Mr. Brunner Goes to Canberra

Old Australian Parliament Building

So it was that I came to the sparkling city of Canberra (Can-bra), the center of Australian government and politics. It is a city that exists for no other reason but to exist... I'm getting ahead of myself. In the early 20th Century after the Federation of Australia, the debate turned to which colonial city should be the Aussie capital city. The two favored were (...surprise... surprise...) Melbourne and Sydney. At the time, Melbourne was Australia's largest city and the obvious place for the capital. Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria supported Melbourne for the capital. However, New South Wales, (which was the largest colony,) and Queensland, favoured Sydney, as it was the original Australian colony, it was far older than Melbourne, and it was the only other major city in Australia (not much has changed). Tasmania, was off doing its own thing. I don't think the six people who lived there really cared... Anyway, this deadlock might have been resolved, but the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry is so fierce (even to this day) that it was clear neither city would ever agree to letting the other one becoming the capital.

Thus, similar to how and why Washington DC was built, the Aussies decided to create the city of Canberra, ATC (Australian Capital Territory). Melbourne remained the capital on a temporary basis while a new capital was built somewhere between Sydney and Melbourne. The idea was that the ATC was supposed to be halfway between Melbourne and Sydney, but because of terrain and some obscure article of the Australian Constitution that said it had to be located within New South Wales, Canberra is actually much closer to Sydney (roughly little over a 100 miles away). The new city was built in the foothills of the Australian Alps (Those small mountains that almost killed me in the last post). As for the city itself, Canberra is a planned city. When one looks out over Canberra it is hard to believe that it even is a city. The whole place is set to look like one big park, with strategically placed trees, monuments, and topographical features used to obscure any sort of typical city skyline. However, this also means that it tends to be a long walk from point to another over rolling green parks and across picturesque river settings. (By the end of the day I gave up walking and starting driving the several kilometer it took to get from one monument to another.) Another interesting fact about Canberra is that it is populated almost entirely by government employees... so its kind of like Trenton.

There she is, Julia Gillard... the woman who kicked a footy
around the White House.

I stayed two nights in the overpriced Canberra Youth Hostel right in the downtown area, giving myself a full day of activity and exploration, along with two familiar faces. I once again found myself face-to-face mustached face with Hans and Brunhilde. This would not be the last time I would see my scary German companions. However, despite my encounters, the morning after my arrival I arose refreshed and ready to dive head first into the governmental affairs of my temporary home. So I struck out toward the Parliament District of the city, crossing across the gardened landscape and eventually crossing Lake Peter Griffin... I mean Lake Burley Griffin. My first stop was the Old Parliament building. It was situated on a natural rise and looked over several miles of a straight land across the lake and toward the Canberra War Memorial. It was a nice old building, but what really interested me was the display of all the international flags that were set along the lakes edge. In the rising sun it was beautiful. After a stroll through the International Flag Display, I headed to the real "meat and potatoes" of the city, the New Parliament building and the giant Australian flag that flew over it. As I approached the nerve center of the country, I could feel the old stirrings take hold in my breast. It was the old excitement and wonder that would sometimes awaken within me back when I was working for the State of New Jersey. I knew I was near a place of importance. (I mean it is the Australian Parliament, that makes it at least as important as the New Jersey General Assembly.)

I dressed up a little for the occasion, as I felt it was appropriate. I strolled into the marble lined lobby, after as somewhat surprisingly simplistic security check. The place was a buzz of activity as there were House Budgetary Committee Hearings being conducted as well as a Senatorial Panel discussing global warming and the implementation of the Prime Minister's controversial Carbon Tax (Basically a tax placed on Australians and companies based upon how much carbon they use annually). I started my day off with the free tour, taking in both the Senate and the House and getting a civics lesson on how the government is structured.

(WARNING: AUSTRALIAN POLITICS) Basically it seems to be an amalgamation of the US system and the British parliamentary system. However, instead of a House of Commons and a House of Lords the Aussies have a House of Representatives based upon population districts of each state and a Senate with ten senators from each state. The Prime Minister actually leads the Legislative Branch of the government and not the Executive Branch. The Executive Branch is the Lord Governor General, and by extension the Queen of England. All laws must be OK'ed by the representatives of the Queen, (however in modern times this is more ceremonial than practical.) Yet, there have been times when the Queen exercised her power, the most recent being when she almost fired the entire Australian government over the fact that the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, refused to step down from his position. Still, with the Executive Branch being more ceremonial that anything else, it seems like the tri-pod checks and balance system of government has somewhat of a short leg.

