23 October 2012

The Centenary wants to know what you like about Canberra?

| johnboy
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canberra

The Centenary folk are kicking off a social media campaign to get us all waving our pom poms for Canberra:

While the ACT election may be over, Canberrans are being urged to vote just one more time – to nominate their favourite thing about Canberra.

On the eve of Canberra’s 2013 Centenary the search has begun for the top 100 reasons why locals like Canberra.

This big Centenary community engagement campaign, which starts tomorrow, is inspired by one simple premise – Canberrans do like Canberra, they just don’t know how to express it.

“As we head into the Centenary year we feel it is important to build some community pride,” said Jeremy Lasek, Executive Director of the Centenary of Canberra.

You can express your likes on a website, facebook, or Twitter.

But make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments here.

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I like the trails up the hills and mountains and being able to take lots of pics. I don’t like having to look down all the time to avoid snakes.

I love the fact that the wonderful staff at Canberra Hospital saved my sight and my life BUT I hate the fact that someone had to tarnish the reputation of the hospital by fudging the figures after coincidentally bumping into the Health/Chief Minister in France.

wildturkeycanoe said :

Mr Evil said :

What I like about Canberra:

Hospital waiting times.

Potholes big enough to hide a poker machine in.

A lake that looks like you could walk across it.

Alistair Coe and Latin homework.

People earning $100 000+/annum living in Govt Housing.

The beautiful architecture of Belconnen and Woden Town Centres.

Costco.

Slowband in Gungahlin.

John Hargreaves and red wine.

Cafes/restaurants that poison people and then complain that they’re being victimised by ACT Health.

The way all major infrastructure projects are so well managed here.

Workplace safety.

The leadership ambitions of Brendan Smyth.

The fact that our prisoners are better cared for than our elderly.

Politicians who aren’t afraid to say what they think, like “she walks like she’s got a Mintie up her bum”.

No corruption.

Rhodium.

Kate Jackson and 12 000 pieces of fudge.

The Village Building Company.

All the friendly people who say hello to you in the street.

Magpies.

Polite and well behaved youth.

Mooseheads, Shooters and The Phoenix.

Andrew Barr and Facebook.

Mal Meninga’s 30 second career as a politician.

The fact you can virtually get away with murder here.

Anu Singh.

Kate Carnell, and the carnival atmosphere she brings to hospital implosions.

The secret tunnel/bunker/missile silo/brothel/aircraft hangar under the lake.

Deakin telephone exchange.

The sanity of David Eastman.

ACTION.

Roundabouts and on-road cycle lanes.

Cyclists.

Denis Stevenson sleeping in his office and wearing white suits.

‘Family-friendly’ Summernats, harmless shenanigans and gangbangs.

The fact that 600+ ‘people’ voted for Philip Pocock…………..

and last, but not least –

Saint Mully who died for all our sins.

Forgot also,
Non-synchronised traffic lights

Cheap [snort – monopolised] CTP insurance

But I must say, I love your policies, so why didn’t you present yourself as a candidate in the election? You would have had your quota in no time.

this is a great list.

add
plastic bags
fireworks
and FM104.7

I like Canberra for the weed, pr0n and fireworks.

🙁

devils_advocate11:41 am 24 Oct 12

Postalgeek said :

I like magpies. And mountain biking.

And turtles.

I love lamp.

The bikies and the weed.

But seriously, I could probably think of a few things to put on the list given the time to think. The NGA, certainly, even if it doesn’t quite compare to galleries elsewhere, I still reckon it has a spectacular atmosphere and I really enjoy the outdoor installations, especially the Fern Garden. I dunno about this quote from the article though:

““It could be the spectacular Canberra colours in autumn, a walk around the lake, a picnic at the Cotter or
enjoying a coffee at Manuka – the options are almost endless,” Mr Lasek said.”

It’s a pretty weak list. And why Manuka? It’s a wanky, expensive district for coffee. I think he should have said Wanker Alley, you know, with Gus’ and Cafe Essen, that’s where all the hipsters go to sip lattes.

I particularly like the snark on RiotACT, too.

wildturkeycanoe said :

But I must say, I love your policies, so why didn’t you present yourself as a candidate in the election? You would have had your quota in no time.

He thinks he could walk across LBG so he go the ego for it.

Lookout Smithers said :

It is also the home of the country’s worst newspaper, sadly.

Oh dear me, so you’ve never read The Hun or The Daily Terror then? I’d also nominate The Australian but as recently pointed out this is not a newspaper, rather a political blog

When you submit your list you get this response “You will be able to vote for your submission between 14 January and 14 February.”

The inclusion of the words “your submission” indicates that EVERY submission will be available for voting, no matter how ridiculous.

That should be interesting.

wildturkeycanoe6:02 am 24 Oct 12

Mr Evil said :

What I like about Canberra:

Hospital waiting times.

Potholes big enough to hide a poker machine in.

A lake that looks like you could walk across it.

