Page 1776 - Week 06 - Thursday, 19 May 1994
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A second proposal is for the building of Catherine Spence House in Canberra as the national headquarters for women's organisations. Catherine Helen Spence became Australia's first woman political candidate when she stood as a South Australian delegate to the 1897 Constitutional Convention. Unfortunately, and amid some controversy, she failed in her attempt to give Australian women some voice in the emerging Federation. One hundred years later, women still do not have an adequate voice in national affairs. The construction of Catherine Spence House would provide an enduring and worthwhile practical benefit to Australian women, and would emphasise the inclusive nature of the commemoration of the centenary of Federation to a group of Australians effectively excluded in 1901.
The third proposal is for a national undertaking to complete the various communication links to the national capital. Australia is probably unique among the nations of the Western world for the physical isolation of its national capital. In a federation it is vitally important that the national political capital should not be isolated or remote. Our submission therefore includes a proposal to complete the road links to the national capital to national highway standard, and to construct a high-speed rail link between the national capital and the major commercial cities and major population centres of Australia. Also proposed was the upgrading of the national capital airport to international standard.
Our fourth proposal relates to the clean-up of the Murray-Darling rivers systems. This project is probably the single most dramatic and worthwhile environmental project which our country could undertake over the next decade, and I fully support the South Australian Government's emphasis on its importance. As a key centenary project, the ACT proposes an international design competition for development of major native gardens. The gardens would commemorate Sir Henry Parkes's role as the Father of Federation, thus being called the Henry Parkes Federation Gardens. The designs would be consistent with Walter Burley Griffin's original plans for the capital, also encompassing the latest innovations in landform management practices and incorporating a major new architectural centrepiece, a Federation monument. The competition would bring further international attention to Australia in the lead-up to the centenary. The gardens would become a physical landmark for successive commemorative events and a symbolic centre to the nation and its capital.
The sixth proposal concerns the years leading to the centenary. These should be used as an opportunity to consider appropriate options for the annual commemoration of the formation of the Federation. Options should include the possibility of a Federation Day which would reflect on the achievements of the Federation and on the work of the founding Australians and resolve future national directions, goals and objectives. The ACT Government's submission includes a number of specific elements that could be considered in the context of a national civics education program. They include an annual national youth parliament, the drafting of an official history of Australia's contribution to public administration, and knowledge of the Constitution.
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