Canberra is also a city of Supervillians.
This is a monument called the Black Tower.
If that is not a villianous mountain-top
hideout than I don't know what is.

The Prime Minister (currently it is Julia Gillard who took over for the aforementioned Kevin Rudd after he was forced to step down), is not truly an elected position. The Australian people do not elect who will be the PM. Instead the PM is selected from within the political party that holds the majority of support in the House of Representatives. Currently the controlling party is the Labor Party (The Australian version of Democrats).. I don't think I ever realized this was how it worked... In American terms that would be like the head of the Republican/Democratic Party being appointed President. The PM has to be a representative elected to government, but he (or she) does not have to be directly elected by the people to the most influential position in the government. I partially was fed up with the American system because I believed party politics too directly influenced government policy, but here I have found a system where the leader of the nation is nothing more than the head politician of any given party.

(END OF POLITICAL TALK) Perhaps, even more surprising to some may be that the Australians are required to vote. If they do not show up to vote they are fined by the government. An Aussie can cast a Donkey Vote (basically refusing to make an meaningful decision while in the booth), but they must show up regardless whether they want to or not. All of this was explained on my tour, along with the fact that the House of Representatives would be meeting that afternoon at 1 PM. Since I was already bitten by the governmental bug, I decided to sign up for what is called "Question Time." Basically, it is the time at the beginning of any parliamentary meeting where the head ministers of the controlling party (The Labor Party), must answer any question put them by other representatives, mostly by the opposition party, Liberal Party (despite the name they are the Australian version of Republicans).

So I took my seat in the gallery and watched the Australian Prime Minster, Julia Gillard, and her government literally yell and argue with their opponents from across the aisle. I was not allowed to have a camera, but it was probably the most interesting display of governmental debate I have ever seen. It was certainly more interesting than any of the false pageantry I have seen in the American House of Representatives, where decisions seem to already be made in backroom deals. I have never seen two elected officials scream at each other and look as if they were going to jump across the center table and wrestle each other to the ground. It was refreshingly honest in a way, and very entertaining. I can imagine, that is probably how it was in the American Congress a hundred years ago, before television cameras. I would think these sorts of displays of raw anger and energy need to be revised... Think of how C-Span's ratings would soar. (C-Span's The Real World)

American Embassy

After a very entertaining hour of shouting and argument I was ready to set out and explore the rest of the city. I spent the rest of my day moving from one monument to another. I visited the Captain Cook Memorial Fountain (which wasn't working), the Canberra War Memorial (just in time to watch the closing ceremony), and even the Australian-American Monument, (basically a giant bald eagle on top of a very tall pillar.) My most interesting time was spent strolling along the main street of the city that contained the various embassies of different countries. Each embassy was amazing. They were usually designed to match the traditional archetecural style, along with native flora and gardens of the representated country, along with other sorts of embellishments. For example, the Canadian Conslate's gate was imprinted with maple leaves. I of course was interested in the American Embassy. (In case I needed to seek asylum while within the city, which seemed a possibility.) Our embassy was a beautiful two story colonial building. It was made to look like a traditional Revoutnary-era house, along with well manicured lawns, a golden bust of the MAN himself, George Washington, and a great American flag. I took several pictures of all the embassies, and by the time I reached Egypt, I realized that the Australian Federal Police seemed to be taking a more than average interest in me. That was when it struck me that taking pictures of foriegn embassies may not have been the most brilliant idea I ever had, so I slowly put my camera away and walked back toward the downtown area with all due haste.

I spent a very enjoyable day in Canberra not only exploring but learning about the Australian system of government. I probably got myself placed on somekind of watch-list because of my snooping around of government buildings (including the equivalent of the Australian's Pentagon)... but I mean if they didn't want me there they should have put up higher gates. The Australian Capital City is a beautiful place full of history and government workers. Many Australians I met, seemed down on the city and even encouraged me not to bother (Australians tend to be down on a lot of things in their own country), but I am glad for my visit. I saw a lot of things and met a lot of people... even if they were scary Germans.