Tag: Canberra

• Childish Things

  August 23, 2018 12:33 pm Comments Off on Childish Things

  Of this decade’s many leadership crises, this one is by far the most infantile. We should not stand for it.
  One of the saddest condemnations of the state of Australian politics is that the last Prime Minister to serve out a full parliamentary term was John Howard. In the five prime minister-ships we’ve had since, only one was brought to office by the ballot box rather than by party room coup (Tony Abbott in 2013).
  That the Prime Ministership is an uncomfortable and precarious chair to sit in is one of best elements of the Westminster system. Our democracy is stronger because prime ministers are never fully secure, always needing to be cautious and responsive to the pressures of Parliament and the people. No one is irreplaceable on Parliament Hill, and any prime minister who forgets this finds themselves out of power.
  However, the act of disposing a government should be a decision made only in circumstances of actual need, where a change of leadership is necessary for the functioning of government, the good of the party, or for a closer reflection of the will of the people. The threat of a leadership coup is more useful than the reality, to bring prime ministers to heel and reign in the executive government from any excesses.
  An argument could be made that the coups of 2015, 2013 and 2010 met these criteria to varying degrees. Abbott in particular – with a slew of broken election promises, a deeply unpopular policy agenda, tendency to make captain’s calls and low levels of public support probably serves as the best example of a coup in the public interest. Rudd, for all of his popular support, had a deeply problematic cabinet leadership and executive management style.
  In each case, an argument could have been made that the successor had a better chance of leading the party to an electoral victory.
  And then there is… this.
  Let us be very clear. No one is arguing that Peter Dutton has anything even close to popular support – what little polling numbers exist indicate that his numbers are abysmal, verging on non-existant. No one is arguing that Dutton would have a higher chance of winning an election. No one is making an argument that Dutton could better manage cabinet or run the government. No one is saying that Dutton has better policies, more popular policies, or is indeed talking about his policies at all.
  The only reason why this appears to be happening is that a single poor Newspoll presented an opportunity for the right to seize power. And that was the only consideration, along with the opportunity for personal ministerial advancement among MPs.
  In fact, there is nothing about Australia in this leadership debacle. The Commonwealth has been disregarded, the public interest thrown to the wayside as the Liberal Party engages in one of the most spectacular exercises of collective self-absorption that has ever blighted Parliament.
  It is puerile, selfish, destructive and an insult to the people and Constitution of Australia. It is a disservice to the hundreds of thousands in the APS who serve to make the Government work.
  It is time for us to put away childish things. This transcends partisan allegiances or factional squabbling. Should the government fall, as citizens of the Commonwealth our singular demand should be an immediate dissolution of Parliament and an immediate election.