Alistair Coe and Latin homework.

People earning $100 000+/annum living in Govt Housing.

The beautiful architecture of Belconnen and Woden Town Centres.

Costco.

Slowband in Gungahlin.

John Hargreaves and red wine.

Cafes/restaurants that poison people and then complain that they’re being victimised by ACT Health.

The way all major infrastructure projects are so well managed here.

Workplace safety.

The leadership ambitions of Brendan Smyth.

The fact that our prisoners are better cared for than our elderly.

Politicians who aren’t afraid to say what they think, like “she walks like she’s got a Mintie up her bum”.

No corruption.

Rhodium.

Kate Jackson and 12 000 pieces of fudge.

The Village Building Company.

All the friendly people who say hello to you in the street.

Magpies.

Polite and well behaved youth.

Mooseheads, Shooters and The Phoenix.

Andrew Barr and Facebook.

Mal Meninga’s 30 second career as a politician.

The fact you can virtually get away with murder here.

Anu Singh.

Kate Carnell, and the carnival atmosphere she brings to hospital implosions.

The secret tunnel/bunker/missile silo/brothel/aircraft hangar under the lake.

Deakin telephone exchange.

The sanity of David Eastman.

ACTION.

Roundabouts and on-road cycle lanes.

Cyclists.

Denis Stevenson sleeping in his office and wearing white suits.

‘Family-friendly’ Summernats, harmless shenanigans and gangbangs.

The fact that 600+ ‘people’ voted for Philip Pocock…………..

and last, but not least –

Saint Mully who died for all our sins.

Forgot also,
Non-synchronised traffic lights

Cheap [snort – monopolised] CTP insurance

But I must say, I love your policies, so why didn’t you present yourself as a candidate in the election? You would have had your quota in no time.

I like cycling through the Arboretum on weekdays and at night. Oh, wait.

I like Canberra cause it’s a one-horse town pretending to be a city.

Mr Evil said :

What I like about Canberra:

Hospital waiting times.

Potholes big enough to hide a poker machine in.

A lake that looks like you could walk across it.

Alistair Coe and Latin homework.

People earning $100 000+/annum living in Govt Housing.

The beautiful architecture of Belconnen and Woden Town Centres.

Costco.

Slowband in Gungahlin.

John Hargreaves and red wine.

Cafes/restaurants that poison people and then complain that they’re being victimised by ACT Health.

The way all major infrastructure projects are so well managed here.

Workplace safety.

The leadership ambitions of Brendan Smyth.

The fact that our prisoners are better cared for than our elderly.

Politicians who aren’t afraid to say what they think, like “she walks like she’s got a Mintie up her bum”.

No corruption.

Rhodium.

Kate Jackson and 12 000 pieces of fudge.

The Village Building Company.

All the friendly people who say hello to you in the street.

Magpies.

Polite and well behaved youth.

Mooseheads, Shooters and The Phoenix.

Andrew Barr and Facebook.

Mal Meninga’s 30 second career as a politician.

The fact you can virtually get away with murder here.

Anu Singh.

Kate Carnell, and the carnival atmosphere she brings to hospital implosions.

The secret tunnel/bunker/missile silo/brothel/aircraft hangar under the lake.

Deakin telephone exchange.

The sanity of David Eastman.

ACTION.

Roundabouts and on-road cycle lanes.

Cyclists.

Denis Stevenson sleeping in his office and wearing white suits.

‘Family-friendly’ Summernats, harmless shenanigans and gangbangs.

The fact that 600+ ‘people’ voted for Philip Pocock…………..

and last, but not least –

Saint Mully who died for all our sins.

Wow, you really like Canberra! You forgot the heroin addict window washers located at traffic lights.

What I like about Canberra:

Hospital waiting times.

Potholes big enough to hide a poker machine in.

A lake that looks like you could walk across it.

Alistair Coe and Latin homework.

People earning $100 000+/annum living in Govt Housing.

The beautiful architecture of Belconnen and Woden Town Centres.

Costco.

Slowband in Gungahlin.

John Hargreaves and red wine.

Cafes/restaurants that poison people and then complain that they’re being victimised by ACT Health.

The way all major infrastructure projects are so well managed here.

Workplace safety.

The leadership ambitions of Brendan Smyth.

The fact that our prisoners are better cared for than our elderly.

Politicians who aren’t afraid to say what they think, like “she walks like she’s got a Mintie up her bum”.

No corruption.

Rhodium.

Kate Jackson and 12 000 pieces of fudge.

The Village Building Company.

All the friendly people who say hello to you in the street.

Magpies.

Polite and well behaved youth.

Mooseheads, Shooters and The Phoenix.

Andrew Barr and Facebook.

Mal Meninga’s 30 second career as a politician.

The fact you can virtually get away with murder here.

Anu Singh.

Kate Carnell, and the carnival atmosphere she brings to hospital implosions.

The secret tunnel/bunker/missile silo/brothel/aircraft hangar under the lake.

