WELL, those were seven days we could have done without. Preparations for the execution of the two apparently rehabilitated Bali Nine drug couriers, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran dominated the national media.
Robert Macklin.
Sadly, others took the opportunity to belabour our most populous neighbour while conveniently forgetting that until very recently we, too, employed the death penalty; and in every poll taken there’s a majority in favour of its reintroduction (though not, I suspect in Canberra). Moreover, we made not a whimper of protest when the Bali bombers were despatched by a similar firing squad.
This is not to excuse its barbarity. The pity is that relations with Indonesia were already so strained that our pleas and protests fell on deaf ears.
CLOSER to home, the shocking axe murder of Calwell’s Tara Costigan, who had sought protection from a violent former partner the day before, came as a terrible illustration of the apparent epidemic of domestic violence throughout the nation. Indeed, it showed just how appropriate was the selection of Rosie Batty as Australian of the Year.
However, Labor Leader Bill Shorten’s call for a summit on the issue looked like crass political grand-standing. And PM Tony Abbott, newly rejuvenated form his “near-death experience”, rightly put him in his place. If there were to be a summit, clearly Shorten’s deputy, Tanya Plibersek, was the one to propose it. Far better, I suspect, for the event to be declared a politician-free zone.
COINCIDENTALLY, we learned that federal cuts to the legal service for vulnerable women will mean 500 Canberrans will be turned away in the next two years. Two-thirds of them will be victims of domestic violence. Really makes you wonder how fair dinkum the pollies are.
SPEAKING of devious politicians, can Chief Minister Andrew Barr really look us in the eye and say his choice of light-rail advocate David Flannery as head of the Heritage Council is anything more than a political stitch-up?
The council recently put a spanner in the government’s light-rail works by giving the Northbourne Flats a heritage listing. Whatever Mr Flannery’s heritage qualifications, his appointment at this time was outrageous. Come on Andrew, we’re not mugs.
THANK heavens there was some good news to end out the week. A study published in the “Health” journal, found that “those who drink between three and five cups of coffee a day are less likely to have clogged arteries than those who have none”. What a joy that us coffee drinkers (and that’s most of Canberra) are doing ourselves a favour by indulging our favourite beverage.
AND our local film and TV industry is really taking off. The movie of Helen Garner’s “Joe Cinque’s Consolation” will be shot here later this year, as will the second season of TV series “The Code”, which has been sold internationally. And a team of nine Canberra filmmakers (your columnist included) is heading to the Hong Film Film Festival later this month to tie up some deals with the big production houses.
That’s “Action!” aplenty.
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