About The Riotact
Quality local news and views from Canberra and the surrounding region.
The Riotact Description
The RiotACT was established in late 2000 to publish grass roots news, the opinion of the people and up to date information about the Canberra scene. “We’re aiming to expose Canberra to itself, ” the founders wrote. “To demonstrate that community consultation can occur, and from the inside it’s a far more vibrant place than it looks from without. ”
More than 39, 500 articles and 550, 000 comments have been publishing on the platform since its inception.
Recently revamped, under new ownership and with an all-new team, the RiotACT’s focus on Canberra continues, as does our desire to help readers let the rest of the community know about issues and events that matter to them through varied and informative points of view.
If you have an interest that isn’t getting the coverage you would like, register and submit a post on it. As a small team we can’t publish everything that comes across our screens, but we do the best we can to give everyone a fair go.
Reviews
If you think playing with LEGO is just for kids, you might be surprised to learn that a growing body of play-based research is putting play back at the centre of creativity, innovation, design, business strategy and adult cognitive development. LEGO Serious Play workshops offer an environment where ideas can be made, shared, and recombined into new ways to unlock creative ideas, strategies and thoughts. The next workshop is on 6 September, and everyone is welcome to come along and play with LEGO for a bit in the name of serious curiosity. Click below to find out more.
Queanbeyan is set to get a new school for students with specific needs, which will be located adjacent to Karabar High School. The school is part of the NSW Government’s investment into school building program that is delivering new and upgraded schools for communities across NSW.
Police have called for anyone who may have witnessed an aggravated robbery at Subway in Wanniassa last Friday night to come forward. Two men armed with knives entered the restaurant on Denigan Street and demanded cash before fleeing at around 8:45pm. If you have any information that could assist police, contact Crime Stoppers.
Meet the regional producers from Parkesbourne Produce whose berries have picked up a gold medal in one of Australia’s most prestigious food industry awards, judged by the country’s top chefs and food celebrities, including Peter Gilmore, Matt Moran and Maggie Beer.
Great news for Lego fans - the epic Brickman Experience, one of the largest touring exhibitions of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, is heading to Canberra in time for the next school holidays. Made with more than five million LEGO bricks, the exhibition will showcase some of the world’s largest and most detailed LEGO models including one of the biggest ever Star Wars LEGO builds, a model Airbus A380, a quarter scale LEGO Ferrari and the world’s largest LEGO flower. Tickets go on sale from Friday 7 September but in the meantime, take a look at some of the fabulous creations below.
Canberra is blessed with several fantastic restaurants that serve fragrant, fresh Vietnamese pho and the search is on for the venue that does the best version of the traditional noodle soup. Elias Hallaj has put together a list of local places pho lovers can get their fix and now it’s your turn – let us know which is your favourite by voting in our poll below. We’ll let you know which venue takes out top spot.
Geocon’s massive WOVA development in Woden has been scaled back amid concerns from nearby residents about overshadowing. One of the towers will now be 16 storeys instead of the original 24, with 12 facing onto Melrose Drive.
The ACT’s troubled health system will be split into two next month with the heads of each organisation announced today and the ACT Government banking on the change helping to resolve the problems that have plagued it in recent times.
A Ferrari, a spaceship and a giant flower are coming to the nation's capital for a new exhibition and they all have one thing in common: they’re made of LEGO.
The colourful models are just three from of over 60 models in the LEGO exhibition The Brickman Experience which opens at Exhibition Park in Canberra these school holidays.
Watch the time lapse below to see the world's largest LEGO flower being built. http://ow.ly/rLev30lETn6
A bikie gang member has been arrested in Melbourne while attempting to travel to Abu Dhabi and will appear in court in Canberra today. The man, who was extradited to the ACT over the weekend, will face attempted murder charges in relation to a bikie shooting in Calwell in June. Police are urging anyone who may have any information about the shooting to contact Crime Stoppers.
The Canberra Raiders are a hard side to read, writes Tim Gavel. They had no trouble scoring points this season but their inability to close out tight games has proven costly. So what needs to change so that fans can feel optimistic heading into 2019?
If you have ever broken down or had an accident in the vicinity of Braidwood, you’ve probably met a member of the Robertson family. They’ve owned and operated D & S Motors in the town’s main street for 60 years, but now they’re closing the garage doors permanently. Hundreds of townsfolk, family and emergency services workers turned out to farewell the local landmark and Alex Rea was there to say goodbye.
We’re LIVE from Rubik3’s office in Braddon for a very special morning tea where Professor Marcia Langton, Patron of the Indigenous Reading Project, will accept a $20,000 donation to continue their work to help improve the reading ability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. http://ow.ly/uZYv30lFBQM
A drink driver allegedly sped through a school zone in Holt at nearly twice the speed limit last week while children were present. Police have described the incident as abhorrent, with Officer in Charge of Traffic Operations, Acting Station Sergeant David Wills saying he was staggered by the stupidity of the driver.
Lauren Exton is a student at the University of Canberra and member of the Making Space Initiative Steering Committee. Here’s her overview of why she became involved with the initiative, a wrap of the most recent event and her reasons that Canberrans – especially young professionals – should get involved with the next one.
A reminder to drivers and pedestrians that Hinder Street in Gungahlin will be closed for the next six weeks, starting from Monday 3 September.
Need to catch up on all the local news and top stories from around the region? Want a recap of the issues that have RiotACT readers talking on social media? The RiotACT newsletter is your answer. Click below to take a look or to subscribe to get it in your inbox each Thursday.
Have you ever booked a hotel that looked great, only to find it was in a dodgy area? A new app hopes to make that a thing of the past, providing real-time information about the safety metrics of a place you plan to visit. Nina Gbor meets the founder of WanderSafe by JOZU, a location-based safety advice solution that gives you all the information you need to stay safe while you wander.