Deakin telephone exchange.

The sanity of David Eastman.

ACTION.

Roundabouts and on-road cycle lanes.

Cyclists.

Denis Stevenson sleeping in his office and wearing white suits.

‘Family-friendly’ Summernats, harmless shenanigans and gangbangs.

The fact that 600+ ‘people’ voted for Philip Pocock…………..

and last, but not least –

Saint Mully who died for all our sins.

I like how Government consults with the people here so we can express what we want even though they’ve already decided what we’re going to get. The last line in the press release gives the whole game away, “At the time of the 100th birthday, everyone who lives here will have access to the 100 most special things about Canberra”. So you can bet your bottom dollar it won’t be kangaroos, cockatoos or proximity to Sydney. What we will end up with is a list of local attractions such as the Lodge, Government House and the Arboretum. I suggest we all vote for hot air balloons to test this theory.

Lookout Smithers8:56 pm 23 Oct 12

I like the unmatched A1 level of services available to the community. The low level of crime and the transparency of the executive and judicial powers due to the city being a small area which has its own government. It is also the home of the country’s worst newspaper, sadly.

The Canberra Centenary people don’t understand Canberra.

#tomkat if you think ‘LIKE Canberra’ isn’t a watered down version of ‘I (love) NY’, that’s great for you.

I personally think of all the unique and clever marketing ideas out there this doesn’t come close.

Happy to be proved wrong.

Honestly Martin75? I was actually thinking that it was a nice idea to take that love NY thing and make it into a more modern Like Canberra. So, yep, I actually just thought, it’s about time we did something like this as a city.

I am also not usually a fan of government stuff but I liked the sentiments in the press release. Actually quite refreshing honesty from a government dude that explains the why of the campaign quite well.

Anyways, I jumped onto the website ready to put my two cents worth in and the funniest thing happened, as I went to key in my stuff, I got cold feet. I have decided that I want to think about this a lot more. I do want to help get this list of 100 things right.

Hey, BTW, does anyone know what is going to happen with the list. I hope it’s not just going to be just on a website. It would be good if the CT or someone published it as a big page – I would definitely stick that in my dunny for my interstate guests who like to diss on Canberra.

A good idea I think and I think Martin75 needs to join in and not be so cynical

HenryBG said :

I like the way our Rates are going to triple.

…and the fact we elect to our Town Council, not people who intend to govern our services well, but rather people who subscribe to party-political ideology and for whom good governance is (sometimes, when we’re lucky) an after-thought.

Yeah, it is worse then every other town in Aust where you have to elect both a state government (people who subscribe to party-political ideology and for whom good governance is (sometimes, when we’re lucky) an after-thought) AND a town council (who usually do an okay job of providing basic municipal services, but people always whinge about potholes and high rates anyway).

HenryBG said :

I like the way our Rates are going to triple.

…and the fact we elect to our Town Council, not people who intend to govern our services well, but rather people who subscribe to party-political ideology and for whom good governance is (sometimes, when we’re lucky) an after-thought.

Quit whinging. I’d much rather live in Canberra than pretty much any other city in Australia.

I like the way our Rates are going to triple.

…and the fact we elect to our Town Council, not people who intend to govern our services well, but rather people who subscribe to party-political ideology and for whom good governance is (sometimes, when we’re lucky) an after-thought.

‘LIKE Canberra’ wow we are really pushing the boundaries with this old idea. New York had ‘I (love heart) New York’ about 30 years ago. Now we have watered that down to ‘LIKE Canberra’, i wonder how focus groups it went through?

I have always liked Canberra for what it doesn’t have. No pollution,traffic or very many crimes.

I have, also, always loved the rivalry between the north and south sides of Canberra. Many laughs and fierce competition on trivia nights, sports and housing prices. I would love if there was some sort of organised competitions between the two for the centenary.

Postalgeek said :

I like magpies. And mountain biking.

And turtles.

Ooohhh, I’ll add those first two to my short list.

I like turtles too, but they aren’t a reason I specifically like Canberra.

Canberra, the things that make me think this place is the best in the world to live*, summed up by singling out one thing. How hard can that be?

A short list:
– Granite
– Kangaroos
– big chunks of nothing right between town centres
– all the important services of a big city
– that (sometimes annoying) everyone knows the same people thing

But really, for me it is more about the combination of all those, and the mundane qualities – roads, garbage collection, running water – which push it to the top.

* – for me at this time in my life. Results may vary.

I like Canberras location – If I want to go away for the weekend, Sydney, the coast and the snow are all a short drive (or bus trip) away. Melbourne is only a day drive as well.

I like magpies. And mountain biking.

And turtles.

Who will be the first person to quote Dame Edna? “I like Canberra because it is so convenient. In ten minutes you can be in Australia.”

Well if we ‘don’t know how to express it’, dear Centenary People, why ask us to express ourselves? Look, I’ll try…

“I like the cockatoos.”

Gosh!

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