  Howard Maclean

• In the Spotlight: ANU Flautist Serena Ford

  June 28, 2018 9:19 am Comments Off on In the Spotlight: ANU Flautist Serena Ford

  ANU student and 2018 winner of Canberra Youth Orchestra’s Concerto Competition Serena Ford will be a highlight performance at the upcoming CYO concert on 30 June. The CYO, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017, performs four concerts a year at Llewellyn Hall and is the premier youth symphony orchestra in the ACT and wider region. I caught up with Serena before the big performance to ask about her musical journey:
  ‘I first started playing the flute in grade 5 with the Instrumental Music Program like many young Canberrans. I started because I really enjoyed, and still do, playing with other people. There’s a kind of ritual to playing music together and it doesn’t matter what music style you are exploring, it’s just such a communal, human experience, so that’s what first got me into music.’
  ‘I do feel this is a milestone for me. In the past I just played music because I enjoyed it, so I never did exams or any of the prestigious stuff to formally recognise the level I was at. This concert has become a symbol of all the work from my past years of practise, so that’s a really good feeling. The piece I’m playing is called Flute de Pan and it’s based off the Greek mythology creature, Pan, who I’m sure many of our classical studies students would be interested in. It’s a really interesting story since Pan is actually often credited as the inventor of the flute since he was chasing a nymph who transformed herself into reeds, which he then snapped and began to play as a flute.’
  Alongside her musical achievements Serena is studying a Bachelor of Asia-Pacific studies here at ANU. I asked Serena how she manages to balance studying with being a committed flautist.
  ‘It has been quite a busy few years at university! I have to do a lot of intense planning at the start of semester to make sure I meet all my musical aims and academic aims in time and at a good level, and I practise every day. Although music is also an intellectual process in many ways, it helps me to practise a bit of flute in between massive study sessions so that I’m stimulating my brain with new tasks and keeping myself energised.’
  Serena’s career at ANU started in year 12 at the Open School of Music, which she said exposed her to a new level of music learning. ‘In a more abstract way, I’ve found that through my other non-music specific studies at the ANU, the emphasis has always been on thinking about concepts in novel ways. Interestingly, this has really helped with the way I approach new pieces, since I realise there is a depth of thought and complex processes that go into writing a piece of music from the composers.’
  Despite the concert’s prestige, Serena said she isn’t feeling too apprehensive about performing yet:
  ‘The funny thing is that it doesn’t really hit me that I’m going to be in-front of people performing until two seconds before I actually get on stage. So for the moment I feel pretty relaxed, but I know what’s coming! Sometimes I get so into the zone from performing that I don’t actually have solid memories of playing. I don’t remember any details between the moment of getting on stage and getting off. So I think I prefer to let the nerves come to me when they do and just focus on my technique and sound for the moment.’
  I asked Serena about why students should get involved in Canberra’s orchestral scene and how other budding musicians can get motivated.
  ‘I think the main aversion most young Canberrans have toward the orchestral scene comes from the belief that it’s only traditional, classical music. We actually dabble in a whole bunch of different stuff, with the CYO playing alongside the jazz trumpeter, James Morrison last year, an a cappella group, The Idea of North, and plans to play a student study favourite later this year – film soundtrack music.’
  ‘Orchestral music can explore all sorts of human experiences and emotions. When you’re watching musicians onstage, they are engaging in a medium of human communication, since they are interpreting the collection of sounds and feelings and presenting it to the audience, who also have the chance to experience and interpret it in a different way again. It’s really magic and I highly recommend listening to as much live music as possible, since each new live performance is an expression of a mood and orchestral music covers the whole spectrum of emotion and styles.’
  ‘Following passions you have outside of study life really enriches your everyday life. When I’m stressed out about my studies, I practise my flute and that makes me feel better. When I’m stressed out about my flute, I study! The important thing is to pursue things that will give you satisfaction and which allow you space from only doing one task your whole day or week. It’s not about distraction or procrastinating, it’s just a really nice way to fulfil yourself and spend time cultivating the things that make you feel most content. I guess my last bit of advice is that getting into the zone and focusing deeply on whatever you’re doing, whether it’s practising the piano for fun, cooking in between study sessions or studying itself, feels dang good! And it’s good for you, too.’
  Musical director of the CYO and ANU convener Leonard Weiss said that CYO is delighted to feature one of its own in the upcoming performance.
  ‘For me, it’s such a pleasure to conduct an orchestra that inherently brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to each rehearsal and especially the performance,’ Leonard told me. ‘For the most part, every musician is approaching this repertoire for the first time, so there is a genuine hunger for and appreciation of each new piece that we perform, which I think is evident to our audiences.’

  Alisha Nagle

• What’s the deal with Canberra nightlife?

  May 20, 2018 10:23 pm Comments Off on What’s the deal with Canberra nightlife?

  If someone told me after my first week in Canberra that the local nightlife was not limited to trashy vibes and mainstream clubs, I would not have believed it. Ten months later, and two whole semesters of exploring the corners of the capital, I should retract my statement. Canberra nights have real potential.
  It would be wrong to describe Canberra as a boring capital or without culture. Admittedly, it is true that Melbourne or Sydney have distanced it in the eyes of the Australian youth. As an outsider used to the Parisian nightlife, I took a critical look at Canberra. I observed my fellow students following the same rhythm all semester. A back and forth from Mr. Wolf to Mooseheads, where the only originality was the booking of an interstate DJ on Fridays. For too long, public authorities have not considered the role of night culture in the attractiveness of the city. Besides, most students seem to enjoy this routine, limiting even further the possibility for Canberra to proclaim quality and original parties. Today, this is changing.
  The trigger? A new generation. There is now a momentum and dynamism in Canberra with many events at night, but also during the day, especially around the artistic scene. Since January 2018, the parties on offer have been more intense than ever. Outdoor raves led by local crews, edgy warehouse nights with international DJs, all-out art parties like Renaissance: local actors are shaking up Canberra.
  They are young and willing to create an alternative night, outside the traditional venues. One of them, Nick Trivett, DJ and co-president of Univibes explains: “There are not enough good nights-out and clubs run by the current institution in Canberra. Univibes, Pickles, Orbit, all that shit was started by local kids who aren’t happy with what’s currently happening – which means the honor falls on us to throw proper events.” All those names, including CBR House Social and Good Content are the leading party collectives in Canberra you should check for your next weekend.
  Although the diversity of models multiplies, they all gathered under the same desire: creating a more progressive, aesthetic and inclusive night. Mission accomplished for the Degenerate & Six’s team. These students and artists have proven their ability to bring an audacious concept to the capital. On Saturday gigs, a new crowd embraced the pop-up gallery where art pieces blended with dancers.
  I believe the power of the night shouldn’t be diminished. The party is our way to express ourselves and blossom. We share political questions, try to call out, to create a timeless place.
  Giving a quick glance around you during a gig should draw your attention to the representation issue within the club industry. That’s why initiatives such as Woroni DJ training for women and non-binary people or all-female lineup are necessary, and should inspire more eventplanners to respect gender equality. As revolutionary as it sounds for a place like Canberra, locals promoting queer or women DJ are still ahead of most of the parties in the country. Any party-goer should be aware for example that women represent only 23 per cent of Australian festival lineups!
  Our current clubbing culture reflects many social issues, as questions of domination, gender, race and sexuality. Today, we must stop minimising the political dimension of the night and start to consider party spaces as a relevant location for empowering minorities. It is not about tokenizing by inserting a few diverse people into the lineup, but rather giving people the opportunity to assert their identity through an event.
  This is the ambition of Canberra’s new night scene. I believe this change of mentality is essential because it could transform Civic nightclubs from a place where we go to mindlessly dance or drink to a living space of innovation, liberation and culture.

