Canberra Now: School language shake up, new Monaro Highway plan

How are liking our new look website? You might notice something a little different with our print edition, too. It's all part of an exciting new dawn for The Canberra Times. 

But enough about us. Here's the news, served in bite-sized pieces, to get you up to speed on what's happening in the national capital. 

Were you lucky enough to learn a foreign language at school? 

It turns out many young Canberrans aren't being given that opportunity, despite a requirement that they study an hour a week in primary school. The ACT government admits staff shortages make it difficult, but is committed to doing better. 

Steve Evans has the story.

This is some story. 

Canberra mum Catherine Mayes is being hailed a hero after she pulled both of her children to safety from a burning car, seconds before it exploded. On Friday afternoon, Ms Mayes was getting her two children out of the car when a portable battery pack caught fire in the front seat  

Ms Mayes told our reporter Andrew Brown that she heard a "fizz" coming from the front seat before flames engulfed the car. The Gordon resident said the incident lasted about five seconds, but that it felt like much longer. 

Read more here. 

The ACT government is investigating a major realignment of the Monaro Highway at Hume, which would cut through Mugga Lane solar farm, skirt the boundaries of a nature reserve and pass historic buildings.

The proposal has blindsided the solar farm's owners, who first learned of it when contacted last week by The Canberra Times despite the government having already commissioned a study into the feasibility of the new route. 

I've got more details, including maps of the proposed alternate route, here. 

A veteran aviation expert claims to have exposed another gap in the regulation of household delivery drones - one which calls into question the legality of Wing's entire Canberra operation.

Bonython resident Ian McIntyre, an aviation consultant and former regulator at the old Civil Aviation Authority, said the US-based tech company never obtained a key noise approval before it launched its controversial trials across the Canberra region. 

The Federal Government says the size and type of Wing's drones meant it didn't need the approval, but has committed to reviewing the apparent looping as part of an investigation into drone noise regulations. 

For its part, Wing said it obtained all the relevant approvals for its Bonython trial, and would do the same before it launched into Canberra's north. 

I've got the story. 

I was born and raised deep in AFL territory, but even this Adelaidean gets excited about State of Origin. NSW fans will get a little taste of what they can look forward to in a few months time when Canberra Raiders winger Nick Cotric and Parramatta Eel flyer Blake Ferguson go head to head at Canberra Stadium on Sunday. 

The match will give Blues coach Brad Fittler a benchmark for the Origin hopefuls, who will be competing for the chance to replace the injured Tom Trbojevic in the series opener on June 5.

Chris Dutton and Sam Phillips have the story.