This year I had the opportunity to attend the Federal budget lock-up in Parliament House in Canberra, for New Matilda. You can read my analysis of the budget over at New Matilda (I called it “a gamble posing as prudence”), but I thought some LP readers might also be interested in what the lockup was like. John Quiggin has also posted about it too.
It was certainly a fascinating experience that gave me some really interesting insights into the Australian political process and the nature of the Parliamentary press gallery. Flying into Canberra on a 7.20 Qantas flight, I sat in a planeful of Budget travellers – journalists, lobbyists, bureaucrats and businesspeople in suits. I recognised Steven Long, the ABC’s economics correspondent, who later asked the most telling question in Wayne Swan’s press conference.
Disgorged from thhe plane, this sombre-clad cargo then made straight for a unique taxi queue equipped with flatscreens, where Sky News kept people up to date with the latest budget leaks while they waited, seemingly interminably, for a cab. Meanwhile I joined a few scruffy backpackers and one pensioner waiting for Canberra Airport’s only concession to public transport, a half-hourly bus. If you needed a simple explanation of the shape of class distinction in this country, here it was. Still, for a $9 ride to the city, I was only too happy to get on.
Canberra, for those who haven’t been there (and I hadn’t since a sight-seeing trip to the War Memorial with my parents in the 1980s), is a city entirely planned around the car. Seemingly devoid of street life, the city is instead a series of tidy clover-leaves which house overly neat office buildings surrounded by acres of carparks (and the occasional child-care centre). The ADF complex at Russell also features a rather ridiculous Imperial eagle on a self-important column, the better to assert whatever military dominance the ADF might project down the hill towards Lake Burley-Griffin. The people of Canberra, of course, live elsewhere, away in the suburbs of Tuggeranong and the like, most of them in fact in the state of NSW.
Finding myself a cafe in the wind-swept Canberra CBD, I ordered a coffee and worked on my laptop until the time came to travel to Parliament House. Catching a bus to Parliament House is an interesting experience in itself – you roll through the national capital precinct past the High Court, National Library and National Gallery before I alighted out the front of the Prime Minister and Cabinet building. From here it was another lonely walk up the hill to the entrance of Parliament House, while big white Comcars containing white-haired men in dark suits whizzed past.
I’m not the first person to remark on the abject lack of human scale to this pompous po-mo tribute to Versailles, but walking up the hill brings home the experience in a very personal way. At noon, as I trudged across the desolate forecourt towards the entrance, there was not a single other person on the vast piazza and one almost expected the proverbial tumbleweeds to blow by. I realised that almost no-one actually enters Parliament House by the front door.Inside Parliament House, of course, it was rather busier. As I wandered up the stairs to the lock-up, I could already see the hyper-kinectic little clusters of gossip that are so often a hallmark of any gathering of journalists.
Signing in early, I took a seat near the door of the lockup and watched the media arrive. It’s interesting, for example, how the News Limited types keep to themselves. Paul Kelly, Michael Stutchberry, Lenore Taylor and Robert Gottleibson stood in a tight-knit little circle talking to themselves, while the Fairfax types flitted about the increasingly crowded lock-up in pairs. I had time to introduce myself to the journalist next to me, a lovely fellow from the Newcastle Herald, before the doors opened and a rolling maul formed at the table contained the budget papers.
From there it was off to the little committee room I had been assigned. While AAP had a big bank of computers already set up, and Fairfax had sandwiches brought in at regular intervals, at New Matilda’s Canberra bureau we had a desk and a powerpoint for my laptop – which only goes to show that however much technology advances, the essence of journalism is still relatively simple. Mind you, I did very much appreciate the PDF version of the budget papers being provided.From there a couple of hours flew by as I grappled with the four printed books of the formal Budget Papers, the glossy Infrastructure brochure, another big glossy report on Pension Reform, the myriad of press releases and of course the Portfolio Budget Statements themselves (except for Defence, which to the chagrin of the journos from the Australian Defence Business Review, had not managed to get its Portfolio Budget Statement ready in time).