  Romane Fuentes

• Meanwhile, in Canberra… #6

  10:14 pm Comments Off on Meanwhile, in Canberra… #6

  Budget Night is one of those weird Canberra spectacles. Journalists emerge from the lock up, where they have been held for six hours, cut off from the internet and holed up with the Budget papers. And then the treasurer appears at the despatch box, tasked with making the government sound wonderful.
  Last week, there was certainly a need to sound wonderful. An election is due in the next 12 months. As the clearest statement of a government’s intent, the Budget sets up a lot of the premise for the upcoming campaign.
  Gone are the days of Tony Abbott’s and Joe Hockey’s Budget emergency. The debt and deficit disaster is history now. The only emergency that matters is the one in the opinion polls.
  And what do you do when you are faced with electoral defeat? Cue up some personal income tax cuts, spread so far out over the forward estimates – the projection for years after the present budget – as to be basically meaningless. Just make sure there is something small to kick in from July.
  In the lead up, the government was touting their “Boomer friendly” Budget. At least they know their base. What they should have said was bland.
  But not bland in the “it doesn’t really matter way”. Bland in the sense of being completely devoid of vision or character.
  If you believe the government, the economy is in great shape, jobs are being created and next year treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver a slender surplus.
  Why, then, should we accept a cut to the ABC of $83.7 million over four years? The government wants to freeze the national broadcaster’s funding over forward estimates and subject it to another efficiency review. It will be the 10th review in 15 years.
  Morrison says the ABC has to “live within its means”. (He also revealed himself to be a fan of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, hoping that it would survive Aunty’s funding cut.)
  Cutting ABC funding is a pretty clear statement that a government has no regard for the intelligence and education of Australians. It sends a loud and clear signal that the government doesn’t see the importance of Australians telling Australian stories, of grappling with our national identity in intelligent, accessible forums.
  The ABC’s managing director, Michelle Guthrie, told ABC staff after the announcement: “In the coming year Australians will head to the polls for the federal election. More than 80 per cent of Australians value the ABC – a point that shouldn’t be lost on anyone seeking government.”
  SBS will have funding returned after the government couldn’t legislate to allow it to accept more advertising. It isn’t a real increase.
  But it’s not just the ABC facing cuts.
  Since coming to power, the Coalition has cut more than $50 million out of the Screen Australia budget. Now, the government is putting $3 million towards the “development of Australian film and television content.”
  The government has also announced a $140 million fund to encourage big Hollywood productions to film in Australia. It’s good for local workers and tourism, they say.
  It smacks of cultural cringe, investing in others to make Hollywood blockbusters rather than investing properly in Australian film.
  National institutions will also face cuts. While the National Gallery is getting some money to help with refurbishments, the National Archives and the National Library will lose 10 and 12 staff respectively.
  Making all of this worse is the $48.7 million over a four years earmarked for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s first voyage to Australia. As the debate whether we should change the date of Australia Day has reached the mainstream, this decision shows a government not interested in any kind of reckoning about our country’s past.
  Cuts to the arts and libraries and the ABC might seem like prudent budget measures, victimless crimes with no real effect, but they are not only detrimental to the cultural life of the country, they reveal what kind of vision the government has for us: a vision of a blank face being crushed by the boot of parochialism forever.
  When I covered the Budget in 2016, I wrote in the Herald that, “For most young Australians, this Budget is not for us. We don’t benefit. We haven’t been offered our election pitch.” I could write the same again, and note once more the lack of action on housing affordability or climate change.
  It is good that there will be more places at universities for regional students and that access to Youth Allowance will be made easier for them, but it’s hardly a consolation in an environment which has prioritised cynical survival-instinct politics over the kind of long-term thinking students and young people need.
  It’s a shame for students that the Budget isn’t required to include tables of opportunity costs. It would cast very different shadows over what kind of Budget a government can get away with presenting.
  Over the next 20 years, the cost to the Budget from lower income tax receipts as a result of fewer students going to university will be between $2.2 billion and $3.9 billion, modelling commissioned by Universities Australia claimed.
  The Cadence Economics report found that the total economic impact of the higher education sector funding freeze would be between $6.9 billion and $12.3 billion over the next two decades.
  Belinda Robinson, Universities Australia chief executive, told The Guardian: “It’s a simple equation – less university funding means fewer skilled graduates, a hit to labour market productivity and less tax revenue for government.”
  But to see that, you’ve got to look beyond the ballot box at the next election and the Budget bottom line next May.
  And at the moment, the Turnbull government doesn’t have the right vantage point.
  Jasper Lindell is Woroni’s political columnist and a former news editor

