Event Photos

Canberra recently played host to the 2nd Special Olympics Junior National Games.

Special Olympics provides training and competition for young people and adults with an intellectual disability and gives them the opportunity to get fit, develop skills, make friends and be part of their community.

Nationally, Special Olympics caters for 4,500 athletes, although their aim is to eventually reach the estimated 175,000 Australians with an intellectual disability, and the athlete's oath is, 'Let me win, but if I can't win, let me be brave in the attempt'.

Support services for older Canberrans, and for those with a disability, have continued to grow with the amalgamation of Home Help with Handy Help.

Mary Porter officially launched Home Help Service ACT at a recent function at the Weston Creek Community Centre attended by 300 guests, many of who were clients of the service.

The Canberra North Branch of National Seniors Australia has continued their valued contribution to the community by donating two wheelchairs to the Ginninderra Nursing Home. The cost of the chairs was $1,000.

Each year, the branch makes donations to charities in line with National Seniors objectives and this year also made a contribution of $500 to the National Seniors Foundation whose aim it is to improve the quality of life for seniors as they age by fostering independence, dignity and purpose.

Thanks to 1338 Greening Australia Capital Region volunteers, the hills around Canberra are now much greener.

Since 2005, Greening Australia have organised almost 250 events planting almost 64,000 trees and propagating over 218,000 plants.

Projects have included private land holdings as well as public land and over 80 private landholders have participated in at least one program.

The survival rate of the plantings has been in excess of 75% which is an amazing result considering the lack of rain the region experienced from 2005 to late 2007.

A Canberra family celebrated over 200 combined years of contribution to the city when they joined with almost 300 other long-time residents to receive their Gold Awards in a recent ceremony at Rydges Lakeside.

One of the oldest recipients was Eileen McCarley who was born in the Queanbeyan hospital in 1924. There was no hospital in Canberra at the time of her birth.

Eileen's family's association with the Nation's capital had begun in 1923 when her father, Arthur Staples, came to Canberra to work on the construction of the provisional Parliament House.

Mary Porter has launched the search for the NRMA Insurance Volunteer of the Year for 2008.

Mary initiated the awards over 20 years ago when president of the fledgling Volunteering ACT and as its CEO for 12 years until her election to the Assembly in 2004 has helped to grow them to what they are today.

"Volunteers are vital to the very fabric of our community and Canberra has the highest rate of volunteer involvement of any capital city in the nation.

"If it were not for our volunteer coaches who would train our future sporting stars.

Almost 900 people, many of the them from as far away as Parkes, Orange, Wagga and Merimbula, packed the Canberra Theatre for the 2007 Telstra Country Wide Canberra and Area Theatre Awards.

It was the 13th annual occasion that the awards have been presented and patron Mary Porter again thanked Telstra General Manager for Capital South East, Ian Peters, for Telstra's ongoing support.

Member for Ginninderra, Mary Porter, has launched the ACT Government’s Great Greywater Hose Give-away Program, a program to distribute 10,000 greywater hoses, free-of-charge to ACT residents.

“This is part of a new initiative under the ACT Government’s Think water, act water strategy. The strategy aims to reduce Canberra's per person water consumption by 12 per cent by 2013 and 25 per cent by 2023 and increase waste water reuse from 5 per cent to 20 per cent by 2013,” Ms Porter said.

Wednesday, February 13, was a day of mixed emotions for Charnwood resident Isabelle Collins.

Isabelle was pleased she had the opportunity to be in the visitors gallery of the House of Representatives to witness Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's historic apology to the Stolen Generation, but sad that her mother Bertha had died only months before and was not present to witness the historic event.

"Like all parents and grandparents, I am concerned about the health of our young children and since my election to the Legislative Assembly I have lobbied the Government to renew playground equipment in our suburban parks," said Mary Porter at the opening of the new Weetangera playground.