8 October 2014

State of the Capital - Weekly Political Wrap 9/10/14

| John Hope
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The Most Liveable City…. in the WORLD!!

A reserved Katy Gallagher has responded to the news that according to an OECD Regional Wellbeing report, Canberra is the best place to live in the world. Cautiously admitting that she did not expect Canberra to be deemed the world’s most liveable city, Gallagher was quick to approve of the report’s findings. Five Australian cities including Melbourne and Sydney made it to the report’s top ten. Rarely does Canberra make the BBC News.

Paid Parking

In the ACT Government’s relentless drive to charge motorists wherever they park their cars (even if it’s in front of their own homes), paid parking in the Parliamentary Triangle is now a reality. It’s about raising revenue and changing people’s behaviour through the blunt instrument of a flat tax. United Voice estimates that the new measures will cost the lowest paid workers in the area 8% of their salary. So rich people will still be able to drive to work but poor people should think about peddling instead. In the world’s most ‘liveable’ city life just got a whole lot harder for a fair few families.

‘Kill Climate Deniers’

The Aspen Island Theatre Company has garnered $18,793 of taxpayer funds from the ACT Government for a two-week development of a theatrical production tastefully titled Kill Climate Deniers. The funding was awarded through a ‘peer panel’ review where members of the community decide on which artistic projects get funded. Nonetheless, it is Arts Minister Joy Burch who approves the recommendations of the panel, and it was the embattled Burch who received a swift dressing down from not only Arts Spokesperson Brendan Smyth but also right-wing commentator Andrew bolt for wasting public money. Burch, true to form, couldn’t give a…

Medical Marijuana

Following Shane Rattenbury’s agitation for the medical use of cannabis in the ACT, the Government has stalled the inevitable by requesting to join the NSW trial instead of moving to legalise the drug now. Gallagher claims that the ACT is too small to conduct its own program. Rattenbury proposes that people should just be able to grow the stuff in the back yard; Labor wants to look like its doing something when it’s not; and the Opposition is too obtuse to see the political opportunity in the issue. Regardless of these political realities, we have sick children whose parents are forced to break the law every day.

ACT Labor Votes for New President

As Labor makes the slow steps towards internal democratisation, ACT Labor is way out in front as it holds its first members’ ballot for the Party President. The candidates include Louise Crossman, John Kilcullen, Tom, McMahon and Jen Newman. Within the ranks of ACT Labor, Louise Crossman is the preferred candidate but who knows what the democratic ramblings of Labor will deliver? One thing is certain though: the party isn’t what it used to be, but then again, either are the Canberra Liberals, not by a country mile.

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I think United Voice might be overstating estimates the cost the lowest paid workers. 8% of their entire salary? I don’t think so.

HiddenDragon6:47 pm 09 Oct 14

“Following Shane Rattenbury’s agitation for the medical use of cannabis in the ACT, the Government has stalled the inevitable by requesting to join the NSW trial instead of moving to legalise the drug now. Gallagher claims that the ACT is too small to conduct its own program.”

Even if it is a delaying tactic, recognising our very small scale and limited (but not limited enough) resources is a refreshing change from the seemingly far more common ACT Government practice of insisting on developing policies and programs, if not entirely, then almost from scratch – apparently because we are so special and different from other jurisdictions, that we cannot simply adopt what others do, with a little bit of local fine-tuning. The cumulative cost, across the full range of ACT Government activities, of reinventing the wheel, must surely be substantial.

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