AS Canberrans prepare for Australia Day festivities, January finds Queensland still trapped in ravaging floods.

“CityNews” cartoonist Paul Dorin, confined in Brisbane, manages to see the lighter side of the disaster and files his cartoons from the centre of the floods.

The disaster will drag out the usual blame games, which political columnist Michael Moore says is the nature of modern politics. Moore acknowledges Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s leadership during the disaster, while he warns that her real test comes with the aftermath.

Back to Canberra. Environment Commissioner Dr. Maxine Cooper kicks off the New Year with a green check for the ACT. She pledges to find out how the ACT is doing environmentally so we  can take actions before it’s too late.

Cooper should better accelerate her agenda, since Canberra has been accused to be the biggest waster in Australia. A University of Sydney study reveals Canberrans have the highest average ecological footprint in Australia.

Another accusation comes from charity workers, who blame some Canberrans for dumping rubbish in donation bins. Dirty nappies, rotting food, dead animals…this is what “CityNews” calls Canberra’s dumping disgrace, which increases significantly during the Christmas and New Year period.