Canberra Mornings Live: Wednesday July 2

HENRY BELOT 7:04am Bringing you breaking news from across the capital and beyond. Get in touch with us as we blog from 7am to 10am: email us, tweet us or post on our Facebook page.

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Vietnam Veterans & Veterans Federation

6:06pm About Town: Scenes from the 10th Anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans & Veterans Federation relocation.

Homeowner thwarts burglars in Calwell

5:41pm Two men are being sought by police following an aggravated burglary in Calwell last month.

Monash arson accused involved in bitter custody dispute, trial hears

MEGAN GORREY 9:23pm A father accused of setting fire to his former partner's home was in the throes of a bitter custody battle over his young daughter, a court has heard.

Diamonds in Canberra ahead of Commonwealth Games

FLETA PAGE 9:39pm Tegan Caldwell was 20 when she made her first representative netball team. Five years later, she was named MVP of the ANZ Championship grand final and is about to make her debut for the Diamonds at the Commonwealth Games.

Warm and wet weather makes for Canberra's hottest June since 2009

BEN WESTCOTT 9:20pm Canberra had a warm and wet start to winter this year, with rainy days and mild nights making it the ACT's hottest June since 2009.

ACT Assembly looks set to lift ban on unions or businesses donating to parties

KIRSTEN LAWSON 10:41pm The ACT Assembly looks set to remove a ban on unions or businesses donating to parties contesting ACT elections.

National Capital Authority appoints review panel for ACT projects

JOHN THISTLETON 9:01pm Design experts will review the ACT’s City-to-the-Lake and Capital Metro projects.

Blunt message to Canberra drivers to slow down to survive

Gemma Varcoe and Emma Hollis 10:59pm Police called on the shock value of a fatal car accident wreck on Tuesday to deliver a blunt message to Canberra drivers.

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove reflects on the bonds of mateship at veterans centre

Dallas Pearce 9:01pm The bonds formed in warfare meant veterans were uniquely placed to care for and support other veterans, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove said at a Vietnam War veterans service on Tuesday.

Canberra businesses want to fire, not hire

PHILLIP THOMSON 8:05pm Canberra is going against a national trend in staffing levels - this time in a bad way.

Canberra home values record soft growth over financial year

MEREDITH CLISBY 10:41pm Canberra's home values increased by the second smallest amount of all capital cities over the past financial year, new data shows.

Canberra sex workers 'not a rescue project for politicians'

TOM MCILROY 11:45pm A veteran of the Australian sex industry has accused Liberal MLAs Giulia Jones and Vicki Dunne of using sex workers in the ACT for political advantage.

PM&C;'s $20k a month for advice on sacking public servants

NOEL TOWELL 8:21pm The Prime Minister's cash-strapped Public Service Department has been paying consultants $20,000 a month to advise on how to slash its workforce.

Gai Brodtmann asks for meetings with PM, Eric Abetz, Peter Dutton and others on Mr Fluffy

PHILLIP THOMSON 11:45pm Push for federal responsibility reaches the highest level.

ACT Treasurer Andrew Barr denies land tax hike will hit renters

KIRSTEN LAWSON 4:01pm Treasurer Andrew Barr has rejected the suggestion that a big rise in land tax on investment properties starting on July 1 will result in higher rents.

ACT government approves 13th consecutive increase to taxi fares

HENRY BELOT 10:41pm Catching a cab in Canberra became more expensive on Tuesday after the ACT Government approved an increase in fare charges for the 13th consecutive year.

Man jailed for robbing northside shop with rusty machete

MEGAN GORREY 1:02pm A man who robbed a northside shop while wielding a rusty machete, and another armed with a screwdriver, will spend four years behind bars.

Canberra House redevelopment popular with buyers

MEREDITH CLISBY 10:59pm The Mayfair apartments set to replace Canberra House in the city will be officially launched this Saturday and almost 50 dwellings have already been sold pre-release.

Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall fears cinema project "may be abandoned''

GEORGINA CONNERY 7:16am Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall fears a cinema operator in talks to set up in the city may abandon Queanbeyan as its favoured site after delays in decision-making by the council.

School board head defends Palmerston, calls for ACT-wide bullying audit

PRIMROSE RIORDAN 11:45pm The chair of the Palmerston Primary School board has come out in defence of the school, saying nothing is swept under the carpet.

Grass, native trees and light rail: a new Northbourne?

TOM MCILROY 11:45pm Canberra's "front door" could retain its grass and get an improved tree canopy through the development of a light rail line to Gungahlin.

Pipes are calling at Loch Burley Griffin

IAN WARDEN 8:58pm With a kilted bagpiper playing a medley of Scottish airs and with wintry Lake Burley Griffin looking as much like a loch as a lake, we might all have been in Scotland for Tuesday's official naming of Jack Ross Park.

Church places paedophile brother near children

DAVID ELLERY 11:45pm Kostka (aka John) Chute, a serial paedophile Marist brother was given accommodation by the church close to three schools on his release from prison in 2010.

Pop-up shops could boost struggling Tuggeranong town centre, Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann says

EMMA KELLY 1:01pm Temporary pop-up businesses could help enliven a struggling Tuggeranong town centre, according to Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann.

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NDIS trial starts in the ACT

NATASHA BODDY 11:46pm People with disabilities in Canberra have entered a new era as an ACT trial of the National Disability Insurance Scheme was launched on Tuesday.

New Canberra emergency department website goes live

NATASHA BODDY 10:41pm A new website offering live updates about how busy Canberra's emergency departments are has been launched.

ACT cancer cases to grow

NATASHA BODDY 11:45pm Cancer diagnoses in Canberra are expected to grow to more 2500 cases in the next decade, according to a new report predicting the ACT will have the second-highest growth in cancer cases in the country.

New Tuggeranong Community Festival president Stewart Thompson focuses on young people

EMMA KELLY 10:29am Canberra's Stewart Thompson might only be 24 but the new driving force behind one of the territory’s biggest community events isn’t afraid to dream big.

Hustle&Scout; Twilight Fashion Market brings food and fashion together

MARK SAWA 10:23am The popularity of the Hustle&Scout; Twilight Fashion Market continues to soar with more stallholders than ever about to unveil their collections on Saturday July 5.

Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews tells job seekers to work for free

EMMA KELLY 12:18pm Young people struggling to find paid work should consider volunteering their time in the workforce as a foot in the door to employment, according to Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews.

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James Francis overcomes acute meningitis to tackle Sydney's City to Surf

GEORGINA CONNERY 11:51am While bed-ridden at the height of his illness James Francis felt getting back normal life was miles away, now the 48-year-old is gearing up for the City to Surf.

Anika Buckley to represent Australia in underwater hockey

GEORGINA CONNERY 11:59am Donning flippers, a snorkelling mask and cap complete with ear guards might sound like an exercise in playful poolside antics, but it’s the gear underwater hockey player Anika Buckley will wear to represent Australia this July.

Man and woman hospitalised after four-car Franklin crash

HENRY BELOT 2:47pm A man and a woman have been transported to Calvary Hospital with minor injuries after a four car accident on Wells Station Drive in Franklin on Tuesday morning.

Gang-Gang: 100 years ago. Serpents in paradise

IAN WARDEN 5:44pm One hundred years ago this week responsibility for that remote, troubled, genealogically narrow paradise, Norfolk Island, was transferred to the Commonwealth.