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| Canberra's Floriade is basically a flower show which runs for a month from around September 12 each year. There are rides, bands, flower themed stalls, lots of activities for children and a giant ferris wheel that towers over all. Entry is free, though there is a charge for food, drinks and rides |
I’ve just spent a week with the other half of my family in Canberra. I always think of it as a sort of adult amusement park. It’s full if interesting buildings – the Embassies are an interesting bunch. Then there are the houses of Parliament, old and new, the National Gallery, the National Sound Archive, Questacon and so on. Floriade was in full bloom. Everything always looks clean and new. The cars are all shiny and a lot of them are electric and to top it all off there was sunshine all week – something we Vitamin D starved Tasmanians positively crave after the long dark winter.
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| This year's theme is Science so embedded in the design of the flower arrangements are various symbols related to science. Spot them if you can |
I’m sure Canberra too has its dark side and pockets of hidden misery and poverty, discreet homelessness where you sleep on friends’ floors for six months or are at imminent risk of having to do so, because you are under mortgage stress and the slightest rise in interest rates will put you there, or maybe your job will end, but it’s a genteel kind of poverty – there are no rusting car bodies or rundown houses, there is no obvious crime, the verges are neatly mown and there’s no rubbish in the streets. Even if there were, the generous tree cover would hide it all and make it easier to ignore.
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| This playground is actually by the river at Yass, a charming old town about 45 minutes away |
I was there at the request of several granddaughters. One of the younger ones had a birthday, both of the small ones wanted me to come to their school for Grandparent’s Day, and my big granddaughter who studies here, wanted me to see the tiny one -bedroom granny flat she’s managed to get, though she has to work at two part time jobs to pay the rent. She took me to Floriade which is both beautiful and mostly free and the rest of the time we explored some of the lovely picnic areas and playgrounds around Canberra.
Canberra’s charm is no accident—it’s the result of deliberate, often quietly radical planning and policy choices that reflect a deep commitment to sustainability, inclusion, and liveability. Indeed, Canberra is the model every other city in Australia aspires to, although it is also somewhat wealthier and more expensive to live in than most. Canberra is the National Capital – halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, since they both fought to become the capital. The ACT which stands for the Australian Capital Territory is the whole region in which Canberra is located, whereas Canberra refers to the city itself. In March 2025 it had a population of 482,000.
Good Bones
Canberra did have a head start in that it was carefully planned from the beginning, by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin – a visionary who incorporated the landscape in his designs and anticipated the idea of sustainability even though it wasn’t called that at the time. Let’s not forget his wife Marion Mahony Griffin either whose exquisite drawings were instrumental in his success but whose contribution has only recently been recognised with a monument at Mount Ainslie.
Canberra also had the advantage of starting later than the other capitals (1900s) and thus avoided many of the pitfalls of earlier cities such as the crazy rambling development of Sydney (1788) or the huge urban sprawl of Melbourne (1838). Canberra no doubt also benefited from the work of Frederick Law Olmsted who greatly influenced town planning from the mid to late C19th. He believed in the integration of nature into urban life, that public parks were essential for health and that curved paths and naturalistic elements in the landscape soothed urban stress.
Sustainability
Even today, hilltops may not be built on and landscape settings and bushland are strongly protected as part of the city’s “Bush Capital” image. In the latest reforms, mature trees on public and private lands are getting extra protection – even some dead trees for the benefit of birds and small mammals, and trees removed during construction must be replaced or offset with payment to enable further plantings.
One of the nice things about all those trees is that I have been accompanied by birdsong everywhere I have been. A beautiful Crimson Rosella stopped by at the picnic ground at Cotter Dam, Pied Currawongs visited the café where we had lunch and the morning after we put our bird bath up, more Crimson Rosellas swept down. There’s one bird I haven’t quite forgiven though. It’s one that came at 4 in the morning and sounded just like someone breaking into the car. Wonder where it learned that?
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| Pied Currawongs come to Lunch at the Garden Centre -At least they wait politely until the paying guests have gone |
Densification in the form of more town
houses, duplexes and apartments, is planned in the 7.5 km zone around the city
core, so people do not need to travel far and to accommodate both an aging
population and the increasing number of people who are singles or couples
without children.
There are cycle paths away from the traffic so you can go almost anywhere – to work, to school or the countryside, without having to risk your life on the roads. Not that pollution will be much of a problem in future, as no more diesel and petrol cars may be sold after 2035 and there are strong incentives in place to encourage EV uptake. There's also big investment in battery electric buses - 90 to date with more to follow when its second big new charging depot is completed. The recently opened one at Woden, which can charge 100 buses at a time, is the largest such facility in Australia.
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| Back end of a Westbound Canberra electric bus |
Since 2020, all of the ACT’s electricity has come from renewables via its own solar farms, large scale contracts with solar and wind generators – some outside the territory, and through extensive adoption of rooftop solar. Though challenges remain with respect to transport, heating, hot water, strata title holders and renters, the ACT expects to reach Net Zero across all sectors by 2045. The ACT Government is also doing its best to ensure that there are subsidies and loans for those on low incomes, to make sure no one is left behind.
Remembering the devastating fires of Australia's Black Summer (2019), Canberra is creating playing fields on the western edge of town to act as firebreaks between bushland and homes. The sides of the bike paths serve as green swales to take up excess water and beneath the surface, stormwater, waste and water supplies are in separate pipes, so the former can be used for other purposes.
A single -use plastic ban has been in place for many years but in its most recent form, it includes not only bags, but cutlery, take away containers, stirrers, straws, soft plastics and microbeads.
