e- Mag

The Belconnen e-Mag - the online voice of Belconnen

The eMag is open to you, we welcome your contributions such as articles, opinion, stories, photos, videos, anything that can be replicated on the web, provided it meets legal requirements of the Australian Capital Territory and Australian Governments.

To submit your contribution to the Belconnen e-Mag Editor click here!

Belconnen’s underbelly

Crime and policing are often discussed, usually in the context of it being rampant and increasing. How does Belconnen fare? The Australian Federal Police publish statistics on crime on a monthly basis on their web site http://www.police.act.gov.au/community-safety.aspx

The table below looks at crime data by offence (homicide is not included as according to police statisticians the numbers are too small) for areas of Belconnen. The figures are only for one month (May) and could be different if another month were analysed.

Crime in Belconnen May 2010

Belconnen Town Centre would appear to be the most crime afflicted, but it is a town centre with places of entertainment and commercial activity. Of the residential suburbs Zone 5 (South east Belconnen) seems to have the worst record, especially in terms of burglary and theft.

How does Belconnen compare with other parts of the ACT, Australia and the world?

Statistics on crime are difficult and there appears to be limited data for Australia that can be compared to these. However, the table below looks at other parts of the ACT.

Crime in other parts of the ACT May 2010

Firstly, Belconnen Town Centre does better than Civic, which has a crime over double that of Belconnen Town centre. Only Palmerston in Gungahlin has a better record than all areas in Belconnen.

Again these statistics only cover one month. A better perspective would be to look at a year.

In terms of national comparisons ABS publication 4519.0: Recorded Crime - Offenders 2008-09

The ABS states:

“For the 2008-09 reference period, New South Wales accounted for 30% (103,853) of the Australian offender population aged 10 years and over, followed by Queensland (24% or 83,806) and Victoria (16% or 53,605). The Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest number of offenders (1% or 3,337) and was the only jurisdiction to record a decrease (1%) in the total number of offenders from 2007-08.

The Northern Territory had the highest offender rate in 2008-09 with 4,832 offenders per 100,000 persons aged 10 years and over, and recorded the largest increase in the offender rate from 2007-08 (an increase of 540 offenders per 100,000 persons aged 10 years and over). The lowest offender rate was recorded in the Australian Capital Territory with a rate of 1,096 offenders per 100,000 persons aged 10 years and over.”

This measures offenders whereas the local data above measures offences.

So do we need to worry about crime? Well that other statement is quite apt “be alert, not alarmed”.

Terry Giesecke

Canberra Media Research

2006 Census

The median age has increased to 34.0 years from 31,8 years, and in 2006 9.3 per cent of the population was 65 and over compared to 7.4 per cent in 2001.

The population increased by 2.6 per cent (0.5 per cent per year) to 84,382.

Catholics are the most numerous religious group but over 23 per cent claimed to have no religion at all. To see data Discover Belconnen

*What is a median? It divides a data set in two, as the median strip divides a road. One half the values are below it and one half above.

Like dogs? Want make a practical contribution to the welfare of hundreds of dogs in the ACT? More click here

A second chance for dogs by Domestic animal service

Belconnen Community Arts Centre opened on August 29

Stage 1 of the Belconnen Arts Centre opened on Friday August 28 followed by a community open day on Saturday August 29th.

Stage 1 includes the following:

• Visual arts gallery
• Outdoor sculpture gallery
• Dance studio/rehearsal room and change rooms
• Wet/dry creative workshops
• Large foyer
• Community meeting room
• Arts Lounge
• Studio/office areas for artists and arts organisations
• Café/kiosk
• Reception and administrative area

Stage 2 will come later and will include a theatre.

Finished at last, photos 24 August 2009

For details on the new Belconnen Arts Centre (expressions of interest, hiring charges and what spaces will be available for hire) go to the What's on page

Today's new poetry

Flaming fools Click here to experience

Washing line - a hot new e-Poem by Maria Josey (click on image to access)

TravelSmart

The TravelSmart - Belconnen project is a large-scale Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change Project intended to encourage the use of healthier, more sustainable transport modes. read more....

Belconnen Community Service Newsletter

Keep up to date with Belconnen read the BCS Newsletter by clicking here This link will require Adobe Reader, if you don't have it you can obtain it free from Adobe www.adobe.com Also it's a big document so if you have a slow connection you'd better make a cup of tea or coffee to drink while you wait!

