The Hub Friends of the brain injured The first of a series of profiles on the Snow Foundation’s support for individuals and The Hub organisations in the Canberra community. “The assistance the Snow Foundation The cost, both financial and in carers time, is enormous. gives us means we are not alone, Helping Fiona has been a full time commitment for both Issue#27 march2005 someone cares. There needs to be her parents and grandmother. The Snow Foundation’s “This high level more understanding like this.” Libby sponsorship of Fiona meets the costs of acupuncture and part of the wages of a conductive therapist. of investment Steeper, Friends of the Brain Injured. reflects our robust Fiona’s conductive therapist comes from Hungary; a confidence in the Libby Steeper knows first hand the challenges and country most advanced in the treatment of cerebral future of the Airport frustrations of finding the right support for brain-injured palsy. and our region.” children. Libby is the Secretary of ‘Friends of the Brain Injured’ a Canberra based charity. She is also There is a shortage of such specialists in Australia. – Stephen Byron, grandmother to 4-year-old Fiona who was born with The Friends of the Brain Injured were elated when the Managing Director acute cerebral palsy. Therapist decided to make Canberra her home. The Federal Government has approved the second An average week for Fiona requires a never Because of the commitment of her parents, her Master Plan for Canberra International Airport, ending round of intensive therapies - acupuncture, grandmother and the support of the Snow Foundation, which will guide its growth until 2010. physiotherapy, yoga massage and manipulation. Fiona Fiona is now walking with the assistance of crutches, also needs to visit a naturopath, a speech therapist and starting speech therapy and is about to enter school Fiona - “Catching up with life” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport, spend some time with a playgroup that is designed to only two years behind her peers - a Herculean effort by For further information regarding the Snow John Anderson said Canberra International Airport develop her physical and mental abilities. her family and friends. Foundation please contact Barbara Mullaney made a significant contribution to the capital’s 02 6275 2222 regional economy, directly employing 3,100 people Airport rolls out $300 and handling almost 2.3 million passengers a year. Snow Foundation Canberra International Airport welcomes Government approval of its new Master Plan, dishes up a million expansion plan which will provide a planning framework for the Airport’s future development and follows a wide- healthy serve ranging 90-day round of public consultation. Ministerial endorsement gives the green light to a massive new $300 million works program that Long time Canberra businessman, will transform the Airport into Australia’s most Terry Snow, has decided to personally modern and efficient transport hub within the next five years, the Managing Director of Canberra donate a further $1 million to the Snow International Airport, Stephen Byron said. Foundation. He announced the decision on Thursday 10 February The works program includes construction of a new after helping to serve breakfast to children at the Ainslie terminal capable of handling the expected doubling Primary School ‘Breakfast Club’, an innovative idea or- of passenger numbers to around 5 million by ganised by St John’s Care and established with funding 2024 and a runway upgrade that will make longer from the Snow Foundation. direct flights possible from Canberra. (The Federal Government approved the runway upgrade plans Operating since 1999, the Breakfast Club provides a on 18 November last year.) hearty meal for primary school children aged 7 to 13 “Many families are short on time and don’t always every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the school have the opportunity to prepare and sit down to Terry Snow serves breakfast at the The new Master Plan also clears the way for the year. breakfast with their children. This initiative is designed Ainslie Primary School’s Breakfast Club growth of aviation traffic through: to assist parents and provide children with the chance “Around 60 students and some of their parents attend to enjoy each others company informally before the the local level. I am in awe of the tireless efforts of the • Maintenance of Canberra Airport’s curfew-free the Breakfast Club at any one time,” says Sue Jordan school day starts,” Terry Snow said. many local volunteers who work around-the-clock to status Manager of St John’s Care. “It has proved invaluable to help those in need”. Airport’s Master Plan identifies a whole new world of destinations for Canberra Photos Sam Chui Continued page 2 their health and provided the children with an oppor- Snow says that Government’s are overwhelmed by tunity to interact with each other, the