Previous Updates

UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER 2008

Dear POAC Members,

Since our last update in July 2008, the POAC committee has been busy in its pursuit of funding and public support to relocate the Canberra Space Dome and Observatory. At this point, we're still focussing on Mt Stromlo as the preferred site - earlier this year, ANU and the Tradies agreed that the ANU would take the CSDO equipment.

In the interim, we wrote to a range of ACT clubs, seeking funds under their 'community contributions' schemes. We've now received responses to those letters, which unfortunately were politely worded refusals. We have had the same response from banking institutions and mining companies that we have approached.

In July, to give us some formal way of showing that the community supports the idea of a planetarium and observatory in the region, we developed a petition for signature by ACT residents. The petition is in a format that can be formally presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly. During July, POAC members set up stalls on two occasions, to see what type of support we'd get. To date, we have 250 signatures on our petition.

POAC had a quiet August, as the majority of the Committee members were away from Canberra for extended periods of time.

During September we investigated options for a POAC website, and have now reserved POAC's web address - www.poac.org.au . A big thanks to Patrick Byrnes for helping us with that. The site is currently in development. Ultimately, we intend to use the site as a tool in raising public awareness about POAC and its aims. It will also be a great way to increase membership.

We're hoping we can get a forum up and running so that people can sign it electronically as a way of showing their support. It is critical that we can demonstrate to those who hold the purse strings that Canberrans would support a planetarium and observatory in their region.

Professor Harvey Butcher (Director of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Mount Stromlo Observatory) and POAC also met with the National Capital Authority to introduce them to the proposal and to seek any assistance they might be able to give; they cannot.

In October, the Committee sent out a Press Release to several local media outlets, outlining what POAC is, our purpose, and advising that POAC members intended to set up a stall and solar telescope in Garema Place at lunchtime on Friday 17th October. We hoped that the media blackout for the ACT elections would work in our favour, and we'd garner some press coverage. Craig Collins (POAC President) and Michael Nelmes (POAC Secretary) were interviewed by The Canberra Times and by local ABC Radio. The ABC interview was posted on the internet and was a very good piece of press. During the time POAC was in Garema Place, many interested people stopped by to sign our petition, and we also signed up 4 new members.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2008/10/17/2394367.htm?site=canberra

The Canberra Times put their article on page 24 of the Sunday edition. The journalist left out a few key points, but we don't think any harm was done, and a longer article has been submitted. POAC also had a mention in the In Brief section of the City Chronicle.

On the Government front, we've made many approaches to Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her capacity as Minister for Education, to outline our concerns and seek her support. Being the busy person she is, we haven't been successful on that front, so we have now submitted a Ministerial, outlining our proposal. We've also sent that to the Shadow Minster for Education, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP. Attached to the submission was our 9-page Business Proposal, put together by the committee.

Ramping up the excitement factor, the feasibility study that TransACT is doing as a way of supporting the project is nearing completion. We expect to receive the final report this month. Preliminary advice suggests that the CSDO could be relocated for under $1 million, and we would have a very basic facility. However, for $2 million we would have a far superior centre.

But to take the cake, we sent a very detailed Press Release to Stateline on ABC TV; the show's producers have shown strong interest in the story. Stateline have arranged to interview POAC Committee members, and Professor Butcher in the coming week. At this point, we expect the story will air on Friday 14th November.

As the Committee believes that community support is a critical factor in this undertaking, we have been thinking of ways to quickly increase the visibility of that support. To that end, we hope we can rely on the networks of family, friends and work colleagues we know our POAC members have. We will shortly be forwarding an 'information and membership drive' email in the hope that members will distribute it through their networks. This initiative is dependent on how quickly we get the membership form up on our website.

And lastly, funds. POAC has two fundraising functions - the relocation of the CSDO, and running POAC itself. Any funds we raise to relocate the CSDO will be paid directly to the ANU as the owner and operator of the new facility. The funds for running POAC are collected through memberships and donations, and are banked in the Association's account. Currently, POAC's bank balance is $190. As our overheads are low, our current funds seem sufficient for now. Of course, we hope that our goal is achieved but our next task will be to see whether there are any grants we can apply for to assist POAC in managing that goal.

Craig Collins
President
Planetarium and Observatory
Association of Canberra