I had barely looked up from my screen when a fresh-faced young Treasury officer popped her head in and informed us that Wayne Swan’s press conference was about to start.So up I ambled to the “presso” to see Wayne swan present to the gallery. He looked nervous early and didn’t speak well, but warmed up as he went along. As Bernard Keane has remarked, the questioning was fairly tame although Stephen Long did try to pin him down on the very optimistic Treasury growth forecasts, which say Australia will return to 4.5% growth in only a couple of years.
The conference itself was quite an interesting thing in terms of media watching; it’s interesting who watches impassively (more than you expect), who exchanges earnest whispers with colleagues (Lenore Taylor), who takes notes (Kerry O’Brien) and who just wanders in and out looking well-tailored (Tony Jones).
By the time I got out of the press conference, it was time to start writing my articles. Suddenly it was only a short two hours before I had to file my reports and so then it was the usual touch-typing sprint to formulate and arrange my paragraphs. Before I knew it I could hear ABC types doing piece-to-cameras outside my committee room, and then it was 7.30, the division bells were ringing and I was rushing to the desk to retrieve my mobile phone.
The post-budget media antics are in a way even more interesting. I walked upstairs to the offices of the press gallery, where a vast ruck of journalists, lobbyists, spokespeople and politicians swirled and jostled in a narrow corridor as Heather Ridout, Don Henry, Joe Hockey and seeminggly eveyr other lobbyist in the country took turns to do their 30second grabs in response. Meanwhile, Guy Rundle was running around randomly insulting people about their suits.
From there, it was off the Holy Grail Hotel, but you can read all about from Guy Rundle himself.
And I went to the rent-seeker’s picnic
Very interesting. Did you get stared out by Michael Brissenden?
No, don’t think he noticed me mate.
Canberra is hideous, isn’t it.
not hideous, no, some parts of Canberra are very pretty.
It is said that during the Cold War the Soviets targeted half a dozen warheads on Canberra, until a Soviet spy visited it and realised that removing it from the face of the Earth in a genocidal flash would not actually harm the smooth functioning of Australia, its military or economy; it might even improve it.
Jesus people, Canberra’s actually pretty nice. Compared to suburban living in other Australian capitals it’s got all the benefits of a 1920s English Oxbridge campus, ABC local radio, primitive Communism, Haussman boulevards and yellow Torana SLR5000s. But, in a good way.
So what was in the Budget, Ben? Surely it’s not all just sledges on Queanbeyan?
Liam, I’ve written extensively on the budget at New Matilda. Lots of infrastructure obviously, pension reform, family tax benefits, deficits and borrowing.
I remember being a staffer for a back bencher. Generally we found out what was in the budget after the journalists had been. Made for interesting phone interviews.
LMAO… I remember being a candidate and finding out our policies by watching the press club lunches..
Ben said: “The ADF complex at Russell also features a rather ridiculous Imperial eagle on a self-important column,..”
That would be the Australian-American Memorial known locally as either Bugs Bunny (when pointing it out to junior nieces & nephews) or Phallus in Wonderland (to the more politically astute).
Interesting article–apart from the totally predictable Canberra-bashing. I sincerely hope the NSW comment was some sort of joke?
Just finished my 20 minute cycle to work, almost entirely on dedicated (separated from road) cycle-ways through urban green and open space. Of course I could have come on the bus, takes about 30 minutes.
My kids will be doing the 5 minute walk to the local school on the pathway (not adjacent to nor crossing any roads).
God Canberra sucks.
(Sorry for being so defensive, but really, it is as predictable and lame as sheep jokes about NZers)
I detect a disparaging tone. Canberra is actually quite a pretty place, well-designed and full of lovely people. It’s the pollies that bring the joint down. Canberra-bashing is so passe, particularly from self-important so-called journalists.
FYI the city was actually planned around something much more esoteric than the car – read THE SECRET PLAN OF CANBERRA by Peter R Proudfoot – but I agree a car is needed to really properly traverse the sprawling capital’s geography.
“The ADF complex at Russell also features a rather ridiculous Imperial eagle on a self-important column, the better to assert whatever military dominance the ADF might project down the hill towards Lake Burley-Griffin.”
Twas a gift from the yanks, and many Canberra-reared spawn know it as Bugs Bunny, as one other reader has already mentioned. I’ve never looked at it through jaded eyes – I think it has its place.
“The people of Canberra, of course, live elsewhere, away in the suburbs of Tuggeranong and the like, most of them in fact in the state of NSW.”
