19 April 2016

Canberra bashers - Where's my flyswat?

| John Hargreaves
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flyswat-stock-060115

You know how when a fly lands on your arm, you absent-mindedly wave it away. The same is when it lands on or near your BBQ. It doesn’t elicit white hot rage, just a small irritation.

Canberra bashers, like most federal pollies, drive me into a white hot rage occasionally and I have to react, like most of us.

But I have been experiencing the lower level irritation lately from those who don’t live here, who have the temerity to criticise how we live, how we’re governed, the quality of our roads and transport infrastructure.

They complain about our hospital services and our educational services.

A cursory read of the Letters page in the Crimes, or the on-line newspaper Letters reveals a propensity for residents of Jerrabomberra, Bungendore, Sutton, Braidwood, and far afield to have a go at the way we do things here.

Do you see a plethora of letters or on line comments from Canberrans criticising the Palerang Shire Council, the Eurobodalla Council, the Sydney City Council? Do we see Canberra ressies going to print complaining about the traffic congestion in Sydney or Melbourne?

No… you don’t!

I noticed a complaint recently from Su McCluskey, CEO of Regional Australia ACT, because the ACT gumment is taking away its funding. The implications are that we gain heaps from the region around Canberra so we should continue to shell out to support those industries and activities.

Yeah right! Dunno about you but I’m not keen on giving money to people who whinge about the way we do things here, whinge about our transport and road infrastructure and services but don’t deign to live here and contribute to their costs. And frankly, I don’t want to support a region unless there are tangible benefits coming back.

So either they stop whingeing about Canberra or I’m going to encourage people to whinge about traffic delays in Braidwood and Bungendore. I’m going to complain about the way these folks use our services, suggesting that the quality of service in Queanbeyan is substandard.

I’m going to complain about the road to Cooma and the horrible trip down Brown Mountain. And every time I’m annoyed by something or someone in NSW or Victoria or Queensland, I’ll go to the Letters page and whinge about things that I don’t pay for and have no business with, just like them.

Or maybe I should just treat them like that fly, and wave them away.

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Masquara said :

watto23 said :

Masquara said :

You can move to New York, London or Rome and fall with love with any of those cities. But that doesn’t make you “of that city”. Why the sensitivity around the standard definition being applied to Canberra? If you weren’t born & raised here, you simply aren’t a local, sorry.

Really, I’m not sure that is a concrete rule. I wasn’t born here, my parents moved here when I was a toddler and have lived here for 38 years now. If that is not a Canberran I don’t know what is. I can understand that adults who move here are technically not Canberrans, but the longer you live in one place the more local you become and its an individuals decision to decide where they feel the most affinity to.

If you moved here as a toddler, you were “raised here” and are indeed a Canberran.

But that doesn’t fit your own definition of “born AND raised here”!!

I was born in Sydney but moved here while still at primary school. So I spend most of my childhood and all of my adult life here (40+ years). I chose to stay and raise my family here as well.
I definitely feel more of a proud Canberran then a Sydneyite (if that’s the term).

Your definition is just that – YOUR definition!

watto23 said :

Masquara said :

You can move to New York, London or Rome and fall with love with any of those cities. But that doesn’t make you “of that city”. Why the sensitivity around the standard definition being applied to Canberra? If you weren’t born & raised here, you simply aren’t a local, sorry.

Really, I’m not sure that is a concrete rule. I wasn’t born here, my parents moved here when I was a toddler and have lived here for 38 years now. If that is not a Canberran I don’t know what is. I can understand that adults who move here are technically not Canberrans, but the longer you live in one place the more local you become and its an individuals decision to decide where they feel the most affinity to.

If you moved here as a toddler, you were “raised here” and are indeed a Canberran.

Tenpoints said :

John, if I work in Canberra, shop in Canberra, generate economic activity in Canberra in the form of business revenue BUT pay land rates to the NSW government, are you going to invalidate my feedback because I don’t “live here”?

