Archive for the ‘Coming Events’ Category.
For anyone who hasn’t fled Canberra for the long weekend, I’ll be holding two of my regular street stalls on Sat 30 March:
Thanks also to everyone who came up to say g’day at yesterday’s street stall in Civic.
On 6 March, I’ll be giving the Inaugural NATSEM Annual Lecture, entitled “Estimating Top Wealth Shares in Australia Over the Past Century” (based upon some analysis I’ve been doing with Pamela Katic).
It’ll be held at the University of Canberra from 5-7pm. Event & RSVP details here.
For the third year running, I am inviting locals to come along and celebrate the newest members of our community at “Welcoming the Babies” on Sunday 24 February 2013 (10.30am to 12.30pm) Glebe Park, Canberra City.
This month there are a series of free financial information sessions designed to help locals take control of their finances. They are a local and practical avenue for people of all ages to gain information on a range of important topics. The Australian Government has offered the Financial Information Service (FIS) for over 20 years, educating hundreds of thousands of people by providing information to help them plan for their future security. The experienced FIS Officers can show you how to make informed financial decisions and help you understand the consequences of those decisions in the short, medium and long term. These seminars are regularly held across the country, educating communities on a wide range of topics from superannuation and creating wealth, right through to finance and accommodation options in retirement and they’re not just for people receiving Centrelink payments – they are open to anyone interested, and are popular so bookings are essential.
Upcoming local seminars at Belconnen Premier Inn (110 Benjamin Way, Belconnen)
Age pension and your choices, Tuesday 12 February 2013, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm;
Running your own super fund, Thursday 14 February 2013, 6:00 pm to 8:30pm
For FIS seminar bookings call 13 6357 or email fis.seminar.bookings@humanservices.gov.au
To find out more about Human Services free Financial Information Service seminars visit humanservices.gov.au/fis.
My Chronicle column this month is on love and related adventures.
Valentine’s Day is a time for new and old love, The Chronicle, 5 February 2013
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, there’s probably no more inappropriate song to be listening to than Tim Minchin’s ‘If I didn’t have you… I’d probably have someone else’. In the song, Minchin tells us he thinks it’s mathematically pretty unlikely that he met the one girl on earth specifically designed for him while studying at a university in Perth. Life is chaos, he argues, not fate.
I’ll be holding plenty of mobile offices and community events over coming months. These are a good chance to raise policy issues, chat about matters affecting you and your family, or just to say g’day.
Community events:
Mobile offices:
On 26 February, FARE will be hosting a lunchtime forum at Parliament House with UCLA’s Mark Kleiman, author of When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment. Mark is one of my favourite criminologists, and I’d recommend the event for anyone interested in crime and punishment.
Details in this flyer or over the fold.
Continue reading ‘How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment’ »
I’ll be holding two of my regular mobile offices tomorrow, Saturday 24 November:
These are a good chance to raise policy issues, chat about matters affecting you and your family, or just to say g’day.
My colleague, Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann, and I are hosting Senator the Hon Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary for Disability and Carers, tomorrow afternoon to talk about a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The forum is at the Griffin Centre in Canberra City between 2pm and 4pm. Tea and coffee will be provided.
The forum is open to the general public, so if you wanted to find out more about what a National Disability Insurance Scheme might look like, I encourage you to come along.
Please RSVP to me by 12 noon tomorrow on Andrew.Leigh.MP {at} aph.gov.au
Just a week until Anne Summers delivers the Fraser Lecture. Details below.
Anne Summers
The Good Fight or the Wrong Fight: Directions for 21st Century Feminism
2012 Fraser Lecture
Venue: Fred Daly Room, Belconnen Labor Club
Time: 7.30pm, Wednesday 25 JulyEntry by gold coin donation
The lecture is open to the Canberra community. Please RSVP to Andrew.Leigh.MP@aph.gov.au or 6247 4396.
About Anne Summers
Dr Anne Summers AO is a best-selling author, journalist and thought-leader with a long career in politics, the media, business and the non-government sector in Australia, Europe and the United States. She is author of several books, including the classic Damned Whores and God’s Police, first published in 1975, Ducks on the Pond, her autobiography in 1999, The End of Equality, (2003) On Luck (2008) and her most recent book The Lost Mother published in 2009 by Melbourne University Press.
About the Fraser Lecture
Originated by former member Bob McMullan, and now continued by Andrew Leigh MP, the Fraser Lecture is a chance to hear a high-profile Australian speak about his or her vision for Australia’s future. Past speakers have included Julia Gillard, Sharan Burrow, Kevin Rudd and Clare Martin. This is the 12th Fraser Lecture.
