What would you like to see on ACT licence plates? Here are some suggestions of what they could look like. Image: CMAG/Digitally altered.
Is it time for the ACT to have a new licence plate slogan?
The last time Canberrans were asked to have their say on what slogan should adorn our new licence plates was in 2016 when more than 1800 ideas were submitted and narrowed down to a shortlist, and voted on the following year. The winner, with 38 per cent of the vote, was ‘Canberra – The Bush Capital’. This was followed by ‘Ngunnawal Country’ (24 per cent), ‘CBR – Driving the Nation’ (11 per cent) and ‘CBR – Australia’s Cool Capital’ (8 per cent).
At the same time, Canberrans voted to phase out some of the slogans previously circulating. ‘Feel the Power of Canberra’ and ‘Canberra – Age Friendly City’ didn’t prove so popular, with only a small percentage of voters supporting to keep them.
We figured it had been a while since the ACT brought in a new licence plate slogan and decided to ask you for your suggestions. And nearly 1000 people responded, with a range of ideas that you thought reflected the unique experience of living in Canberra enough to deserve a place on our vehicles.
Here’s a summary of some of the responses we received – what do you think?
1. The Canberra driving experience
A number of responses paid respects to the Canberra driving experience, including ‘Canberra – More Than Just Roundabouts’ suggested by Cameron (to which one commenter replied “Is it really though…” – we’ll let you decide that).
Unsurprisingly there were a number of references to roundabouts, including ‘You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round’ from Jattz and ‘Canberra – Round About the Best Place to Be’ from Harry.
Then there was also ‘Keep Right Unless Overtaking’ from Leigh and ‘Lane One Form’ from Jeanette and Duncan, who received support from many commenters.
Alternatively, Steve suggested ‘My Other Car is a Tram’.
2. Our weather
Again, not so surprisingly, Canberrans were keen to have a licence plate slogan that highlighted our unique climate. For example, Tim simply suggested ‘Bring A Coat’, while Lisa said ‘Canberra – 7 Seasons in 1 Day’.
Canberrans’ favourite winter attire was also referenced a few times. Chris said the slogan should be ‘Home of the Kathmandu Puffer Jacket’, and Hanri suggested ‘Canberra – The North Face of Kathmandu’.
Maybe what the ACT’s licence plates need is some self-deprecation. Photo: Craig Jeffriess, Facebook.
3. Our…reputation
Maybe what our current licence plate slogans are lacking is a good sense of humour and the ability to joke about our shortcomings. Or at least that was what quite a few of the popular comments suggested.
Melanie said ‘Less Boring Than it Used to Be’, while Tegan said ‘Not as Bad as You Reckon’.
Raymond suggested ‘Australia’s Most Misunderstood Place’ would be appropriate.
While Astrid’s suggestion of ‘Canberra Thinks You’re Boring Too’ was particularly popular.
On a more optimistic side, Kurt said: ‘Canberra – It’s Quite Nice’.
4. Our favourite landmarks and events
Commenters also thought the ACT’s next licence plate slogan should refer to some of our beloved local places. For example, David suggested ‘Canberra – Home of the Owl’, while Matthew said ‘Home of Kingsley’s Chicken’.
Toby suggested ‘Summernats Rules’, commenting “everyone in Canberra loves the nats – best 4 days of the year !!”
While Harry commented that ‘Canberra. It’s close to nice places’ would be more accurate instead.
5. More than just public servants?
Dave suggested our licence plates should say ‘Canberra… not the Government’, while Simon suggested ‘Remember You Send Your Politicians to Us’.
6. Bring back ‘Feel the Power’
Despite no longer being on our licence plates since 2017, a number of commenters thought we should resurrect this past slogan, used to promote Canberra by the ACT Government in the late 1990s.
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