I don’t know about cross-border debts or what constitutes an equitable “fair share” of payments, but if I am ‘contributing to the economy’ then I should be allowed to voice my opinion on what is and isn’t good about the city I spend most of my time in.

If you can’t sort it out between governments, maybe you could put ACT-exempt toll booths on all the interstate road crossings to exact due payment from us freeloading NSW residents who supposedly contribute zilch to your fine city?

People who visit and experience Canberra have the right to provide feedback about the location and services provided. The same applies for Canberrans who holiday or work interstate. Whether that feedback is constructive and based on facts is up for debate, but the validity of one’s opinion should not be decided by their postcode.

The issue is the money the government cares about is the rates, rego etc etc. You may contribute to the ACT economy by working and shopping here, but there is an issue regarding where taxes need to flow.
You can have whatever opinion you would like and even be critical if you like. However, IMO being critical of the ACT government, while not paying ACT rates or voting for the ACT government is a bit rich. I’ve got friends who moved to Jerrabomberra and complain about stuff in the ACT all the time and wonders why the government won’t fix this or that! I tell them, move to Canberra pay rates here and then have your say. The border certainly does stop the whingers, they live on each side equally!

MERC600 said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

If you can say ‘ I drove my Monaro along the Monaro” as its meant, your in.

Like Flynn! 😀

John, if I work in Canberra, shop in Canberra, generate economic activity in Canberra in the form of business revenue BUT pay land rates to the NSW government, are you going to invalidate my feedback because I don’t “live here”?

I don’t know about cross-border debts or what constitutes an equitable “fair share” of payments, but if I am ‘contributing to the economy’ then I should be allowed to voice my opinion on what is and isn’t good about the city I spend most of my time in.

If you can’t sort it out between governments, maybe you could put ACT-exempt toll booths on all the interstate road crossings to exact due payment from us freeloading NSW residents who supposedly contribute zilch to your fine city?

People who visit and experience Canberra have the right to provide feedback about the location and services provided. The same applies for Canberrans who holiday or work interstate. Whether that feedback is constructive and based on facts is up for debate, but the validity of one’s opinion should not be decided by their postcode.

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

If you can say ‘ I drove my Monaro along the Monaro” as its meant, your in.

Masquara said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

drfelonious said :

fps_grandma said :

People who have never lived in or let alone visited Canberra are not really in a position to comment on Canberra. This I am sure we can all agree on.

However of all the Australian cities I’ve lived in, Canberra is the only city whose people openly speak of opposition to outsiders and sprout similar cliches in defense.

Canberra is the only city whose people speak of opposition to outsiders – are you kidding me!!??

Have you been in the vicinity of Brisbane during State of Origin, or listened to anyone from Melbourne ever? …and don’t even get me started on Perth – they are the worst – they even tried to secede from the Commonwealth at one point!

Canberra is the least xenophobic city in Australia – one of the great qualities of this city. Now granted, in response to the increasingly hysterical and ill-informed Canberra bashing from the News Ltd clowns and their fellow travellers on talkback radio, there is going to have to be a bit of a backlash, but it is reactive, rather than ingrained behaviour.

+1
It’s only the old crusty Canberrans who think because they were born and raised here, they are intrinsically better and love this city more than those who made a considered and adult choice to move here and stay who are resistant to “outsiders”.

You can move to New York, London or Rome and fall with love with any of those cities. But that doesn’t make you “of that city”. Why the sensitivity around the standard definition being applied to Canberra? If you weren’t born & raised here, you simply aren’t a local, sorry.

And how old are you? In other words how long have you lived in Canberra? By your definition a person who has lived here eighty years, but weren’t born here, would not be a local. Absolute rubbish.

Masquara said :

You can move to New York, London or Rome and fall with love with any of those cities. But that doesn’t make you “of that city”. Why the sensitivity around the standard definition being applied to Canberra? If you weren’t born & raised here, you simply aren’t a local, sorry.