I would probably challenge that statement, Tuggeranong is but one part (and side) of Canberra. And most Canberrans live within the borders of the ACT bar a few cheapskates who lodge in what once was cheekily known as Struggle Town (Queanbeyan, NSW), which is a short drive over the border, or one of several nearby small rural townships such as Bungendore.
“Did you get stared out by Michael Brissenden?”
Mick “Burns Ward” Brissenden. How the hell could you keep your cool being interviewed by such a googly dude?
“Canberra is actually quite a pretty place, well-designed and full of lovely people.”
If your main criterion for good design is the ability to drive from any location in the city to any other without passing a third on the way. I have no idea how they did it, so it’s at least impressive.
Yep, Canberra sucks if you’re a young childless inner-city flat dweller who’s mainly after a wild nightlife or a beach culture. If, on the other hand, you want a place to work, to get to know the bush and to bring up kids then it’s easily the best city in the country.
The people who bring it into disrepute – the pollies and journos – are out-of-towners. They’re not an impressive lot close up.
Also I have to say that a half-day visit spent in the House on the Hill with said unimpressive people doesn’t qualify anyone to have an opinion on Canberra either way.
Never knew so many of you were Canberra fans. Sorry if my tone came across as disparaging or self-important. The eagle is pretty silly, however.
I love Canberra, definitely one of my favourite cities in Australia, and as has been mentioned above, great place to raise kids (probably not so great for late teenagers, but by then you can ship them off to uni in the big smoke).
My Lady Friend was born there, so the worst I can muster is haughty disdain. When pressed for a reason, I will direct attention to the number of live music venues.
I’m not much interested in a ‘wild night life’, but a pub with a mic in the corner wouldn’t kill youse would it?
“Sorry if my tone came across as disparaging or self-important.”
It wasn’t. Some just seem a bit touchy about Canberra and focused on that rather than the point of the piece. I’ve always been interested in the famed “lock up” and found your and the Quiggin insight fascinating. More info about the after work pissup might have rounded things out, though.
Ah I love Canberra – lived there for three and a half years, up until a few months ago. Went back on the weekend to visit, and just sighed over the gorgeous trees turning colour, and bright blue sky.
The restaurants are pretty excellent, but the place is distinctly lacking in cute bars a la Melbourne!
Budget – I found Swan distinctly uncompelling in his presentation style. Give Julia the portfolio, then it would have some pizzazz!
Joe2
Its not that some of us are overly focussed on the denigrating Canberra statements its just that apart from being completely unneccessary in a piece about the budget lock-up, its damned offensive to have yet another interstater who doesn’t and hasn’t lived in Canbarra tell us all how bloody awful it is.
You’ve got your head up your arse Eltham so just give the Canberra bashing a break will you. You’re just like overy other ignorant journalist who lives in Sydney or Melbourne and things its smart to take cheap uninformed shots at Australia’s most beautiful city. Just fuck off – if you never come back we wouldn’t miss you and we wouldn’t care. Ignorant little twerp…
dd @ 16 – people are just jealous about how much money has been spent on infrastructure due to its federally funded days and very high average income. It has roads for about 3 times its population
“Its not that some of us are overly focussed on the denigrating Canberra statements its just that apart from being… [150 words, overly focussed on the denigration of Canberra deleted]”
Good point Droo, and well made.
I lived in Canberra for about eight months and used to walk to the War Mememorial or the National Library every day from ANU, except weekends. Apart from a couple of bouts of food poisoning from the restaurants I loved the place. (and ran into a few old friends.
Re the budget, after the lock up , specifically, Viscount Turnbull. While I see the point in taxing cigarettes for health reasons, in terms of redistribution of income, abandoning the Medicare rebate and putting it on smokers is a case of not taking money from the well off, but taking it from the poor who proportionately are much more likely to smoke than the non poor. Typical Liberal stunt.
Wot joe2 said.
Chris@23 – not so much these days. It’s had self-government for over 20 years now, and since then the residents undoubtedly pay considerably more out in net taxes than they get back (NTTAWTT – they’re richer than most). Get away from the parliamentary triangle and arrangements are just adequate rather than lavish.
