is his passion for understanding customers’ needs so that he can create the right service. According to Dexar, Mr Gray’s resume is unlike anyone else’s in the property industry, and it is hard to argue with them. With a masters in business administration, Mr Gray has held positions with Domain Group, Aristocrat and Lexis Nexis, and has also consulted with Qantas and Hutchison Telecom.
Bucking the trends in business – Holiday happenings | The RiotACT
Anyone with children or has any connection to Canberra schools would be aware of a publication called “Holiday Happenings”. It’s a little guide to all the great holiday programs for your children, to help them to stay meaningfully engaged, and for you to keep your sanity intact. But few would realise what a great business story lies behind it.
Bucking the trends #12 – Muse-The RiotACT
Have you been to a local restaurant where the atmosphere is chic? Where it offers not only fine dining, but also events of cultural significance? A place where the owners themselves are colourful, cosmopolitan, passionate about music, wine, gourmet food, books and people? A place that is deeply steeped in serving up the unique culture that is Canberra – the culture of politics, the literary, the sports and the musical? I have. It’s called Muse and it’s located within the East Hotel in Kingston.
Bucking the trends #6 – The coffee man (ONA coffee)-The RiotACT
The alluring aroma that draws me into coffee shops is powerful and has magnetic appeal. Many coffee shops are alluring, but when it comes to the taste of a good, strong cup of coffee, not all coffee shops are equal. There is one man, a Bosnian who came here to make a difference and is doing so in a dramatic way in Canberra, to whom we must pay tribute – it’s the coffee man, Sasa Sestic, who has had a movie made about him that I have just finished watching.
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