  Jasper Lindell

• Disappearing Space on Campus

  9:37 pm Comments Off on Disappearing Space on Campus

  Over the last year, countless spaces at ANU have disappeared behind fences, into piles of rubble and under scaffolding. Navigating campus has become akin to the constantly moving maze I have a recurring dream about – every time I spot a gap in the cyclone fencing, I see it move out of the corner of my eye and turn around to find myself enclosed.
  I can make do with this inconvenience, though – and I’m privileged to experience it as a mere inconvenience, rather than a genuine impediment to me accessing many spaces on campus. Not everyone is this lucky. The campus is undeniably less accessible than it was a year ago, physically closing out disabled students for whom having to walk further, use stairs or navigate busy crowds might just not be an option. It is not good enough.
  Over time, other detrimental effects on the community are emerging, that weren’t quite so apparent at the outset. Slowly, alongside the physical changes, something less tangible is changing. As communal spaces disappear and morph, so too, it seems, does the community that inhabits them.
  Without a central space for events, events become smaller and more isolated. They’re forced to the peripheries of the campus, or cease to be held at all. With such limited parking, accessibility becomes a minefield, and even moving equipment and supplies becomes a logistical nightmare. Events play an important social role; more than that, they’re a way of expressing values. With less visible spaces to protest or to celebrate, there’s less opportunity for groups to express their collective identity.
  Day-to-day, different parts of the university feel more distant. We carve out our own paths, sometimes physically (see: Chifley Meadow), travelling between the specific buildings we need. But crossing campus is just that much harder, and that much less worthwhile just for a better study spot or a sunnier lunch location. Our routines on campus have become more localised. The divisions between faculties seem to grow in more ways than one. Lacking a central space, the feeling of social interconnectedness that seeing familiar faces all over campus brings gets weaker.
  It feels hyperbolic, to link construction to such substantial shifts in the way we experience campus. But it is no new concept – there is a rich academic tradition of exploring the effects of physical space on the ways in which we inhabit, experience and participate in the world. Sociology and anthropology examine the ways in which spaces include and exclude, and the forms of socialising and community building they facilitate. Human geographer Allan Pred puts it beautifully, arguing that the organisation of physical space is “inseparable from the reproduction and transformation of society in time and space.”
  This period of change is not limited to the ANU, either. Globally, public space is eroding, as parks, town squares and malls become privatised and commercialised. Public space has important and beneficial impacts on health, happiness and community, and so scholars and advocates and politicians worldwide are beginning to ask what this means. They worry that social inclusion is being irreparably diminished by increasing land pressure that eats away at public and green spaces in cities.
  Perhaps online spaces are filling the metaphorical space left behind. Facebook groups become meeting places and forums for discussion, reminding us that we’re part of a collective whole. They bring with them their own parameters which facilitate and limit interaction much like the material confines of a physical space. Specific post formats, community standards defining “appropriate” content and algorithms controlling the dissemination of information bound our experience online, much like the fences on campus do in “real” life.
  ANU is a different place than it was a year ago, when the grass on Chifley Meadows was still lush and green. In a year, or two, when Kambri opens and the construction eases up, the new spaces will make it different again. It is hard to say what has changed, and even harder to imagine what might – but we have to ask. The materiality of campus is too intertwined with our experience as students to let it go unnoticed and unquestioned.

