Recovering heroin addict, Mark Avis, 48, at his home in Oaks Estate. Photo: Rohan Thomson.
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The ACT's impossibly long waiting times for residential drug rehabilitation are draining the willpower of many who try to turn their lives around.
Addicts who come looking for help are being told they must wait between two to three months for a spot in residential rehabilitation.
The problem, support services say, is a product of stagnant ACT funding for non-government services in the face of steadily rising demand, driven mainly by an explosion in ice use.
The ACT has the lowest number of rehabilitation providers in Australia, according to the Productivity Commission.
- Canberra's Aboriginal Tent Embassy won't be given additional protection through inclusion on the ACT Heritage Register.
- As many as 700 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast overnight, in one of the worst disasters seen in the Mediterranean migrant crisis.
- The world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, including China and the US, have questioned the credibility of Australia's climate change targets and "direct action" policy in a list of queries to the Abbott government.
- Iran will take the extraordinary step of sharing with Australia secret intelligence gathered by its operatives fighting Islamic State extremists in Iraq.
Jack Wighton of the Raiders scores a try during Sunday's match with the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval. Photo: Cameron Spencer.
For the Canberra Raiders and young skipper Jarrod Croker, snatching the biggest comeback win in the club's 33-year history could prove a watershed moment.
Down 22-0 at one of the league's most daunting venues Leichhardt Oval, the Raiders leapt off the canvas to score 30 unanswered points and seal a victory which the Raiders could look back on later as their turning point.
- ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has declared his faith in the team's game plan, insisting there are no "systemic problems" as the club fights to keep its Super Rugby finals hopes alive.
- A meeting with NRL officials is this week expected to clear the way for Cronulla captain Paul Gallen to be chosen for Australia in the annual trans-Tasman Test against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium.
- Injured ACT Brumbies scrumhalf Nic White will push himself in a bid to prove his fitness and make a Super Rugby comeback against the Otago Highlanders on Friday night.
- Belconnen defender Heather Anderson has been tipped as a possible top-10 draft pick for the third annual women's AFL draft between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on May 24.
- Sydney coach John Longmire has refused to be drawn on whether he will bring self-relegated Swans great Adam Goodes back from the reserves next week.
Ellenborough Street westbound in Kaleen is closed between Daintree Crescent and Maribyrnong Avenue until 6am on Tuesday.
Maribyrnong Avenue southbound is closed at Ellenborough Street and the northbound right turn into Ellenborough Street is also closed to improve traffic management in the area.
A new series of guided tours of Parliament House giving visitors the chance to see a new side to the city's largest building as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival continues today until April 26.
British comedian and star of The Mighty Boosh Noel Fielding will perform at the Canberra Theatre tonight.
Briony Boland of Isaacs will set off today to conquer the Kokoda Track. Photo: Melissa Adams
On Anzac Day when most Canberrans will be braving the cold while they remember the fallen, Briony Boland will be sweltering in 90 per cent humidity and temperatures in the high 30s as she tackles the Kokoda Track.
"I looked at the forecast and it says thunderstorms everyday which should be rather pleasant," she said.
Mrs Boland, 35, and 10 other trekkers from across Australia flew out on Monday to conquer the famed trail and raise funds for Lifeline's online Crisis Support Chat service.
Today's cartoon is from Cathy Wilcox. Touch or click through for more.
Marie Kelly, a former owner of Kelly's Dairy from 1956 to 1984, with some of the old dairy cattle yards on the Jerrabomberra Wetlands. Photo: Matt Bedford.
Hard work and huge floods stood out in Marie Kelly's mind when she returned to Jerrabomberra Wetlands on Sunday, where her family ran a dairy farm from 1956 to 1984.
Working alongside four brothers including her late husband Edward, they milked 280 friesian cows, delivering milk to Canberra's growing numbers of public servants.
These days the name Kellys Swamp is synonymous with water birds in the wetlands, rather than bringing in the cows, and the huge risks these dairy farmers took on short-term leases.
Today: Cloudy with a high chance of showers and south and southeasterly winds of up to 45 km/hr this morning. Min 5, max 13.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower. Min 5, max 14.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower, with gusty winds. Min 6, max 18.
