For the first time in five years, northern corroboree frogs have been spotted in Namadgi National Park by ACT government ecologists.

The species is listed as critically endangered and the government has been attempting to restore their population in the park for more than a decade.

A frustrated ACT Government has written to the Federal Government calling on it to release the 700-hectare CSIRO Ginninderra site to the Territory so it can be developed for much-needed housing.

The Green Shed posted this on their Facebook page today:

To all our lovely, customers and the Canberra Community, today we received this letter below informing us that we were unsuccessful in our latest tender Application. I have just had to inform 84 staff that they will be unemployed come the 30th of May so as you can imagine we are all just a little devastated!

We will be continuing to support schools and other community groups on our donations list until we close but unfortunately we will be stopping our charity day fundraising as of today. Today we are presenting the ACT scouts with a check for 10k, this will bring the total to just over 2 million donated to charity by The Green Shed.

We are still trying to digest what has happened but feel both us and the hundreds of staff who have worked with TGS over the years can all hold their heads high as we believe we have all showed the world how it can be done.

Procurement ACT MR CHARLES BIGG-WITHER OWNER THE GREEN SHED 40 MASSON ST, TURNER ACT 2612 CHARLIEGREENSHED GS3538978 – THE PROVISION OF REUSABLE FACILITY SERVICES IN THE TERRITORY

Dear Charles, Thank you for submitting a response for the subject Tender. The ACT Government (Territory) regrets to advise that on this occasion your organisation has not been selected as the preferred Respondent.

The preferred Tenderer, The St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn Ltd, was assessed by the Evaluation Team as providing the Territory with a response that met all the specified criteria to the greatest degree as well as best overall value for money.

A public text version of the agreement will be published on the Territory’s Contracts Register.

If your organisation requires a debrief, please reply via email within 5 business days of receipt of this letter in order to arrange a suitable time.

Yours sincerely, DIRECTOR PROCUREMENT ACT 13/03/2024 Approach to Market GS3538978​​PROCUREMENT ACT

The ACT government is moving to have the Molonglo Valley reclassified as Canberra's sixth town centre in a bid to allow greater development and growth in the commercial precinct.

The region in Canberra's west was originally planned to house around 55,000 residents, but the population is now expected to grow to 70,000 people by 2050.

The government will put its case to the National Capital Authority to officially change the National Capital Plan and designate the Molonglo Valley a town centre.

Bonded asbestos-contaminated mulch has been confirmed to be present in the ACT, having been distributed to customers by 12 businesses.

Anyone who purchased 'cottage mulch' products between March 1, 2023 and February 19, 2024 is urged not to distribute or move it, and to contact WorkSafe.

WorkSafe says further testing of mulch from ACT suppliers is underway to establish the extent of the contamination, and if any further action is required.

After a year of watching and waiting, Canberra’s mobile phone detection cameras are about to strike.

Drivers snapped with a phone on their lap or in their hands by the overhead-mounted cameras will be issued an infringement and demerit points from Tuesday next week (20 February).

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal has rejected an application by Empire Global Developments to increase a tenant's rent by 20 per cent on a one-bedroom Canberra apartment.

It said the increase should be allowed because interest on borrowing costs, ACT government rates, and power costs had all increased – but those reasons were rejected because the costs were all tied to the entire apartment complex.

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered a more moderate eight per cent rental increase for the property.

The book fair is on again this weekend if you (like me) hadn't been keeping track of time.

For anyone who hasn't been it's worthwhile checking out if you like having something to read - they always have a huge amount of books to look through and don't charge much for them.

There are two large closures coming up in Kosciuszko to allow for shooting to occur (animal control). If anyone's planning on a trip down there in the next few months this might affect you.

The first big one is the area south of Alpine Way, all the way down to the edge of the park at the Victorian border. This is planned to be closed for basically all of March (4th-28th). This map shows the area in question.

The second and even larger closure is the majority of the area north of the Snowy Mountains Hwy, and this is planned to be closed for literally half the year - 4th April to 4th of October. If you want to do the run through Long Plain and Broken Cart trail (makes nice day trip from Canberra) better think about doing it soon or you'll be waiting a while. This map shows the area for this closure.

Indonesian airline Batik Air has announced it will fly from Canberra to Bali three times a week from June.

It is only the second airline to announce international flights out of Canberra since they ceased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ACT Policing is seeking assistance from the public to identify a cyclist involved in a collision at Casey Market Town on Saturday, 20 January 2024.

About 8pm, a young child was struck by a cyclist who was riding on the footpath outside the Casey Jones pub.

Summernats is back - beware of the extra traffic and the linked changes if you live in or venture into the city/inner north.

Don't turn up to the lake at midnight for the end of year fireworks display because there won't be one then, this year the ACT gov is only doing the 9pm fireworks.

They are at least supposed to be combining the two displays in terms of quantity of fireworks, so expect the loud bangs to run longer than usual.

A tracking device has led Canberra police to a large haul of allegedly stolen e-bikes and electric scooters.

Police say they have recovered six e-bikes and 15 electric scooters — all suspected of being stolen — from a home in Ngunnawal in Canberra's north.

An experiment on a new type of light rail track has started at the National Arboretum.

The 20-metre x 30-metre ”Green Track Prototype” runs sections of steel rail through four garden beds filled with different species of grass, other low-lying plants, and trees.

It’s a test bed to see whether the same greenery can be replicated along various sections of Canberra’s light rail network, and flourish despite Canberra’s harsh climate.

Double demerit points apply for motorists in the ACT from Friday, December 22 until Monday, January 1, 2024.

The same applies for NSW if you're heading down the coast or whereever.