  Mia Jessurun

• How to Survive the Blistering Canberra Cold

  May 10, 2018 11:39 am Comments Off on How to Survive the Blistering Canberra Cold

  Winter is a difficult time of year. For those of us who aren’t Canberra locals, we have to get used to freezing days, biting wind, and a sun that just never warms us the whole way through. But, whether this upcoming winter is your 20th or first here in Canberra, these eight tips and tricks will help you make it through (mostly) unscathed.
   
  1. CRANK THE HEATER UP.
   
  The heaters at college (or, at least, those at B&G) are actually pretty good. A word from the wise: you can turn the knob halfway, and for some of them this is a good middle ground between “help me I’m sweating through my socks” and “my first toe just fell off it’s time to let hypothermia take me”. Otherwise crank it up, but leave your window open just a sliver and your room will warm up without getting too stuffy. eave the window open when you’re not in your room. It’s cold when you first get back, but you’ve got to let some fresh air in there.
   
  2.  LAYER, LAYER, LAYER.
   
  One of the best things about winter (for me, at least) is the fashion, but you do need to be smart. Go for lots of layers so that you can shed them when you arrive for that tute at AD Hope (which is unfailingly 30 degrees all year round), and then layer back up for the ride home. You should also invest in a puffer jacket – those bad boys are God’s gift to the frozen.
   
  3. WEAR GLOVES.
   
  Honestly, if you have to ride from campus into Civic on a freezing morning, or basically venture anywhere outdoors (which, let’s be real, we all eventually have to) then invest in a set of gloves. It doesn’t matter if they’re from Top Bargain or Mimco, but those babies are going to help you through the worst of winter. I went through an entire Canberra winter without gloves, and my hands were wind-chapped, cracking, and very unhappy with me. Learn from my mistakes.
   
  4. TAKE A HOT SHOWER/BATH.
   
  Particularly if you’re living off-campus and don’t want those gas and energy bills to be through the roof, take a bath or shower instead of turning on the heating. You’ll warm up, it’s a bit of self-love time, and you’ll actually feel toasty for the first time in months.
   
  5. GO ICE-SKATING.
   
  Since it doesn’t actually snow in Canberra you’ve got to take what you can get, and in our case that means going ice-skating. Each year around June there’s an outdoor ice-skating rink set up in Garema Place. Go and have fun with your friends, fall over, get blisters from ice skates that never fit quite right. It’ll make winter that little bit more bearable.
   
  6. GET A HOBBY, AND CATCH UP WITH FRIENDS.
   
  Coming from Queensland, the cloudiness, windiness, rain and general cold weather here can be a huge downer. During my first year (and hell, let’s be real, the years after too), I really felt the loss of the sun and struggled to get out and about as much as I usually do. It’s all too easy to curl up under the covers on a cold day and refuse to get out of bed, but it’s a dangerous cycle. Don’t start regularly missing your classes, and make sure that you’re still catching up with friends and doing the things that matter to you.
   
  7. HEAD OUT.
   
  Go clubbing if that’s your thing (enough drinks in and you won’t feel the cold, I promise), or head out for some eats and drinks. Grab a hot chocolate from Koko Black or literally anywhere on Lonsdale. Head to the Old Bus Depot Markets, take a stroll along the lake, or get a bit of shopping done in the city. You’ll be a bit chilly, but almost everywhere has heating on in winter, and you’ll feel better after getting out and about.
   
  8. EAT WARM FOODS.
   
  Embrace your cuddlier winter body and shovel warming foods into you. Come winter, I load up on Mum’s spag bol recipe, Nanna’s curry, and my best friend’s chili. Grab recipes that you know work, and make food that warms you from the inside out without worrying about carbs.
   
  Keep warm, and good luck!