Also, you’re comparing the roads for Canberra (population 300k) with that for Melbourne or Sydney (pop 3m each). If you must design cities around the car it’s a lot easier in a small city with favourable geography. Anyway Canberrans should not have to apologise for competent planning just because others have allowed their property developers to run riot.
The Pigeon, the High Court (what was Garfield Barwick thinking?) and the Telstra Tower are Canberra’s eyesores, but those out-of-towners won’t let us knock em down. The parliament is poorly designed (its not built on a human scale) but it looks good from a distance.
I’d second others observations about Canberra being a great place to raise kids. Hell it’s got the nation’s best equipped child care centre.
“I was rushing to the desk to retrieve my mobile phone.”
They’re letting mobiles into lockups now?
The ADF complex at Russell also features a rather ridiculous Imperial eagle on a self-important column – also fondly known as Chicken onna Stick.
“Good point Droo, and well made.”
I don’t see that FDB. The blokes comments, at the end, are way out of line. The chip is larger than 10 dollars worth for 2.
I think the High Court is gorgeous – sitting in the cafe with the huge windows looking out over the lake… beautiful.
The new Portrait Gallery is rather nice too!
Seems I forgot to labour the sarcasm enough, Joe2.
Sorry FDP, I should have asked for 2 dollops.
The eagle was a gift from the Americans, who have never been bothered about good taste or understatement. Definitely one of the more regrettable Canberra landmarks.
The problem with Canberra-bashing is not that it is always unfounded, but that it is often so uninformed. So many people cruise around the parliamentary precinct and conclude that the city has no soul, no activity, no street life. Of course, if they drove (indeed, walked) just a minute or two away to Manuka or Kingston, they would find all of these things.
oh boo-hoo Canberra. I live in Adelaide, and even I think Canberra is boring. Very nice people though.
Michael Brissenden reminds me of this cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFjUcVe1tUU
“The new Portrait Gallery is rather nice too!”
Haven’t checked it out yet but looking forward to doing so. Is that where they stash the Archibalds?
I hope it grows into something like the UK’s National Portrait Gallery which AFAICC is one of most patronised arts venues in the UK, and rightly so.
It puts a wonderful and often surprising face on history. Who knew until you visited the place that Hogarth looked like a extra from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, that the young Winston Churchill looked like the young Truman Capote, that Edward 7 so obviously came from the same gene pool as Henry 8, that William Turner was as pretty a Sarf London pop star as Bowie, that Isambard Kingdom Brunel could have given Jack Nicholson a run for his money on screen, that Oliver Cromwell actually had a sense of humour and and that Oscar Wilde was built like a brick shithouse.
Ah come on guys… let’s not forget Canberra has crackers and porno, museums about war and politicians in the question time, saying “how about this heat”.
(any excuse will do)
Droo, there’s no need for that kind of abuse. A civil tone always helps the discussion and I’ll moderate that kind of comment in future.
I really think many commenters have missed the point of what I was observing in my post; it was an impressionistic piece that chronicled my day at the lock-up. I really think focusing on some off-the-cuff comments about Canberra’s urban planning and the public art at Russell Hill is rather missing the substance of my post.
Just for the record everyone: I don’t hate Canberra, I don’t think it’s ugly, I find it quite an attractive city. I grew up in Brisbane so I know what suburbs poorly serviced by pubic transport and designed around private motor vehicle use are like; as for the lack of human scale or low density of street life, that’s just what I observed.
So in summary I’m sorry for those who feel slighted, and while I am quite sure our national capital is an attractive and pleasant place to live, again I am just posting what I saw on the day. I think those who take that as an insult to Canberra should reflect on why they feel so sensitive about it … perhaps wew need another thread about Australian urban planning.
Actually, Ben, I think the reason people are reacting to the ‘bleh, Canberra’ tone is because in a way it is true – and those of us who have lived there kind of get that… I feel that Canberra is quite a ‘subtle’ city – you need a local to show you around, or time to discover it. People visiting for a day or two will see the wide streets, the glossy monuments, and not much else.
I appreciated your insight to the budget lockup process though
I particuarly liked hearing about Tony Jones wandering about just looking well-tailored!
Yes, Tony’s suits look just as good in real life
But four of your paras are substantively about how ghastly Canbeera is. So, I guess if that’s what people are commenting on that’s what they’re getting from your article. Not that I have a lot of time for Canberra. But it does have the National Film and Sound Archive. And it’s the porn capital of Australia. Are these two things related?