staff and parents. community expectations to solve all societies ills. Established in 1990 by brothers Terry and George Inside this issue of The Hub As a result of the breakfast we are seeing improved Clearly this an unrealistic expectation. Snow, the Snow Foundation began its work with an Ozjet Flies Into Canberra Cancer Council Calls Fairbairn Snow Foundation Dishes Up concentration and happier healthy kids,” she says. initial contribution of $1 million. They added a further Home A Healthy Serve “There is a role the private sector can play in working $500,000 in 1997. This contribution brings the total Not only does the Snow Foundation fund the breakfast with Government to improve opportunities for those donations to $2.5 million. In the 15 years since it was Business class travel at Airport welcomes Cancer Council to $1 million dollar boost for Snow but it has also provided the tables and chairs for the who need help,” Snow says. “It gives me great established, the Snow Foundation has assisted more economy prices. its growing family. Foundation’s work. breakfasts. pleasure to see how the foundation is contributing at than 80 organisations and individuals. Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd | ACN 080 361 548 | 2 Brindabella Circuit, Brindabella Business Park ACT 2609 www.canberraairport.com.au Canberra International Airport www.canberraairport.com.au Telephone: 02 6275 2222 | Facsimile: 02 6275 2244 | Editor: Ken Begg | Reporter: Sam Begg | Layout: Tori Murray The Hub issue27march2005 Canberra was well placed to take advantage of the steady growth in airfreight, Byron said. Qantas Invests $200 million in regional fleet “Because of our close proximity to Sydney, we are actively exploring the possibility of establishing a Trans -Tasman freight centre.” The Master Plan’s approval confirms the Airport’s curfew free status Faster, further, quieter - Introducing and 24 hour operational capability. the new big brother of the Dash 8 fleet. It also recognises the Airport as one of the region’s most significant economic growth engines, Qantas has purchased 7 new Bombardier Q400 generating new jobs, new businesses and Aircraft for use by QantasLink on its regional routes. contributing to the local economy. The airline has also taken purchase rights over an additional ten aircraft. Over the last 5 years, the number of airport-related businesses has grown from 70 to 115 and the The largest ever investment by Qantas in its regional number of jobs has almost doubled from 1,660 to turboprop fleet would mean a new era in passenger 3,100. At the same time, the Airport has invested comfort, jet like speed and lower operating costs Canberra International Airport - the site of the $300 million infrastructure upgrade more than $220 million and engaged the services says Executive General Manager Regional Airlines, of more than 950 businesses, the majority of them Narendra Kumar. • Early introduction of scheduled international The introduction of cheaper fares and direct flights local, in the ongoing redevelopment of the Airport services within the next 12 to 18 months to Brisbane and Adelaide had led to spectacular as a national and international gateway. “The 72-seat Bombardier delivers a 44% increase in passenger growth on both these routes, he said. capacity over QantasLink’s existing fleet of 50-seat • Creation of a 24 hour domestic and trans- “We will continue to work with the airlines to Canberra International Airport appreciated Dash 8 Q300’s. They will enable QantasLink to Tasman freight hub and, encourage them in every way we can to offer direct the support and feedback it received from the grow capacity efficiently on key regional routes while services to all of Australia’s capital cities.” community for its new Master Plan, Byron said. maintaining frequency,” he said. The Bombardier • An aviation related training and maintenance Direct international services from Canberra to “Our commitment to do everything we can to can fly at 360 knots giving it the potential to operate centre at Fairbairn. the Pacific, New Zealand and Asia would attract minimise the impact of aircraft noise on the additional services. around 250,000 passengers each year within community is absolute and we will continue to “This high level of investment reflects our robust the life of the new Master Plan. “We confidently oppose short-sighted, opportunistic attempts The aircraft are due for delivery in early 2006. confidence in the future of the Airport and the expect the introduction of a twice-weekly service by developers to build homes under our flight The “dash” to Sydney has never been region,” Byron said. “It is also absolutely essential if to New Zealand within the next 12 to 18 months.” paths. This will inevitably lead to noise sharing for quicker and quieter. we are to meet the increasing demand for cheaper Direct services to Asian and Middle East hubs Canberra and Queanbeyan.