Really, I’m not sure that is a concrete rule. I wasn’t born here, my parents moved here when I was a toddler and have lived here for 38 years now. If that is not a Canberran I don’t know what is. I can understand that adults who move here are technically not Canberrans, but the longer you live in one place the more local you become and its an individuals decision to decide where they feel the most affinity to.

Masquara said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

drfelonious said :

fps_grandma said :

People who have never lived in or let alone visited Canberra are not really in a position to comment on Canberra. This I am sure we can all agree on.

However of all the Australian cities I’ve lived in, Canberra is the only city whose people openly speak of opposition to outsiders and sprout similar cliches in defense.

Canberra is the only city whose people speak of opposition to outsiders – are you kidding me!!??

Have you been in the vicinity of Brisbane during State of Origin, or listened to anyone from Melbourne ever? …and don’t even get me started on Perth – they are the worst – they even tried to secede from the Commonwealth at one point!

Canberra is the least xenophobic city in Australia – one of the great qualities of this city. Now granted, in response to the increasingly hysterical and ill-informed Canberra bashing from the News Ltd clowns and their fellow travellers on talkback radio, there is going to have to be a bit of a backlash, but it is reactive, rather than ingrained behaviour.

+1
It’s only the old crusty Canberrans who think because they were born and raised here, they are intrinsically better and love this city more than those who made a considered and adult choice to move here and stay who are resistant to “outsiders”.

You can move to New York, London or Rome and fall with love with any of those cities. But that doesn’t make you “of that city”. Why the sensitivity around the standard definition being applied to Canberra? If you weren’t born & raised here, you simply aren’t a local, sorry.

Why did you omit Paris?

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

drfelonious said :

fps_grandma said :

People who have never lived in or let alone visited Canberra are not really in a position to comment on Canberra. This I am sure we can all agree on.

However of all the Australian cities I’ve lived in, Canberra is the only city whose people openly speak of opposition to outsiders and sprout similar cliches in defense.

Canberra is the only city whose people speak of opposition to outsiders – are you kidding me!!??

Have you been in the vicinity of Brisbane during State of Origin, or listened to anyone from Melbourne ever? …and don’t even get me started on Perth – they are the worst – they even tried to secede from the Commonwealth at one point!

Canberra is the least xenophobic city in Australia – one of the great qualities of this city. Now granted, in response to the increasingly hysterical and ill-informed Canberra bashing from the News Ltd clowns and their fellow travellers on talkback radio, there is going to have to be a bit of a backlash, but it is reactive, rather than ingrained behaviour.

+1
It’s only the old crusty Canberrans who think because they were born and raised here, they are intrinsically better and love this city more than those who made a considered and adult choice to move here and stay who are resistant to “outsiders”.

You can move to New York, London or Rome and fall with love with any of those cities. But that doesn’t make you “of that city”. Why the sensitivity around the standard definition being applied to Canberra? If you weren’t born & raised here, you simply aren’t a local, sorry.

Maya123 said :

Masquara said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

Absolutely you aren’t a Canberran. You have to have been raised in Canberra to be a Canberran. Ask any New Yorker whether living there for 20 years qualifies you to be a New Yorker, or ditto Rome or London! No way! You live here, but you aren’t a Canberran.

Under your classification then I am from no-where. I have lived in Canberra more than 40 years, but I wasn’t born or raised here. Before that I never lived long in any place. I only lived in my place of birth for a week, and the longest place I lived in before Canberra was less then four years.

As with Canberra bashing, Masquara’s personal definition is as irrelevant as you want it to be.

Queen_of_the_Bun5:08 pm 11 Jan 15

drfelonious said :

fps_grandma said :

People who have never lived in or let alone visited Canberra are not really in a position to comment on Canberra. This I am sure we can all agree on.

However of all the Australian cities I’ve lived in, Canberra is the only city whose people openly speak of opposition to outsiders and sprout similar cliches in defense.

Canberra is the only city whose people speak of opposition to outsiders – are you kidding me!!??

