Election 2020: Liberals deal themselves in with West Basin, horse paddock stand

There are still blocks of vacant land in the embassy area of Yarralumla so none are needed elsewhere. There is a block allocated for a residence next to the Embassy of Spain which, last time I looked, was still as vacant as it was 35 years ago.

You are referring to the vacant, now overgrown and fenced off block between the Embassy of Spain and the mosque. This was allocated to the Islamic Republic of Iran, but obviously they are not in a hurry to build on it. Their contempt for Australia is shown by their continuing imprisonment of Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

You know that you can just read the supporting information in the change to the National Capital Plan right?

https://www.nca.gov.au/consultation/national-capital-plan-draft-amendment-95-da95-north-curtin-diplomatic-estate-and-urban#:~:text=The%20primary%20purpose%20of%20DA95,estate%20for%20future%20residential%20use.

The existing estates are full or already reserved, DFAT have advised the expected need for new sites to accommodate future missions.

Although I do think it’s mighty hilarious that you refer to a future exclusive enclave when the land is now used almost exclusively by a tiny minority of wealthy horse owners and the new estate will almost certainly have more trees than the empty paddocks there now.

It would be more than simple to mandate some level of public access and a greenbelt through the area in any future development and that would already be a vast improvement from what’s there now.

And how do you think that the local government benefits from development of a diplomatic estate which is controlled by the Federal government? You seem to be insinuating something without having put too much thought in to it.

“DFAT have advised the expected need for new sites to accommodate future missions.”

That expectation would have been made before the pandemic. Everything has changed now, forever. There won’t be any embassies and diplomatic missions here in a few years.

Capital Retro,
And you base your claims on what?

Regardless of what happens with the current pandemic, at some stage in coming years the new areas for embassies will be needed.

And it makes perfect sense to plan for that and set aside the areas now, rather than try to shoehorn them in to unsuitable locations when they’ve run out of time to plan appropriately.

You’re claiming that they don’t need any new areas, yet the people who manage the issue say they do.

Who to believe, who to believe.

Since DFAT cited the need for new sites to accommodate new embassies and missions they have recalled staff from overseas operations. You cannot disregard the ongoing consequences of this pandemic and I guess many local DFAT staff will be working from home. Global embassies and diplomatic missions simply cannot function without regular air services and quarantine restrictions are difficult for them to deal with. This “industry” is still functioning however because they are finding new ways to do things, as are other industries that need to survive. All countries will soon be looking for ways to cut costs and keeping a symbolic diplomatic presence in other countries will be drastically curtailed.

Have you noticed that our Parliament is still sitting despite a lot of MPs being absent? Who would have thought this was possible? Everything is changing so look out for yourself.

By the way, I correctly predicted on RiotACT even before the pandemic had taken hold in Australia that airlines and cruise companies would cease to function and I was right.

Capital Retro,
Predicting that airlines and cruise ships will shut down during a pandemic is like predicting the sun will rise tomorrow. Closures of borders are some of the first actions in every pandemic plan.

I think the opposite of what you claim will occur and embassies and missions will become even more important than before due to the restrictions in movement. And you should note that international travel hasn’t stopped, Its just significantly reduced.

Global trade will become increasingly important for many countries because it provides a lifeline to their economies. Which means they need government officials on the ground.

And even if I’m wrong, you seem to be assuming this pandemic will last forever and embassies will disappear altogether.

This will end and it makes perfect sense to plan for the future.

Assuming that there will be no embassies in the future would be horrific from any sort of planning or risk management perspective. It’s far better to allow the space and not need it, than to need the space and not have it.

What an oracle. Predicting a pandemic that has basically seen large swathes of national borders across the globe would cripple the airline and cruise industry…. Who would of thought it?

Do you know tomorrow’s lotto numbers?

Chew14 and JS9, I was ridiculed also when I made that prediction. I wouldn’t know what a lotto number was either. I live mainly outside the Canberra bubble where it’s a different and larger world.

I hope that things don’t get worse but I have a “plan B” if they do.

The comment about international travel has only “significantly reduced” is risible as the regular international flights to and from Canberra stopped months ago.

Capital Retro,
That sounds horrible.

Seeing as you claim you made these statements and were ridiculed on Riotact, you can link the article for us. Should be more than simple to provide the evidence.

And despite your protestations, international travel has not stopped. Canberra was never truly an international airport so it’s irrelevant from that standpoint.

You seem to be claiming that diplomats won’t be able to travel, which is just wrong.

And once again, you still seem to be assuming this will last forever, over time the travel caps will be increased to free up travel. Diplomatic flights would also be given priority as it’s far easier to control the passengers movements if they are part of a diplomatic mission.

That would take brain power Hidden Dragon, to actually demonstrate the liberals actually have policies. At the moment they again have the folly of thinking the electorate will simply vote for them because they’ll say ‘we aren’t doing what the other mob will do’….

With a decent suite of policies, this would be an easy win for the opposition this election. But there is precious little evidence they are going to do anything different to what they did 4 years ago.