Canberra Now: Businesses 'face ruin'; hope for mental trauma victims

Welcome back to the working week. We're in for a mostly sunny day today, with a bit of cloud cover and a top of 29 degrees. Perfect weather for staying inside and watching a hostless Oscars telecast, am I right?

Here's what's making headlines across Canberra today:

Curtin business owners say they have been financially and emotionally devastated by the delayed redevelopment of the controversial Curtin shops building, which has been fenced off for more than a year.

A new, five-storey mixed residential and commercial building was approved for the site in December, but the decision is being appealed by the local residents association.

Curtin Barber Shop owner Iradj Darrish, who is bound by a lease to a nearby building, has had to let three staff go due to a severe drop in business; he now runs his shop by himself.

Cassandra Morgan spoke to Mr Darrish and other business owners for this story.

The development woes continue over in Yass, where dozens of landowners say they were left in the dark by their local government about plans to enforce a five-kilometre no-development zone north of the ACT border.

They fear the NSW government will eventually be able to resume land in the "buffer zone" at dramatically low prices, before giving it to the ACT government in exchange for water supply to Yass and Murrumbateman - allowing for "Canberra's industrial and urban slums" to seep across the border.

Cassandra Morgan has the full story here.

Dennis Maddock never realised the damage 19 years in the military was doing to his mind - until it was too late.

He took part in some of the fiercest fighting in East Timor, where he was shot at and "[ran] into fires". But he says the mental pain was tougher than the physical pain - "the hardest thing [he's] ever faced."

Now, with the help of Lifeline Canberra, he's teaching others a new way to monitor their mental health.

Steve Evans explains what's involved here.

Anthony Pesec is throwing down the gauntlet to the major parties in the ACT, buoyed by a trend of independent MPs being elected nationwide on progressive yet business-friendly platforms.

The renewable energy investor says he'll run his campaign with an eye to the "sensible centre", which could draw the support of Alex Turnbull - son of the deposed prime minister - who has committed to funding "small-L liberals" across the country willing to act on issues like climate change.

Doug Dingwall has the full story here.

Former Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper returned to much fanfare at Canberra Stadium in round one of the Super Rugby - but the real comeback happened a week later at the same venue.

Brumbies skipper Christian Lealiifano produced a masterclass against the Waikato Chiefs, setting up three tries and undoubtedly putting himself back on the Wallabies' radar for the World Cup later this year.

But it wasn't always going to be that way; Lealiifano was diagnosed with leukaemia in August 2016.

Eamonn Tiernan breaks down what's in store for the 31-year-old here.