Have you been in the vicinity of Brisbane during State of Origin, or listened to anyone from Melbourne ever? …and don’t even get me started on Perth – they are the worst – they even tried to secede from the Commonwealth at one point!

Canberra is the least xenophobic city in Australia – one of the great qualities of this city. Now granted, in response to the increasingly hysterical and ill-informed Canberra bashing from the News Ltd clowns and their fellow travellers on talkback radio, there is going to have to be a bit of a backlash, but it is reactive, rather than ingrained behaviour.

+1
It’s only the old crusty Canberrans who think because they were born and raised here, they are intrinsically better and love this city more than those who made a considered and adult choice to move here and stay who are resistant to “outsiders”.

Masquara said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

Absolutely you aren’t a Canberran. You have to have been raised in Canberra to be a Canberran. Ask any New Yorker whether living there for 20 years qualifies you to be a New Yorker, or ditto Rome or London! No way! You live here, but you aren’t a Canberran.

Under your classification then I am from no-where. I have lived in Canberra more than 40 years, but I wasn’t born or raised here. Before that I never lived long in any place. I only lived in my place of birth for a week, and the longest place I lived in before Canberra was less then four years.

Canberra is not a particularly exciting city but there’s nothing wrong with that. I arrived in 1976 so I’ve watched the city develop. Apart from the War Memorial, which is World class, the museums and galleries are mediocre and I believe we’re still lacking in sporting events but that’s what happens with a smaller population than the major cities (think Bern and Brasilia). Canberra bashers have usually arrived from bigger more vibrant cities and it does take a while to get used to the quieter lifestyle.

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

Absolutely you aren’t a Canberran. You have to have been raised in Canberra to be a Canberran. Ask any New Yorker whether living there for 20 years qualifies you to be a New Yorker, or ditto Rome or London! No way! You live here, but you aren’t a Canberran.

fps_grandma said :

People who have never lived in or let alone visited Canberra are not really in a position to comment on Canberra. This I am sure we can all agree on.

However of all the Australian cities I’ve lived in, Canberra is the only city whose people openly speak of opposition to outsiders and sprout similar cliches in defense.

Canberra is the only city whose people speak of opposition to outsiders – are you kidding me!!??

Have you been in the vicinity of Brisbane during State of Origin, or listened to anyone from Melbourne ever? …and don’t even get me started on Perth – they are the worst – they even tried to secede from the Commonwealth at one point!

Canberra is the least xenophobic city in Australia – one of the great qualities of this city. Now granted, in response to the increasingly hysterical and ill-informed Canberra bashing from the News Ltd clowns and their fellow travellers on talkback radio, there is going to have to be a bit of a backlash, but it is reactive, rather than ingrained behaviour.

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

yep, it does… i’ve been here since ’87, so class myself as ‘almost a local’.

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

Or me? 43 years ago. (YIKES!!!)

Queen_of_the_Bun8:22 pm 10 Jan 15

Masquara said :

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

Me too. 20 years ago. Does that mean I am not a Canberran?

Innovation said :

dungfungus said :

It seemed like such a good idea at the time:
http://rdaact.org.au/blog/2011/12/02/act-chief-minister-and-nsw-premier-sign-new-regional-agreement/

I wish I’d read this before. NSW Government changes a couple of years ago meant that I was forced to terminate my studies in NSW because I wasn’t a NSW resident…..

Funny how O’Farrell and Gallagher aren’t around anymore, isn’t it?

People who have never lived in or let alone visited Canberra are not really in a position to comment on Canberra. This I am sure we can all agree on.

However of all the Australian cities I’ve lived in, Canberra is the only city whose people openly speak of opposition to outsiders and sprout similar cliches in defense.
The prime response to Canberra bashing is the potential for the population to increase and therefore add congestion to services. Is this borderline xenophobic?

Why insist on country town living in a capital city by name at least?
If high population is such a concern why not live in other satellite country towns such as Bathurst, Bega, Cooma, Goulburn, Mollybrook or Orange instead for example?

