Views on the news from Canberra’s top columnists
The library at the Alexander Maconochie Centre is “a supermarket” where any drug desired is freely available, says Canberra criminal lawyer ANDREW FRASER. But the shameful revelations don't stop there.
Cartoonist PAUL DORIN reckons he knows what's been slowing the stork.
Charles III will be the first king of Australia to visit our shores. He could also be the last, says JESS CARNIEL.
"Albania has spectacular mountains and challenging terrain, but the road system is good. I saw no potholes and, unlike Australia, it’s developing a modern railway system." Whimsy columnist CLIVE WILLIAMS has been to Albania.
"A third turns out to be loot from the colonial era, since great uncle George happened upon it. So, of course, they’d never sell it, even if it would fetch 10,000 pounds at auction. Like hell they wouldn’t!" says columnist ROBERT MACKLIN.
Legal columnist HUGH SELBY responds to a reader concerned there are matters coming before ACT magistrates relating to alleged law breaches that happened more than one year ago. Too late to be heard? Maybe, says Selby, and here's why…
“Our Youth Representative Group members really relate to Thomas Emerson; a fellow millennial, he is an energetic and smart young leader prepared to listen and introduce new policies and ideas,” says The Y Canberra Region CEO KIRSTY DIXON.
Sponsored Content
In a mind-boggling parade of more than 200 faces in a very familiar format, KEEPING UP THE ACT salutes 35 years of self government. If you pick up the magazine, it's a souvenir wall poster, too. Next week we're doing The White Album!
Strategies to reduce car use by achieving a shift towards public transport, cycling and walking in the ACT have failed, says columnist MIKE QUIRK.
"The allegations against Drumgold were easy enough. They came directly from the findings of the Sofronoff Inquiry. The problem was that significant evidence before the inquiry could not be used in disciplinary action." writes HUGH SELBY.
"There should be a public inquiry, not just into the mistreatment of whistleblower David McBride, but also into serious allegations about the inhumane conditions other inmates face at the AMC," says letter writer ANDREW WILLIAM HOPKINS.
Elections cost money. How much, and who pays? Politicians receive gifts. From whom and in what amounts, asks HUGH SELBY.
"The Barr government has been abjectly lazy in revenue raising policy, deliberately choosing to rely on residential and commercial rates and land taxes, fees, charges, fines etcetera," says letter writer RON EDGECOMBE, of Evatt.
Cartoonist PAUL DORIN celebrates the lifting of the lobster ban by China.
"Even in the very teeth of the ACT election campaign, it seems, reports of malfeasance by staff at the Alexander Maconochie Centre can be virtually ignored," says Canberra criminal lawyer ANDREW FRASER.
“Therapeutic jurisprudence is a familiar concept to judicial officers because of the traditional objectives of sentencing include punishment, deterrence, community protection and rehabilitation," but there's more to it, says HUGH SELBY.
"If being terrible at something makes you happy, that’s great. But if somebody cares about you, they’ll ask you to get a lesson. Or give you the advice that takes courage to give," writes Kindness columnist ANTONIO DI DIO.
"When I see our ACT Green MLAs in their green outfits, I wonder whether subconsciously they are compensating for a feeling that their policies aren’t very green," writes Prof BEATRICE BODART-BAILEY.
KEEPING UP THE ACT looks at the "new season, new promises, old tricks" program choice on Votetix.
