Andrew Leigh spruiks the northside, but not Belconnen

Hmmm,
– The inner south has tyre slashers and Mully shrines;
– the inner north has too many cyclists, drug warfare and stabby loons;
– the far south has the Tuggy thuggies and security guards being stabbed in Coles,
– Woden has more white commodores and bogans per capita and lots of exciting police chases
– the far north is a desolate, treeless wasteland
– Belco has petshops being rolled at 9am

Which leaves Queanbeyan…

I live in Macgregor said :

neighbourly love in Macgregor.

Mercy me! I didn’t realize it was that sort of a place.

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Let me guess, you’re a renter

Could Andrew Leigh be any more of a Labor cheerleader if he tried. His radio work is sad, so sad. He manages to never answer a question is all flowery and gushy about all things Labor. That and he looks disturbingly like that beautiful man who used to do the weather on WIN

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Sounds to me like you’re the kind of person who rarely ventures outside a square kilometre radius of where you live and just labels anywhere else as a “hole”.

For a reasonably progressive city, Canberra has a lot of elitism.

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole…..

Not that one would be likely to care what is on her/his death certificate, but I imagine that Balmain, for example, was once not all that desirable. We can all guess but who really knows what these places will be like twenty, fifty or hundred years from now.

Got to admit, as much as Leigh parrots the party line about everything being Abbott’s fault, he does appear to be a pretty good local member.

Deref said :

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin?

Both as ugly as the proverbial hatfull of arseholes, but surpassed, IMO, by the Besser Block horrors of Tuggeranong Town Centre. I still have nightmares about my days working there.

What is it about our urban “planners” and architects that leads them to design such soul-destroying, brutalist abominations?

Woden Plaza anyone?

Leigh’s speech is worrying in that it is designed to get more pollies (and staffers) living on the northside. This can only lower the amenity of the area; more suits in cafes yelling about things into their phones, while ignoring the person they’re sitting with, for example (who won’t care as he will also be yelling into his phone. Or somehow managing to text aggressively.) More journalists. (No offence to any individual, but as a group, they’re hideous.) Also, if you’re renting, it would drive up rents if enough of them actually listened. Which of course they won’t. Thank God.

Duffbowl said :

South Central LA and the inner suburbs of Washington? Yeah, I think they fall into that category…

Also Detroit.

LSWCHP said :

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Dude, you’re blowing smoke out of it. I’ve lived all over this country, and lots of places overseas. Most parts of Belconnen are very nice places to live compared to most parts of Australia. And Belco is paradise compared to…ohh…I dunno…Tijuana, the barrios of San Diego, almost anywhere in Cambodia, south-central LA, much of Washington DC, TUGGERANONG

I’m sure that’s what you were meaning to say.

Deref said :

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin?

Both as ugly as the proverbial hatfull of arseholes, but surpassed, IMO, by the Besser Block horrors of Tuggeranong Town Centre. I still have nightmares about my days working there.

What is it about our urban “planners” and architects that leads them to design such soul-destroying, brutalist abominations?

It’s funny how tuggers and woden people consider Gungahlin out of the way, it’s 10 minoutes or about 10 k’s from Civic.

Depends if you think the world revolves around you I guess.

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Oh give me a break. Belco is the same as pretty much any other middle-class suburban area in Australia. For the most its suburbs are fantastic, even the outer ones. As I live in Mcacgregor said, we are lucky to live in Canberra. We have all the benefits of city living but the added bonus of open space, fresh air, little traffic and nature reserves everywhere.

I have previously commented that I have serious issues with the planning that has gone into some of our newer suburbs, and stand by my belief that we have given the developers of these new suburbs too much leeway to create suburban spaces that lack the amenity of our more established suburbs. However, even these newer suburbs offer a quality of life that a huge proportion of the world would dream about. And I’m not talking about 3rd world countries.

qbngeek said :

Cheap said :

LSWCHP said :

And Belco is paradise compared to…ohh…I dunno…Tijuana, the barrios of San Diego, almost anywhere in Cambodia, south-central LA, much of Washington DC etc etc.

So your defense of Belco is that it’s not as bad as many third world countries?

Woah, the US is third world…..fuck me

South Central LA and the inner suburbs of Washington? Yeah, I think they fall into that category…

Cheap said :

LSWCHP said :

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Dude, you’re blowing smoke out of it. I’ve lived all over this country, and lots of places overseas. Most parts of Belconnen are very nice places to live compared to most parts of Australia. And Belco is paradise compared to…ohh…I dunno…Tijuana, the barrios of San Diego, almost anywhere in Cambodia, south-central LA, much of Washington DC etc etc.

So your defense of Belco is that it’s not as bad as many third world countries?

Woah, the US is third world…..fuck me

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin?

Both as ugly as the proverbial hatfull of arseholes, but surpassed, IMO, by the Besser Block horrors of Tuggeranong Town Centre. I still have nightmares about my days working there.

What is it about our urban “planners” and architects that leads them to design such soul-destroying, brutalist abominations?

Well, I grew up Northside, and it was fantastic living both walking distance to ANU, Civic, Dickson, Braddon etc. Whilst maintaining a quiet surburban neighbourhood atmosphere. That was until 2007 when the ACT Government re-zoned my whole area for high-density property development and turned my tiny cul-de-sac into a massive construction site. Gotta love it, but I don’t think I’ll live back north for a while.

I would just like to point out that people residing in Tuggeranong feel the same way as Belco-ites – inner South Canberra is another world to the rest of Canberra and it would be nice if pollies appreciated that we are not all wealthy EL2s and above who can afford to send their kids to Grammar.

LSWCHP said :

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Dude, you’re blowing smoke out of it. I’ve lived all over this country, and lots of places overseas. Most parts of Belconnen are very nice places to live compared to most parts of Australia. And Belco is paradise compared to…ohh…I dunno…Tijuana, the barrios of San Diego, almost anywhere in Cambodia, south-central LA, much of Washington DC etc etc.

So your defense of Belco is that it’s not as bad as many third world countries?

Voytek said :

It hard to say what is the bigger hole – Belconnen or Gungahlin? Belconnen at least would be less offensive on your death certificate. Gungahlin……the place is an out of the way, characterless, ugly as sin hole.

But then again, this isn’t saying much because anywhere is better than the parliamentary triangle.

Dude, you’re blowing smoke out of it. I’ve lived all over this country, and lots of places overseas. Most parts of Belconnen are very nice places to live compared to most parts of Australia. And Belco is paradise compared to…ohh…I dunno…Tijuana, the barrios of San Diego, almost anywhere in Cambodia, south-central LA, much of Washington DC etc etc.

astrojax said :

labor’s mssr leigh canvassing for gunghalin – our own gunghalin al running for the greens – labor/greens coalition keeping the government together: coincidence?

Damn. Sprung….
Plan B.