“Migration is an important contributor to Australia’s growing population.”
The migration rate of Canberra is also lower than other cities too.
Source:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0main+features102014
(The plus sign must be added between main and features for the URL to work)

You may find further interesting reading with regards to Wikipedia’s talk page on Canberra provided the negativity hasn’t been intentionally erased.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ACanberra

dungfungus said :

It seemed like such a good idea at the time:
http://rdaact.org.au/blog/2011/12/02/act-chief-minister-and-nsw-premier-sign-new-regional-agreement/

I wish I’d read this before. NSW Government changes a couple of years ago meant that I was forced to terminate my studies in NSW because I wasn’t a NSW resident…..

Blen_Carmichael said :

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John actually isn’t a Canberran. He only moved to Canberra as an adult.

“And frankly, I don’t want to support a region unless there are tangible benefits coming back.”

Must be they hate us for our altruism.

HiddenDragon6:01 pm 09 Jan 15

John Hargreaves said :

watto23 said :

You can always argue without a population centre in Canberra that many of the surrounding businesses wouldn’t even exist. Queanbeyan would be a fraction of the size it is now. We can argue that people living across the border but working in the ACT are not paying their share of taxes to support the infrastructure in the ACT. Although I believe this is one reason why we get more than $1.27 per $1 of GST raised in the ACT.

Watto, this may be so as it represents the “disadvantage” Canberra has for being the national capital, not services used by NSW residents. we always have to chase NSW for mental health payments, education and general health stuff through the cross border arrangements. when I left ACT Health in 1994, NSW owed about $8 million. a lot of money in those days.

Even allowing for the offsetting costs of Canberrans being referred to Sydney hospitals for procedures and care which is not available here, I would imagine the figure is now very much higher than $8 million – it would take remarkably detailed and accurate statistics (and no, that’s not meant as a swipe) to capture fully the net cost to the ACT Health system of treating NSW residents.

Blen_Carmichael3:51 pm 09 Jan 15

You’re not a Canberran if you get upset over Canberra-bashing.

John Hargreaves3:48 pm 09 Jan 15

watto23 said :

You can always argue without a population centre in Canberra that many of the surrounding businesses wouldn’t even exist. Queanbeyan would be a fraction of the size it is now. We can argue that people living across the border but working in the ACT are not paying their share of taxes to support the infrastructure in the ACT. Although I believe this is one reason why we get more than $1.27 per $1 of GST raised in the ACT.

Watto, this may be so as it represents the “disadvantage” Canberra has for being the national capital, not services used by NSW residents. we always have to chase NSW for mental health payments, education and general health stuff through the cross border arrangements. when I left ACT Health in 1994, NSW owed about $8 million. a lot of money in those days.

Alexandra Craig3:38 pm 09 Jan 15

Mess said :

Canberra bashing has been a national sport for a long time. I say leave them to it. We live in great city, and it’s them that are missing out, not us.

+1. It’s annoying and frustrating but hey, the more people that don’t want to move to Canberra – the better! I don’t want to have super duper congested roads and more houses and have to make reservations for a Saturday night dinner. It’s good how it is! 🙂

You can always argue without a population centre in Canberra that many of the surrounding businesses wouldn’t even exist. Queanbeyan would be a fraction of the size it is now. We can argue that people living across the border but working in the ACT are not paying their share of taxes to support the infrastructure in the ACT. Although I believe this is one reason why we get more than $1.27 per $1 of GST raised in the ACT.

gazket said :

typical modern Labor.
lets give our tax dollars to foreigners but do nothing for our local community.

I’m a bit mystified with this response and it’s relevancy to the topic. Would you mind expanding?

typical modern Labor.
lets give our tax dollars to foreigners but do nothing for our local community.

Canberra bashing has been a national sport for a long time. I say leave them to it. We live in great city, and it’s them that are missing out, not us.

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