The littlest granddaughters and I put out a birdbath on Sunday night and by Monday morning it was already occupied
Liveability
As of March 2025, the Right to a Healthy Environment has been enshrined in its 2024 Human Rights Act, the first state in the country to do so. In 2004 the ACT was also the first jurisdiction to have a Human Rights Act, though Victoria and Queensland have followed since.
Tenants have an easier time of it than those in other
Australian states. They can’t be evicted without good reason or because it’s the end of the lease. This
gives renters more security of tenure and stops them being too afraid to
request repairs or insist on their rights. It’s a lot easier to take pride in a
place if you aren’t at risk of being thrown out.
As of 2019, tenants can request permission to keep pets, (within reason), but if refused they can take the matter to a Tribunal. New rights legislation passed in 2024 strengthens their right to say, compost or grow their own food. Landlords can no longer advertise at one rate and then expect tenants to offer more in a sort of bidding war against all other prospective tenants in a tight housing market. Canberra is building more homes and a goodly number will be more affordable than they are at present.
Inclusion
Increasing physical accessibility for people with disabilities has long been practised in Canberra. I was delighted to find a little train that took me right around the exhibits at Floriade, even though I couldn’t walk very far. Its latest plan (Nov. 2024) includes removing barriers to services, education and employment and sets a 9% disability employment target for the Public Service.
Interestingly, the ACT was the first State/territory to decriminalise recreational drug use – you can still be fined or be required to go to counselling, and supply is still banned, but contrary to the dire warnings of the doomsayers, it has not led to more drug use, more crime or gang -related activity, or brought an influx of drug tourism. The idea was to treat it as a health issue so that people would come forward and seek help and support, rather than face criminal charges.
Driving while under the influence of drugs is still illegal, but Police found that one year on, the number of people driving while under the influence of drugs had actually fallen by 7% despite drug testing increasing by 17%.
Pubs, cafés and places of entertainment are allowed to stay open till 2 am -later than in most other cities, and licensing arrangements have been relaxed to encourage and support small businesses and venues.You won't find garish neon lights in Canberra or billboards anywhere around the town which makes it feel much less stressful, but there's quite a lot going on beneath that placid surface.
At night, in a joint collaboration between St. John’s Ambulance and the ACT Government, trained volunteers armed with backpacks of first aid equipment patrol the streets as the CBR Night Crew to keep people safe. They carry things like Band-Aids and hydration, help people to sober up, de -escalate risky situations and help people to contact family or friends to arrange a ride home. They can also refer people to other support services.
On Fridays and Saturdays they operate from 10 pm to 4 am in the entertainment precinct and during Daylight Savings times on Thursdays till 2 a.m. as well. Again it’s about harm minimisation and reducing pressure on hospitals and emergency departments. [Take note Hobart! On any given weekend, you can wait for many hours in our emergency department with a broken arm or leg while staff must deal with bleeding head cuts, drug overdoses and the like].
Given that the ACT attracts the best and brightest from around Australia and the world, it’s not surprising how multicultural it is. I really noticed that at the school. There wasn’t any of that staring or self -conscious inclusion that politely asks, “Where are you from?” but keeps its distance. It’s just natural and unselfconcious. This is at least the second generation to have grown up with people from many different cultures.
Flags from all three nations that make up Australia are represented in the official flags flown at Parliament House – The Aussie flag with its Southern Cross and the Union Jack in the corner, The Aboriginal flag and the blue - green one of the Torres Strait Islands. A further hundred or so flap gaily on the southern shore of Lake Burley Griffin, to represent the various diplomatic missions currently in Canberra.
The 2004 Heritage Act formally recognises and protects thousands of Aboriginal sites and objects. There are strong policies in place to promote Arts and Culture generally, but also to elevate indigenous artists and cultural activity particularly.
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| Kangaroos in the top paddock. Should you need a classic shot of kangaroos to prove you were in Australia, pop up to Mt. Stromlo at dusk |
Open Government
I’m personally convinced that none of these people -centred policies would have come about had Canberra and the ACT not had an especially enlightened form of participatory democracy. Information, data, budgets, spending, environmental reports, traffic information is freely available on its open access portal without needing Freedom of Information requests. This contrasts sharply with the long delays, costs and redactions involved in other states.
Citizens are invited to have their say on policies under consideration and the ACT government collaborates freely with universities, NGOs, business and other organisations, to co -design solutions.
While political donations are allowed they are tightly regulated and may not exceed $1000. They must also be declared within one week of receipt. No donations may be accepted from foreign entities, developers, tobacco companies and any related to the fire arms trade. While lobbying is permitted, an integrity commission investigates potential corruption or misconduct.
Nor does accountability end after elections!Ministers must publicly justify the reasons for their decisions. Isn’t that how democracies are supposed to work?
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| This is the National Parliament House |
Oh and I can recommend the Tesla. Quiet, loads of room and
drives by itself most of the time unless it thinks your attention is required. Son managed to attend a whole meeting while
driving me to Sydney Airport. If it thinks you aren't paying enough attention, it will disable autopilot for the rest of the drive. Do it too often and it will ban you for a week.
Thank you Copilot for the usual facts and figures, interesting discussions and references. Also with formatting errors. Copilot says it missed me but I don't think it loves me any more. It won't let me ask more questions after an initial query. Is it because I have been unfaithful and asked ChatGTP a few things? Or is it just some technical glitch? If the later, could someone at Microsoft who may be reading this, please find out what it is and fix it fast. Thank you! xxx
Vale to Jane Goodall, Champion of Nature and the Environment.
They don't make them like that any more!
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