As he traced the controversial beginnings when Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin was selected to design the national capital of Australia by politician King O’Malley in the final selection, Mr Crean also traced his own story of his growing familiarity with the city which, he cautioned, is not just “the seat of power …but… also a city territory, home to around 360,000 people”.

Because it was both “The Bush Capital” centring on what Burley Griffin called “The People’s Palace”, it would be important for the Parliament of Australia to review its relationship with the National Capital Authority, he said, and Parliament was now responding to a review commissioned from Dr Allan Hawke.

Mr Crean said that both Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and the NCA were in discussions with the Federal Government about this relationship and that “in the toughest of budgets”, $11.9 million in additional funding had been set aside for the NCA.

Further, the 2012 to 2013 budget also included a funding boost of $39.3 million over four years for the national cultural institutions to help them digitise the collections.

He commended the exhibition, which includes reproductions of the winning plans, frail drawings by Marion Mahony Griffin, the original wooden box containing the competition kit and reproductions of designs from other finalists, as especially relevant as we approach the Centenary of Canberra.

After joining the Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services, Kevin Andrews, in launching the show, Mr Crean held a doorstop with waiting journalists interested largely in his views about Craig Thomson.

If they were expecting anything surprising, it didn’t come. Suffice it to say the Minister considered the matter very “grave”, and though holding to the supposition of Mr Thomson’s innocence, if proved otherwise, he said he assumed it would be very difficult for him to regain pre-selection for a Labor seat.

“Grand Vision – Centenary of the Capital Plan”, is in the Presiding Officer’s Gallery, first floor of Parliament House up the left-hand stairs, until June 27.