Latin Dance the new sensation - black is the new black

Latin rhythms have always evoked notions of exotica and fun. 1930's band leader Xavier Cugat put Latin sound into the popular idiom, the sixties saw the Bossa nova come and go and in the nineties it was the Lambada. In the new century Latin dance is more popular than ever. Read more.

Hazel's travel adventures, now including Scandinavia, the UK and the Balkins.

Residents not impressed with the look of Belconnen

In our recent E Poll, respondents gave the following results:

Do you believe that Belconnen's streets are as tidy and litter free as they should be?

Yes 77.3 per cent

No 22.7 per cent

Should the ACT Government put more effort into controlling weeds and reducing litter?

Yes 81.8 per cent

No 18.2 per cent

Are you concerned about untidy and weed infested properties near you?

Yes 61.1 per cent

No 38.9 per cent

Should the ACT Government have powers to order cleanups of unkempt properties?

Yes 77.8 per cent

No 22.2 per cent

Any Other comments?

Introduced long grass propagates everywhere. Some areas, such as a footpath area at the back or sides of residental properties, are not maintained by anyone. A link to spraying/slashing services could be useful.

There seems to be a avoidance of tackling litter as a ommunity project through education advertising and community pride. What happened to the Keep Australia beautiful type campaigns of the 70- 80s they have been forgotten?

Glass on pavements and walkways are a major concern as I frequently walk dogs and ride my bike I am constantly having to watch out for it.

Streets in Belconnen Town Centre are apparently swept every 3 months by Urban Services however they always come in the middle of the day when all cars are parked on the side streets thus they always end up not cleaning the same streets.

Shopping trolley owners MUST be made responsible for their shopping trolleys. These litter the whole belconnen environment. Why not use the simple coin-lock system used everywhere else?

It's a mess

Note: As this is not a scientifically conducted poll the results cannot be taken seriously

The poll for this month concerns population and infill issues to access poll click here

Don't forget you can suggest poll topics contact the Webmaster

Belconnen newsletter

To read the latest edition click here

Migration Issues

‘Temporary visa holders face uncertain future’, writes Nicholas Houston of VisAustralia

Skilled workers employed by Canberra companies on temporary work visas (Subclass 457 visas) are facing an uncertain future. The current economic downturn is giving rise to a fear that these workers could lose their jobs and with it their right to remain in Australia.

The Subclass 457 visa allows Australian companies to employ overseas workers for a period of between three months and four years. Skilled workers can bring in family members including children who are enrolled in local Canberra schools.

In the boom years the Subclass 457 visa was an ideal way for local companies to employ people with skills that could not be found locally. In tough times these same workers are left vulnerable to the loss of their employment.

If a company ends the employment relationship the employee is given 28 days to leave Australia or to find another sponsor and apply for another visa.

The 28 day period can have an immediate and catastrophic impact on the visa holder and family members. For example, children enrolled in local schools could be compelled to leave the school within 28 days of their mother or father losing their job. Further, because the work rights of a spouse are dependent on the primary visa holder, when the primary visa holder is made redundant the spouse effectively loses their job - and a local employer loses a valuable staff member.

Where to go for assistance?

Canberra based VisAustralia International has been assisting skilled people apply to migrate for many years. It has also been assisting overseas students apply for permanent residence after completing their studies and advising Australian families who want to sponsor family members to migrate to Australia from overseas.

Tel: 6281 5941
Or email.
info@visaustralia.com www.visaustralia.com

‘New migration pathways facilitate family sponsorship’, writes Nicholas Houston of VisAustralia

The migration pathway – what is it?

Recent changes to the Migration Regulations allow people to actively support family members to migrate to Australia. Overseas family members do not need to have qualifications, work experience, or speak English to start on the migration pathway.

The migration pathway for family sponsorship is a new feature of the Australian migration program. To access the pathway involves supporting a family member through two years of study in Australia and then in sponsoring them for the skilled visa at the end of the studies.

The pathway arises as an implication of changes made to the visa rules and is a by-product of the growth of the international education industry.

The migration pathway opens the way for local Canberra families to support family members under the age of 45 years migrate from their home country to Australia.

Support Asian Women's Friendship Association

The Support Asian Women's Friendship Association is a women's organisation, which provides support and assistance to cultural and linguistically diverse background women. To find out more click here

e-Poems by Anonymous

Crime Stoppers toll-free on 1800 333 000