  Sophie Johnson

• Meanwhile, in Canberra… #5

  May 6, 2018 3:21 pm Comments Off on Meanwhile, in Canberra… #5

  So, you want to have a serious conversation about drugs?
  Prepare to speak out against the two major parties who are united in their opposition and don’t expect a fair hearing from the capital city tabloids. Talkback radio won’t be kind either.
  Society is told to look at illegal drugs equally, with fear and derision. Drugs are the domain of delinquents and good-for-nothing young people and no serious conversation is required, unless you’re talking about crackdowns, raids and policing.
  But the tide has changed on medicinal cannabis in Australia, so maybe public opinion is shifting on recreational use too?
  The Greens certainly hope so, announcing their a plan to legalise recreational cannabis while citing 55 per cent public support. Sales would be limited to people over 18, there would be no advertising, the drug would be sold in plain packaging and the tax revenue would fund education and drug treatment programs.
  “Prohibition has failed,” the Greens leader said. Di Natale, who was a doctor before he was a senator, continued: “the ‘tough on drugs’ approach causes enormous harm. It drives people away from getting help when they need it and exposes them to a dangerous black market.”
  The Greens’ policy would turn that black market into a lucrative one for the budget bottom line. Independent Parliamentary Budget Office costings released by the Greens show the policy would create a $1.8 billion a year windfall for the budget.
  A 25 per cent excise on sales, like the one applied to tobacco, along with GST and a reduction in law enforcement costs, would generate $3.5 billion for the government by 2020-21.
  Of course, the major parties have been quick to denounce the proposal. The federal health minister, Greg Hunt, said the policy was not “safe, responsible or something which should be allowed.”
  The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, called the announcement “political clickbait” and said the Greens want to legalise ecstasy. Cripes! (It’s not true, although the Greens platform includes decriminalising all drugs.)
  Shorten was right about one thing. The announcement is political clickbait.
  Remember back a few weeks to the Greens’ loss in Batman. Labor’s popular trade unionist, Ged Kearney, is now installed in Canberra after the Greens failed to break through Melbourne’s Bell Street curtain.
  Column inch after column inch has already been dedicated to this result, but most conceded the Greens’ flagship anti-Adani coal mine campaign failed to cut through. Although heinous, the reality of a mine which will be a bigger greenhouse gas emitter than the entire country of New Zealand wasn’t close enough to home.
  The Greens, then, are clearly looking for something will resonate in their would-be heartland: the inner city. Is legalising cannabis the policy to do it?
  Head to the official-sounding http://drugs.org.au/ and you will be under no false pretences about who the Greens are targeting with their campaign website. The site, titled “Just Legalise It”, is loaded with pictures of bright-looking young people enjoying a picnic and going to a gig. The kind of people who might turn their vote Green, if they haven’t already.
  But the Greens are not seen as a governing force. Perhaps the lesson of Batman is that voters will choose a party with a real chance of governing in the hope that at least some progressive positions will be adopted. The Greens just don’t have that kind of clout.
  Fans of legalising cannabis will take the win if, at some point in the future, Labor comes around to the idea and makes it happen. The Greens will cry foul over policy plagiarism, because a win on principle in this scenario doesn’t translate to political capital for the minor party.
  And “makes it happen” is the key phrase here. Cannabis is a state issue. But it could pay off the Greens, who probably now realise they need to pursue issues closer to home, and to capture the kind of attention that only comes with announcing policies others are quick to label controversial.
  What makes cannabis so controversial? Everyone who says we have to see it that way.
  “We need to get real about cannabis. Almost seven million Australians have tried or used cannabis socially but right now just having a small amount of cannabis in your possession could get you a criminal record,” Di Natale said.
  In 2008, Malcolm Turnbull, then opposition leader, gleefully told Tony Jones on ABC’s Q&A: “Yes, yes, yes. Yes, I’ve smoked pot. There you go.” This was a very different era, of course, where Turnbull was prepared to say Tony Abbott’s climate change policy was “bullshit”. How things have changed.
  Some things don’t change, though. Or take ages doing it.
  Would politics be better if policy could adapt faster? Chances are a politician will say the slow and deliberative process is what ensures we don’t rush a slew of madcap, harebrained policies through parliament and then need to apply constant legislative patches.
  But that’s exactly what we have now: this slow process hasn’t stopped bad policy before. Once an idea finds its political legs, it’s hard to stop it running.
  Before alcohol prohibition was adopted in the United States, Sweden and Russia in the early decades of the 20th century, expert commissions and committees in all three of those countries warned against the policy. It was later repealed after disastrous results.
  But few experts are able to put a stop to an idea with political backing and popular support. The experts now calling for an end to drug prohibition probably feel they have something in common with those ignored a century ago.
  Australia’s serious conversation about drugs has a long way to go. In Melbourne last month, 3AW host Tom Elliott said a safe-injecting room in North Richmond was a “Trojan horse”, predicted “probably” all drugs would be legal in five years in Victoria and said: “This is the thin edge of the wedge stuff.”
  If all progressive proposals about drugs have to be thin edges of wedges, then maybe the Greens’ announcement could be a thin edge of the wedge to force the serious conversation about drugs that Australia needs to have.
  Jasper Lindell is Woroni’s political columnist and a former news editor

  Jasper Lindell

• Holy Shit: This Nerd With A Projector Just Revolutionised The Way We Think About Public Architecture

