Page 1797 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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It goes on then to canvass the options which are available to the Commonwealth - again not very accurately - and the opportunities provided by the occasion:
Canberra Government has opened up 17 full-time jobs for politicians. Admittedly, an extraordinary number went first around to eccentric groups -
I am not quite sure which they are -
(itself an indication of the Canberra voters' disdain for the new structure) - but it has not taken long for the Abolish Self Government Coalition and the No Self Government Party to get their feet under the desks, and rather to enjoy it. And the Politician's Union, a voluntary closed shop, would be loath to see jobs so newly acquired, lost.
And, of course, again none of these comments is necessarily endorsed:
Ultimately, however, Canberra must be seen as a city that does not in truth exist primarily for its permanent residents. It is there for others: for parliamentarians, for diplomats, for the Australian Defence Forces, and for the thousands who dance attendance on these three groups.
Let me quote from an article in the Bulletin on 10 October written by David Barnett:
Nobody knew that either the Residents Rally, the No Self-Government Party or the Anti Self Government Coalition wanted to remove fluoride from the water supply. They thought the Residents Rally wanted to preserve trees and possums and stop a casino being built ... they thought voting for the other lot was a good way of registering their resentment -
Again holding us up to ridicule.
An article in the Australian on 11 October, written by Richard Farmer, starts off by saying:
Okay, I admit it, I made a mistake. I voted for an independent in the ACT election. I succumbed to the temptation of wishing a pox on both major parties and made a protest vote. And here I am today feeling acute embarrassment because so many other people followed the same course, with the result that Canberra's local government today is a laughing stock.
Further on it says:
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