Crispin Hull

Canberrans were urged yesterday to overcome the mind-set that the rest of Australia has against it and to overcome the introspection of being a company town so that a love of the capital can become part of the sensible patriotism of all Australians.

The chairman of the Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd, publisher of The Canberra Times, Kerry Stokes, made the call in the first of half a dozen major addresses leading to a conference in September entitled “”Canberra: Face of the Nation?” at the University of Canberra.

“”When the Federal Government makes an unpopular decision, the people of Canberra tend to be apportioned some of the blame,” he said. “”In that sentiment lies the most daunting challenge facing Canberra: It’s the national mind-set against the place, a coast-to-coast resentment ingrained from generation of derision, cynicism and misunderstanding.
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An sign advertising medium-density units on a joint ACT Housing Trust development on Section 22 Braddon along Torrens Street is to come down because it breaches building regulations.

The Chief Territory Planner, George Tomlins, said yesterday that the developers had agreed to take the sign down. The sign is at the front of one of four detached residences on the site.

A complaint was lodged last week saying that the sign contravened building regulations that said temporary advertising signs shoud not exceed 2.5 metres.
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Adelaide Advertiser journalist David Hellaby said yesterday that he would not disclose his sources of information about what he says was criminal conduct within the State Bank of South Australia, despite the expiry of a 14-day period set by the High Court to satisfy bank discovery requests.

The South Australian Auditor-General, Ken MacPherson, delivered a 3000-page report into the bank yesterday.

The bank is considering suing Mr Hellaby for injurious falsehood over articles he wrote last July saying sources privy to the Auditor-General’s inquiry had told him of suspected large-scale criminal activity within the bank group, but that perpetrators would never be prosecuted because the state lacked the legal resources. The bank asserts it has suffered $500,000 in damages because of the article, which it says is untrue. It has asserted Mr Hellaby had no foundation for his article.

Mr Hellaby allowed the bank’s lawyers to look at 1800 pages of documents yesterday in answer to the bank’s legal discovery request, but he said he would not reveal the sources.
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Salome’s mother requested the head of John the Baptist to be delivered on a silver plate, but it was King Herod who had to issue the final order.

The Australian people sought John Hewson’s head, but the representative of the monarch will execute the order by appointing the Keating Ministry under Sections 61 to 64 of the Constitution.

The swearing in of the Keating Ministry at Government House will be a reminder, if it was needed, that Australia is a constitutional monarchy and that the man being sworn in by Her Majesty’s representative does not like, though he is prepared to work within it now to change it.

Clearly, the GST, Medicare, industrial relations and unemployment were the big issues in the election. However, Mr Keating also put his neck out on the republican issue, and it was not chopped off. In the campaign he moved the debate from whether Australian should become a republic to what sort of republic it should be.
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Nearly all the key figures in the state and federal Liberal Party have either now acknowledged that a republic, or at least a debate about it, is inevitable.

The debate presents a large problem _ the widespread ignorance and misunderstanding of constitutional matters in Australia.

Theyderstanding are understandable and arise from a couple sources. The first is the images that have been created over a long time when the words “”Queen” and “”President” are used.

“”Queen” means things like ceremony, diamond tiaras, perhaps corgis, opening buildings and the like. “”President” means threatening to send missiles to the Soviet Union, sending troops to Vietnam or the Gulf, attending important international economic meetings or perhaps running a South American republic with tough, sunglass-wearing generals.

“”Queen” means pomp and ceremony. “”President” means power and authority.
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The Prime Minister, Paul Keating, said at the weekend he wanted to have another bash at getting a four-year term.

You’d think these politicians would learn.

We have already had a referendum on four-year terms, in 1988. And it was knocked back. It was not just a minor rebuff, but it failed in every state and territory. Less than a third of voters approved it.

The cry goes up that we have too many elections. The constant uncertainty is bad for business. A four-year term would reduce the number and allow politicians to make decisions for the long-term good of the nation, not in the short-term interest of getting re-elected next time.
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One of the major debates in the industrialised world two to three decades ago was how to deal with increased leisure time.

That debate was sadly irrelevant if this election is anything to go by.

This election has been about work, more than anything else _ or more accurately paid work.

Both parties predicate their policies on the aim of getting one million unemployed people back to paid work. Both had an auction over who would pay the most money to (mainly) women for childcare while they were at work. A central part of one party’s policy is to change the relationship between those who get paid for work and those who pay to get work done. And a debate has raged about whether people should be taxed immediately before they get paid for work or only when they spend what they get paid.
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The past week saw two chapters in the drawn-out dismal pay-TV saga: an election and a court decision.

The story so far. Intelligent scientists and engineers invent new ways of delivering images on television screens inside lounge rooms. The owners of the lounge rooms and television screens will get many more channels delivering lots of specialist services and are willing to pay for them. Clever business people have worked with the clever engineers to devise a way to charge the people in the lounge room according to how much television they watch.

Around the world this has happened, broadening the choice of viewers, providing employment and keeping people off the streets and in front of television screens.

But not in the clever country. We have been waiting, waiting, waiting. There is only one reason for the delay: the misguided hand of government.
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Nearly all the marginal seats in NSW are rural. Unlike some past elections, the Sydney metropolitan area will not play a large part in deciding who is to govern Australia.

The Coalition thinks its tax reforms will be a winner in rural NSW, and not the millstone they are in other areas. In the rural areas, the abolition of petrol excise counts for a lot. Taxing consumption rather than business inputs is attractive to rural exporters. However, these people might be Coalition voters anyway. The expansion of Sydney has caused some significant redistributions which do not help Labor.

The Labor-held marginals in NSW are: Lowe (0.5) Richmond (0.6) and Page (0.7) Parramatta (1.0), Calare (1.4), Macarthur (2.8), Robertson (3.5), Eden-Monaro (4.4).

The Coalition-held marginals are: Paterson (0.1), Gilmore (0.6), Macquarie (2.1).
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