  April 18, 2018 2:53 pm Comments Off on Holy Shit: This Nerd With A Projector Just Revolutionised The Way We Think About Public Architecture

  It is the position of the idiot that all territory buildings should look visually appealing 365 days a year. There is absolutely no need to put any thought whatsoever into designing stimulating public buildings as long as you have a projector and the ability to direct the huge influx of roving masses.
  To design a building with even a hint of colour is foolish. It is cheaper to simply project photons than to apply paint and the ability to change designs with ease suits the attention-deficient temperament of the modern citizen.
  As someone who has watched many a movie projected onto a high school whiteboard (the optimum viewing standard for your third watch of Lord of the Flies), I have some feedback for the National Capital Authority:
  The buildings – let’s square them up to a 16:9 ratio and splash on a coat of off-white. We could reserve 4:3 format for the Film and Sound Archive.
  The lawns – please make them less green. A lot of good art has the colour green in it so I think we should change the lawn colour to better suit a projection. If you can’t change the colour I’d suggest replacing lawns with concrete.
  Projections on the lake – Lake Burley Griffin takes up a lot of prime projection space, I’m thinking that we can either rejig the water (replace it with milk?) or perhaps lay a floating cover on the surface. Bam! The lake is now a beautiful beach through the power of projection.
  Photonic Projection Authority – I think we should issue every citizen with a pocket projector that they may use to project whatever they’d like onto any building.
  I suggest you consider replacing snail-mail with digital projections that span tens of kilometres throughout Canberra.
  As a final sidenote, can we project sound??? Please look into this.

  Will Fletcher

• Meanwhile in Canberra #4

  April 17, 2018 3:03 pm Comments Off on Meanwhile in Canberra #4

  There was all the build up usually associated with settling in to watch a sunset. We all knew it was going to happen and we had a pretty good idea of when. And then, in a moment, it would be all over.
  This is how the wait for last Monday’s Newspoll result played out online the Sunday night before. We all wanted to be the first to see – or at least confirm for ourselves – that Malcolm Turnbull had failed his own test.
  “The one thing that is clear about our current situation is the trajectory,” Turnbull said in the infamous press conference when he publicly launched his bid to roll his predecessor, Tony Abbott. “We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row. It is clear that the people have made up their minds about Mr Abbott’s leadership.”
  Change Abbott for Turnbull in those comments and it takes on a haunting quality. It’s a statement Turnbull now regrets making.
  “Every month lost is a month of lost opportunities,” Turnbull said on 14 September 2015. In 2018, the lost months are still piling up.
  But take a moment to consider just how stupid this is: sitting up late on a Sunday night waiting for poll Twitter oracle @GhostWhoVotes to leak the results of the supposedly fateful Newspoll.
  At 10.15pm, the numbers dropped. “#Newspoll Federal 2 Party Preferred: L/NP 48 (+1) ALP 52 (-1) #auspol”, read the all-important telegraphic tweet.
  That was it. Turnbull had lost Newspoll number 30, failing his own test.
  It’s very easy to assemble a line up of politicians ready to denounce the importance of polls. “The only poll that matters is the one on election day,” reads one of the few talking points carved in stone on both sides of politics. But it’s also nonsense.
  There is great interest in the polls. Political action is weighed up against what it will or will not do for the polls.
  “My job is not to be distracted by the polls but to focus on our policies and on delivering for the Australian people,” Turnbull told The Australian last week after the Newspoll loss. What he really meant is that his job is not to appear to be distracted by the polls.
  In politics, where, as Turnbull says himself, the “election is there to be won”, saying you don’t care about the polls is like saying Ps get degrees and still needing an exemplary GPA to walk into a well-paid consultancy job.
  Sure, plenty of people declare their marks are irrelevant and Ps get degrees after their third lunchtime schooner in week 10, but they certainly don’t believe it.
  Polling doublethink is an important part of being seen to play the game. Turnbull’s first mistake was to show his hand by citing the polling as a reason for his 2015 leadership challenge.
  Of course it was but that doesn’t mean that you should go and tell anyone.
  ***
  All of this polling has a bizarre effect on the game of politics. At a time when strong belief in our political system and the politicians who inhabit it is hard to come by, there is often a lament for a lack of authentic leadership.
  The trouble is that polling has reinforced the messiah complex in Australian politics.
  When Turnbull became prime minister and Liberal party leader in 2015, he would have got the keys to the Lodge and a much nicer office. But he didn’t get the chance to brainwash the rest of his colleagues.
  Turnbull’s Liberal party is still much the same has the party of Tony Abbott’s era. Of course, cabinet has been shuffled but there was no wholesale replacement of ideology, factional alignment and power balance. It’s the new model body work with the same under-powered engine under the bonnet.
  A leadership change may imbue a sense of optimism, or reduce the sense of failure, but it won’t present a new party to the voting public.
  So instead of having made up their minds about a leader, the Liberals must seriously entertain the idea that voters have made their minds up about the party.
  Voters have looked to leaders for vision and leadership. The last decade has left them bitterly disappointed on both sides.
  We have been looking in the wrong place.
  We seem to have assembled enough evidence, and inflicted enough political pain, since 2010 to show that the fortunes of a party can no longer solely rest in a leader and that those fortunes could be resurrected with a quick and ruthless change.
  Turnbull has remained the more popular, more trusted and more experienced capital in the eyes of Newspoll respondents. Never mind his ship has gone wildly off course, has an engine room of potential saboteurs and is taking on water, fast.
  A reliance on polling distracts us from a real conversation about what the government is, or isn’t, doing.
  Polling is easy, getting your head around the National Energy Guarantee isn’t. Trying to understand why capital-l Liberals, Tony Abbott among them, now want to intervene in their beloved free market to save a coal fired power station takes more thought than comprehending Newspoll’s two-party prefered result.
  Polling is the indicator, not the oracle. A political landscape mapped by polling leaves little room to move. Any chance for genuine engagement will always be clouded with the thought of what it will do the polls.
  Too much care for the results leaves less time, and places less emphasis on, the substance: policy, action, debate, vision.
  If the 1600-odd Newspoll respondents are cemented as the most important constituency in Australia, then we all lose out.
  Jasper Lindell is Woroni’s political columnist and a former news editor