I’m speaking at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney on 7 Aug, on the topic ‘Politics and the Media: A New Spin?’. Details below.
I’m giving a Blackfriars Lecture at the Australian Catholic University on inequality next Monday night. Details here (and flyer below). Continue reading ‘Blackfriars Lecture – ‘The Eye of the Needle: Why Inequality Matters’’ »
Mobile offices tomorrow (Sat 30 June): 10am at Gungahlin (Hibberson St outside Big W), and 11.15am at Dickson Woolies.
Drop by and say g’day.
The Australian Women’s Coalition will be running a series of workshops for young women aged 18-30, who live or work in the ACT region.
The workshops are designed to provide young women with the opportunity to develop transformation projects focusing issues that they most care about. The workshops are particularly aimed at reaching young women from migrant and refugee communities.
Funded by the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the SHOUT! workshops are free and will run from April 2012 to March 2013.
Find out more about the AWC and about the new SHOUT! workshops at: www.awcaus.org.au
I’ll be out and about with two mobile offices tomorrow morning, and a community forum next Tuesday. Do drop by and say g’day.
Mobile Offices – Saturday 12 May
Community forum -Tuesday 15 May
Times don’t suit? More events here.
I’m speaking at a few public events in the next month or so. Here are a few of them.
And further down the track:
Where I can, I’ll post the speech texts on the blog.
On 4 April, I’m speaking at an ANU event around Eric Knight’s book Reframe.
Details, details:
Venue: Molonglo Theatre, JG Crawford Building 132, Lennox Crossing, ANU
Date: 4 April
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
MEDIA ALERT
Andrew Leigh MP
Member for FraserTHURSDAY 1 MARCH 2012
‘Welcoming the Babies’ Postponed
Member for Fraser Andrew Leigh’s annual ‘Welcoming the Babies’ event has been postponed due to poor weather.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had some bad news. The National Capital Authority advised me that I’m unable to have the event at Stage 88 this weekend due to poor weather and concerns for safety,” said Andrew Leigh.
“With many babies already registered for this event, and knowing how important it is to connect families with community services, I’m still going ahead with a modified version of Welcoming the Babies.”
Here are the new details:
Date: Monday 26 March 2012
Time: 10:00am-11:00am
Venue: Andrew Leigh’s electorate office, 1 Torrens St, Braddon (at the corner of Torrens and Cooyong Streets)
“The best thing about having it in my office is that we can be sure it won’t be rained out! Parents should feel welcome to drop in, even if it’s just for a short time.”
A light morning tea will be provided. Parents will also still have a chance to connect with community service providers and one another, with many service providers either in attendance or providing materials. RSVPs are strongly recommended.
For more information or to RSVP email Andrew.Leigh.MP<@>aph.gov.au or phone 6247 4396.
A list of some of my community forums and mobile offices for 2012 is below. Other events, forums and mobile offices will be posted here during the year.
Community Forums
Mobile Offices
Past events
I have a mobile office at the Civic bus interchange tomorrow morning (Wed), from 8-9am. If you’d like to chat about anything from Dickson shops to disability support, do come up and say g’day.
On 4 March, I’m hosting Welcoming the Babies – a community event for parents and carers of children aged 18 months or younger. This will be a chance to meet other parents, find out about community services for new parents, and enjoy a morning out with the whole extended family. All attendees will receive a Baby Pack including community information and a formal certificate.
Date: Sunday, 4 March 2012
Time: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: Stage 88, Commonwealth Park (Google maps)
Registration: Register your attendance by phoning 6247 4396, or emailing andrew.leigh.mp(@)aph.gov.au.
The Australian Fabian Society is running its ‘Young Writers Competition’, asking 18-30 year olds to discuss the big policy issues facing progressive politics. More details here. Entries close 30 April 2012.
Pat Boldra from Friends of Plan Australia has asked me to let you know about their charity art and craft show, which I’m happy to do… even though it’s a smidgin south of the electorate.
Our charity art and craft show which will be held at the Weston Creek Community Hall on 25th-27th November? Each year the Friends of Plan Canberra group selects a Plan overseas aid project to support with all funds raised from our efforts. So far we have raised over $2,500 this year towards clean water and improved sanitation in East Timor and we are well on the way to raising another $2,000 from the art and craft show and raffle of paintings donated by a local artist, Eleanor Inns. The Ambassador for East Timor, His Excellency Abel Guterres, has agreed to open the show at 6pm on Friday 25th November and the raffle for Eleanor’s paintings will be drawn at 3pm on the last day of the show, Sunday 27th. In-between we will have on sale art and craft by local people in support of the project, much of it ideal as Christmas gifts.
