Page 1163 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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So I hope the Chief Minister has some data that shows there is renewed interest and national focus in Canberra. It is certainly not coming from the federal government. All power to the local government—they put their money up, and through Robyn Archer put together a great program. I do not think anybody doubted that Robyn Archer, the dynamo that she is, would not have delivered, and they have delivered in spades. Many groups have done their part, like Cricket Australia and Cricket ACT who managed to get the teams here. The rugby union is coming and we have a number of other events. Well done to the communities and their bodies that have helped to contribute to the events so far, and well done to all those who have got things planned for later in the year.
But I think there is a failure of the federal government in this. Turning up for one day and celebrating—well, thanks very much for that. But the ACT government has put in $20 million and the federal government has put in $6 million for the programs throughout the year, and that reflects the federal Labor government’s view of Canberra. This is a national thing. We are celebrating the foundation of the national capital, and the federal government has left that burden up to the ACT government. I think it is unfortunate and in some ways is a slur on all of us.
It is important that we keep the momentum going. It is important to recognise the importance of the community contribution, and we certainly commend the efforts of all those involved in delivering an exciting centenary celebration and we look forward to the things that are coming. It is a great year. Centenaries only come around once every 100 years, so let us make the most of it. But perhaps it is time that we as a community should actually stand up for ourselves a bit more instead of reacting as we did when there was some comment that Canberra and the centenary has not been as good as it could have been. Let us point out constantly those things that make us great. Let us point out constantly the things we excel at. It can be done with some humility. We do not have to rub people’s noses in it, but we are different from every other city in this country. We are a planned city. We are the youngest capital. We are the only city that has a diversified network of town centres. We are the home to the national attractions. We have got the country’s best university. There are so many things that make Canberra so special and so important, and yet we constantly seem to be shy about it, and I think that is a shame.
Perhaps this year will cure us of this shyness and then not just the rest of Australia but the rest of the world may learn of us. For many people around the world Canberra is unknown. A lot of the Yanks think Melbourne is the capital of Australia and the Poms think Sydney is. It is about time we all did better that job of promoting the capital, backing up the community groups that are doing their bit this year and backing up all those involved in delivering the celebrations so far and for the rest of the year.
It is a great opportunity to capitalise and make sure that we get long-term and lasting benefits out of this year. Here we are, a quarter of the way. I look forward to the other three-quarters, and I look forward at the end of the year to people actually saying, “Gee, we have had to change our perception of Canberra because it is a much better place than we thought, and it’s not just the politicians on the hill that we hear about every night. It’s not just the tax increases from the federal government that we suffer
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