  Jasper Lindell

• Nine Issues with the Night Noodle Markets and How We Can Fix Them

  March 21, 2018 12:26 pm Comments Off on Nine Issues with the Night Noodle Markets and How We Can Fix Them

  Inconvenient Location

  This year the noodle markets were held in and around Questacon and the National Portrait Gallery. This location is a record 45 (!) minute drive for people living in the deep south of Canberra and even longer for those in outer Gungahlin. This is unacceptable and makes it near impossible for the event to grow. How can we fix it? Easy! Move the event to the Tuggeranong.
   

  Crowds

  This year the roads surrounding the markets were bumper to bumper and impossible to navigate. How can we market this as one of the feature events on the CBR calendar if it is so disgustingly packed? Well, luckily, I have a solution. If we move the event to the Tuggeranong Town Centre, we will eliminate a lot of the attendees because it is too far away. The crowds will thin and we can finally enjoy the event without having to elbow our way through to the toilets!
   

  Weather

  This year was so cold and windy it made the event insufferable. The winds coming off Lake Burley-Griffin were arctic! As soon as I got out of my car, I could only think about returning home and cosying up in front of the fireplace. Theoretically, if the event were to move to another location with a smaller lake, say Lake Tuggeranong, this issue would be resolved. The smaller lake would cause less extreme weather conditions and therefore preserve that ‘summer feel’ we all crave.
   

  Children

  This year the markets were crawling with children, further contributing to the large crowds and noise level at the event. If the location were to change to a less kid-friendly atmosphere, such as Tuggeranong, the smaller numbers of kids present would make the event more professional and mature; a vibe that the noodle markets has always been shooting for but never achieved.
   

  Predictable Locations

  I don’t know about you, but I am SO bored of seeing the same buildings every year with lights projected onto them. Change it up ACT Government! I have done extensive research for alternatives and the best ones, objectively, are the Tuggeranong Hyperdome, Bunnings Tuggeranong and the Officeworks building next door! Let’s take gentrification to the next level, sheeple.
   

  Expensive Food

  Gee whizz, this year I paid a whole $18 for what was essentially a small bowl of chicken and rice! Let’s change up the vendors and seek out more affordable options. 7/11 have recently added a splash of the Orient to their cuisine options, with Peking Duck Smiths Chips. You can even get two for $5 – talk about value! Coincidentally, the top rated 7/11 on Yelp is the Erindale store, just a few minutes outside the Tuggeranong CBD. I am sure they would be happy to provide a pop up stall for the event.
   

  It’s not in Tuggeranong!

  Okay, I’ll admit that I might have a bit of bias towards Tuggeranong, but don’t let that get in the way of my well-researched and articulate piece. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I am one of approximately ten ANU students who live in Kambah. Let’s start a movement, let’s go to Andrew Barr’s office and get him to change the location to one for the future #TUGGERZ4NOODLES

  Lachlan Smith