tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post8588479696116683740..comments2024-01-30T20:05:29.835+10:00Comments on Woolly Days: Australia’s federal parliament should move from Canberra to SydneyDerek Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581505641163336050noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-22519861307402723842009-11-09T13:49:53.150+10:002009-11-09T13:49:53.150+10:00The museums can stay in Canberra but on environmen...<i>The museums can stay in Canberra but on environmental grounds alone we should be discussing when the parliament should move closer to the people it serves.</i><br /><br />Given that Canberra already exists and that the "museums can stay" the "environmental grounds" don't seem all that compelling. Most parliamentarians would still be travelling from somewhere that isn't Sydney, no? Similarly, only 1/5 of the citizenry would be substantially closer to (ie. <i>in</i>) the nation's capital. Those flying from electorates clustered around every other state capital except Brisbane would have slightly longer flights.<br /><br /><i>The simple fact is that foreigners think Sydney IS Australia's capital</i><br /><br />This, of course, is barely a reason at all. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-7053924855403474692009-10-31T05:33:14.748+10:002009-10-31T05:33:14.748+10:00I couldn't agree more. I think the comment abo...I couldn't agree more. I think the comment about Australia being an overwhelmingly coastal society is very apt, too - it's frustrated me for a long time that we cling to stereotypes set in the bush or the desert, when 80% or more of the population live in the great coastal cities. I remember rusted-on Laborites complaining in 1996 about Howard residing in Kirribilli House instead of The Lodge, but no matter what you think of Howard's politics, the move made perfect sense if you weren't caught up in political jealousy.<br /><br />There's actually far more than 35 capitals worldwide that Canberra is similar to, if we take provincial and state capitals into account - I mean state capitals of US states, most of which are in small, obscure cities that many people have never heard of. I've always had the vague impression that this is because of anti-city bigotry in the early USA; cities were full of immigrants, manual workers and Je- sorry, I mean bankers.<br /><br />The only possible realistic argument I can see against moving the national capital to Sydney is the extra pressure that would put on roads, public transport etc. The other arguments seem to be mostly based on jealousy. The simple fact is that foreigners think Sydney IS Australia's capital - they think of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, not Canberra's Parliament House, which they probably couldn't even recognise.<br /><br />Unfortunately, a move to Sydney will probably never happen without some major national upheaval that makes people focus on far bigger things and gives them neither the time nor the wish to lobby against such a sensible move.David Jackmansonhttp://bit.ly/djackmansonnoreply@blogger.com