I’m holding a foreign aid forum in the Griffin Centre at 12.30pm today (details). In that spirit, here’s a column I wrote recently for the local Chronicle newspaper.
One of my passions in politics is getting foreign aid right. It’s an exciting time to be thinking about our overseas development assistance, with the government ramping up our aid contribution to 0.5% of GNI, and Australia having recently made major contributions to vaccinations through Gavi and the recent announcement of $50 million to eliminate polio.
To talk through some of these issues, I’m holding a foreign aid forum in Civic next Tuesday lunchtime. I hope you can make it.
Details, details…
Fraser Foreign Aid Forum
Tuesday 15 November
Griffin Centre, Genge St
Canberra City
12:30-1:30pm
Please RSVP to andrew.leigh.mp {AT} aph.gov.au or 6247 4396.
Ben Donohoe, the son of a staff member at Hawker College, was only 9 years old when he passed away from a brain tumour in 2005. Since then, the students of Hawker College have been organising an annual charity fun run to raise money for the ACT Eden-Monaro Cancer Support Group and Make-A-Wish Australia. Now in its 7th year, the Ben Donohoe Run and Walk for Fun event will be held on Sunday 6th November, at Lake Ginninderra.
I’m going to be pounding the pavement with 10 of my staff and friends to help add to the $220, 000 that has already raised for this important cause. If you’d also like to be part of the action you can register online here, or you can make a donation here.
What: Ben Donohoe Run and Walk for Fun
Where: John Knight Memorial Park, Lake Ginnindera
When: Registration from 7.30am – 8.30am, Sunday 6th November 2011
You can find more information on the event website.
Hope you can make – please feel free to swing by my marquee and say hello if you do!
Just a reminder about my community forum tomorrow night. The main focus of the forum will be Labor’s plan for a National Disability Insurance Scheme, but I’ll also be happy to take questions on any other local or national topics, from tax to terrorism, roads to refugees, postboxes to polio.
Details, details…
Venue: Belconnen Community Services, Swanson Court
Time: Tuesday 25 October 6.00-7.30pm
I hope to see you there. And in the event you can’t make it along, here’s a complete list of my coming mobile offices and community forums.
Just one sleep until we start Mapping the Northside. All welcome.
MEDIA ALERT
Event: LAUNCH OF ‘MAPPING THE NORTHSIDE’
Date: TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2011
Time: 9:30AM
Venue: Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank Belconnen
Andrew Leigh, Federal Member for Fraser and Belconnen Arts Centre join forces this October and November to create a huge interactive map of the federal electorate of Fraser. The map will be displayed in the Belconnen Arts Centre from Tuesday 18 October until Thursday 17 November, and everyone is encouraged to drop in and plot their most meaningful places onto the map.
“Mapping the Northside is an opportunity to tell everyone about your special, important places and environments and let your imagination run wild. Show everyone that the Fraser electorate is the most vibrant place in Australia,
“The Belconnen Arts Centre and I invite everyone to be a part of Mapping the Northside and learn something new about Canberra’s north,” said Andrew Leigh.
What’s your favourite place on the Northside? Is it where you live, you work, you learn or you play? Is it a tiny restaurant you love, a bike track, your local school, a tennis court, a park, an arts or community centre, a heritage site or a quiet track or place you like to walk your dog? When describing your favourite place you can draw it, photograph it, create a collage, write a story or a poem, or even create a performance work.
There will be three facilitated information sessions at Belconnen Arts Centre (11 – 1pm, 29 October), Gorman House Arts Centre (Saturday 11 – 1pm, 5 November) and Gungahlin Library (Saturday 11 – 1pm, 12 November)
The ACT Community Language Schools Association has asked me to publicise their language schools day on 22 Oct. Details below.
Are you aged 16-22, living outside Australia’s big five cities? Then why not put an entry into the ABC’s HEYWIRE competition. As the competition website says:
The HEYWIRE competition is now open to people aged 16 – 22, to submit a story about life in Australia outside the major cities.
Your story can be created in any form of media: text, video, photography or audio.
Entries for the 2011 Heywire Competition close on Monday 19 September 2011 at 5pm.
And while I’m on the topic of youth competitions…
The Connections UnitingCare Anti-Poverty Awards recognise that there are many young people in Australia who are working towards the eradication of poverty locally, nationally or internationally. These awards aim to recognise and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of individuals and schools across Australia who demonstrate a deep understanding of the causes and effects of poverty. One recipient will a $4000 grant to continue their work and one school will win a $2500 Jinta Sport pack. Applications Close 31st August 2011.
For more information about the awards to apply visit www.connections.org.au/anti-poverty or free call 1800 137 036 and speak to someone in the Community Relations team.