The Fluffy fiasco
The announcement on Tuesday that the ACT will receive a concessional billion-dollar loan may come as a relief to many ACT households but for others, the nightmare continues. With many believing that the ACT has once again been stung out of a fair deal by the Commonwealth, and with ACT Chief Minister Gallagher insisting that it’s the Government’s intention to have every one of the 1021 homes bought and demolished within five years, residents are still left with many questions.
In light of the Commonwealth effectively giving us nothing, the ACT Government intends to recoup some of the costs by buying affected properties, rezoning them, and then subdividing the block for resale. This will result in many households being forced to downsize if they choose to rebuy from the same block. There are no plans to compensate residents who are out of pocket due to unfinished renovations, and Gallagher has not ruled out compulsory acquisition. Other than the personal hardship experienced by residents, there is much political hardship to come for the Chief Minister and her Government.
We can expect to see the bipartisan ‘goodwill’ come to an end as the ACT Opposition will undoubtedly press the Government on an already strained budget. Although, this strategy could fail as the fluffy fiasco might be the very out the Government needs from light rail. One thing is certain; the next two years will undoubtedly be the greatest challenge of Gallagher’s political career.
Tasers
Police Minister Simon Corbell has shot down ACT Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson’s calls to arm all frontline police officers with tasers. In a private member’s motion former Australian Army officer Hanson requested that provisions be made for all officers to be issued with tasers. Currently, only sergeants are allowed to use the weapons, which was a position Corbell previously argued for against the Greens. It was no surprise to see Hanson use Corbell’s own ammunition against him. The motion will be defeated as Corbell’s stance on tasers has mysteriously softened with Rattenbury’s presence in the Assembly.
Narrabundah Tyre slasher (Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!)
Like Batman’s bat-signal shines in the Gotham night-time sky, Giulia Jones MLA has been called to arms again on learning that tyre slashing has returned to the suburb of Narrabundah. Earlier this year a man was arrested for damaging a car tyre in Narrabundah, and many had hoped that this was the end of what has been a twenty-five-year saga for the residents of the besieged suburb. The question is: is it the same person or do we have a copycat joker on our hands? And will the Liberal Opposition seek to introduce legislation to have anyone found of tyre slashing to be shot on the spot, or at least tasered to death? Perhaps Jones could bat-wing out of Canberra on another taxpayer funded fact finding mission to the city of Gotham to learn just how legends are made.
On a federal note… A Retrospective: Nova Peris caught with pants down
Gillard’s ‘captains pick’ Peris has been caught with her pants down with allegations that she used taxpayer money to fund her lover’s tryst to Australia in 2010 when Peris was working for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Peris and the alleged lover have both denied the claims, but if it’s true, as an unnamed local politician put it today, ‘I hope she got bang for our buck.’
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