I like Canberra. Lived there for 18 months. Never got bored – always something to do or some place to pop off to (beach/snow). Even the pubs and clubs nightlife was pretty good back in the early nineties.
The only thing I didn’t like was playing hockey against Tuggeranong who insisted on treating it as an extension of the Balkans conflicts.
They are cast from a different mould in Tuggeranong. Weston….well even Tuggers toughs don’t go to Weston after dark!
dd @ 27 – Agreed they pay more in taxes, but thats what you get from a progressive tax system. I think the reason the design works so well for cars is that Canberra is so young and was built with that in mind from the start. Nice wide trunk roads with room for further expansion in many cases. However there’s a high cost to the sprawl – the public transport system is pretty bad.
And the roads really are much better than most other cities, even in the outer burbs, though those who have lived in Canberra a long time tell me there has been a noticeable deterioation since self government. I think the core areas are still federally funded which probably helps quite a bit.
I lived in Canberra for about six months in 1988, and I didn’t much care for it.
The bike paths were great (except when you had to share them with dickheads on very long roller skates, getting ready for the skiing season), but the urban design generally was, imo, frightful. It seems to have been designed by and for bureaucrats (nothing is in plain sight, and everything is hidden around a corner), and you need a native guide to find your way round for the first three months. Oh, and there didn’t seem to be any pubs or proper shops, at least in the suburb we lived in.
I agree with Ben about Parliament House, too.
Is it true that they pump loud music into the lock-up like they do to Gitmo detainees?
Ginja, no.
For the record, there’s more than one lock-up. There’s the lockup the media goes to and at which the Treasurer appears, all the minor parties have their own lockups also in Parl House and there’s another one in Treasury Building for people like ACOSS and other big national agencies likely to comment on the budget.
And there there’s a whole heap of single portfolio lockups like Employment and other ones. Never been to one of those but I know people who have:)
Been to both a minor party one and the Treasury one. That was best because they had a man sitting in the corner scanning all the time for wireless or mobile signals. I had my press release and notes all loaded and ready to email as soon as I got outside and got wireless. But, you know, I ‘ve got a short attention span adn 4 hours is an awefully long time to concentrate on one thing!
Actually, this bit of mindless Canberra bashing has served to remind me of just how nice it has been since J W Howard, Canberra-basher-in-Chief, left public office. The shrill ritual Canberra bashing has all but disappeared from the daily discourse. Journalists still take the lazy option and use the word Canberra to refer to the Government or the Parliament but apart from that life has resumed its more relaxed pace and style.
Lol! Remember this old turkey,whatsisiname? Its funny, cos he – of all people, Mr $4 billion dollar handouts to pensioners – reckons “Kevin Rudd wasted money by giving away cash handouts”.
Oi, dickhead: there’s a reason people stopped listening to you about 2005. Its because you cant lie straight in bed with this stuff.
And oh look, sadly for ex-PM Whatsisface, actual economists blame …..him.
Interesting article about the lock up Ben but I must also admit to being a bit cheesed off by the uninformed comments from some of the posters about Canberra. eg “I lived there for 6 months etc.” I doubt if you can get to know a place well in six months. I lived there for 40 odd years and saw it grow from a town of 80,000 to a city of over 300,000. I now live on the Gold Coast which, alas for me, has none of the attractions I found in Canberra.
I’m seriously thinking of moving back there.
I agree Ben, I was out of order and I apologise. But please, no more Canberra bashing? I don’t think you find Canberra dwellers egregiously bashing Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane etc. so why does Canberra get picked on so much? It is a beautiful city and I, for one, feel extremely fortunate to be able to live here.
Droo
I was lucky enough to be able to stay with my parents who were living in Hackett in the 1980s/90s, right next to Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie. Bushwalking right out the front door. Crimson rosellas. Bike paths right into the city. Relaxed lunches at outdoor tables among spotted gums. Walks further afield in Namadji and Captains Flat. Peace and quiet. Sure it was probably a lifestyle suited to an older person or young children, but for a few days it chilled me right out. I didn’t bother with parliament-watching until late in the piece – better than television.