The ACT Government has awarded $225,000 in funding through the 2018-19 Community Support and Infrastructure Grant Program which will support 45 local organisations.
Successful projects include: $5,800 for disability friendly furniture for the Multiple Sclerosis ACT office; $10,000 to Outward Bound in Tharwa to upgrade their reverse osmosis water purification system; $6,500 to support the AIDS Action Council opening the ACT’s Pride Centre; $5,000 for security upgrades at the Canberra Seniors Centre in Turner; and $6,728 to Scullin Community Group for its entrepreneurship hub, Scullin Traders.
The grants are awarded under three categories: community support and capacity; non-fixed infrastructure and equipment; and minor capital works and fixed infrastructure.
The full list of successful recipients is available at communityservices.act.gov.au/wac/community/grants
Tax help clinics
The Australian National University (ANU), in partnership with Anglicare, Belconnen Community Centre and Woden Centre, will open new clinics to provide help to underrepresented people with their tax affairs.
ANU accounting students will work in the clinics and be supervised and mentored by practicing tax accountants, providing information to taxpayers on applying for a Tax File Number, using MyGov and lodging tax returns.
“The government’s tax plan is probably going to raise a lot of questions for people in the community about how this will affect them,” said the ANU’s Professor Juliana Ng.
“We’ve chosen the very best students to work in the clinics. Their knowledge of income tax and tax related matters mean they’ll be well equipped to confidently deal with questions coming up in the clinics.”
Professor Ng said the clinics would for the most part be used by new migrants, students and participants of services provided by the partner community centres.
“We think it’s a great opportunity for the students to be mentored by qualified industry professionals and experience face-to-face interactions with clients, in this case underrepresented taxpayers and they’ll be helping to meet a real need in the community.”
The ANU Tax Clinics form part of a national trial with nine other universities in Australia, and will operate in community centres in Civic, Belconnen, Woden and Gordon until the end of October.
ANDC calls for place nicknames
The ANU’s Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC) is, for the first time, looking for contributions to compile the Australian National Dictionary – a dictionary of Australian words and their origins.
This year’s theme is “nicknames for places” – think ‘Freo’ for Fremantle, ‘The Gong’ for Wollongong, and maybe even the Canberra-centric ‘Tuggers’ or ‘Jerra’ – an Australian habit which has caught the attention of the ANDC.
“The informality and humour commonly found in Australian English obviously extends to naming places as well,” said ANDC Editor, Mark Gwynn.
“If there’s a place in Australia that hasn’t received a nickname yet, it’s only a matter of time.”
ANDC Director Amanda Laugesen said contributions from the public are an important way the ANDC is alerted to new words.
“That’s why we plan to have an annual appeal, based on a particular topic or theme, that we hope will encourage contributions from the public and prompt discussion about our language and words.
“If you have a nickname for your special place, we want to hear from you,” Dr Laugesen said.
For more information or to make submission, find the ANDC on Facebook (@ozwords) and Twitter (@ozworders).
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