Last Few Days in Canberra

Sorry again for the delay in posts, but as my father pointed out to me, rather bluntly if I might say so, I suck when I am working without a deadline.  Alas, such is the life of one of nature's best procrastinators.

Thursday, June 10th
Today had been the day I had planned to meet with government officials, mainly MP's, but the plans fell through, regrettably, because almost all of the MP's, both Representatives and Senators, were spending the next two weeks not in Canberra, but in their home constituencies.  This is because Parliament is not sitting for these two weeks, as it takes its usual two on, two off pattern.  The nation is spending these two weeks letting their MP's know how they feel about Kevin Rudd's new proposed super profits tax on mining companies.  Labor, which is in the government currently, supports it, as do the Greens, but it is staunchly opposed by the Liberal Party (being the conservative party here, as they are Liberals in the European understanding of the word).

As I was thus granted an unexpected day off, I decided to wake up early anyway and take advantage of it.  I got a ticket for the Canberra Explorer Bus, at a substantially reduced rate thanks to my YHA connections, which was nice.  At 9:45 I got on board the bus, which was really more of a large van, after having had a quick brekky and a shower.  The bus went on a circuit to all the major sites several times a day, allowing for its passengers to hop on and off at various scheduled times.  The first stop was the Australian National War Memorial, which I had somewhat laboriously walked to the other day, so I stayed on the bus.  Likewise for the second stop, the National Library of Australia, since I had plans to go there tomorrow for a lecture pertaining to my research.

I did, however, disembark at the 3rd stop, which was a combination stop of the two neighboring buildings, the High Court of Australia and the National Art Gallery.  I walked to the High Court first, being generally more interested in law than art (though that is not to say that I don't enjoy artwork, as I love it).  The building is a tall, modern design, with a very large glass wall at the entrance.  Inside, the court building is divided into 3 main levels, each connected to the other with a giant slowly sloping carpeted ramp.  On each floor is a courtroom, and each of the three serve different purposes.  Courtroom One is the most imposing, and is located on floor one.  It is designed to seat all 7 justices (who retire when they turn 70, so there is a good amount of turnover on the bench), and has very high wood paneled walls and a large tapestry of Australia's coat of arms, which features a lot of symbolism referring to the six states and two territories (since we musn't forget that this is a federation).  The other two courtrooms are smaller affairs and can seat 5 (Courtroom Two) and 1 (Courtroom Three) for cases that are not deemed as vital or legally challenging.  While not as impressed with the High Court as I had been on my first visit to the US Supreme Court,  I was still fairly impressed and considered it to be a good crack at crafting an imposing building for the highest seat of law in the country.

After the High Court I walked down onto the National Mall, near Lake Burley Griffin.  The area I found myself in was called Reconciliation Green, and was the southernmost green expanse of the national mall.  The mall is bisected by the Provisional Parliament Building, and I was on the half between it and the lake, as opposed to the half between it and the New Parliament Building.  On the end bordered by the lake were a multitude of flags, representing all of the countries with diplomatic missions in Australia, plus the United Nations and the European Union.  On the other end of the green, near the Provisional Parliament, was a protest group known as the "Aboriginal Tent Embassy."  It's a collection of Aboriginal activists trying to regain land rights, and raise awareness of their plight in the minds of Australia's national politicians, although, admittedly, this may have been easier from their location when they first started in the 70's and those politicians still worked in the Provisional Parliament.  As a side note, I had Canberra's similarities to Washington, DC explained to me.  The architect of this planned city, Mr. Burley-Griffin, from whence the lake gained its name, was an American, and he took a lot of inspiration from his own capital city.  Continuing on my walk around, I wandered into the National Art Gallery for a little while, particularly fascinated by the display on Mughal artwork and architecture from India. 

I then got back on the bus, but only momentarily, as I got off again once it arrived at the Provisional Parliament Building, which is now the Museum of Australian Democracy.  Built in the classic British white stone style, it was built once Canberra was identified as the nation's new capital, and was always intended as only a stop gap building awaiting the design of an inspirational, and Australian, Parliament.  As with most buildings of import in Canberra, admission was free, although a small donation was asked for, which I provided.  Inside, the building was a mix of turn of the 20th century style, with hardwood, carpet, and plaster fixtures, and 1960's/70's style, similar to the house seen in the "The Brady Bunch."  This can be attributed to the time of construction for the main rooms, and the fact that the occupants, and thus styles, constantly changed until the 1970's for the offices and smaller rooms.  I walked through what had been the halls of power of an entire country, with absolutely no supervision I might add, and was quite impressed.  The building was roughly symmetrical, with the left half being dominated by the House of Representatives and the Executive Branch, and the right being dominated by the Senate.  The two debating chambers were decked out in their colors, green and red, respectively, and were much smaller than their newer counterparts in the current Parliament.  The offices of the Prime Minister were cool to walk around, although they reminded me of my grandmother's old house in Ft. Lauderdale, with the general feeling of the late 70's.  The TV was a trip, and I accidentally turned it on, although no one was there to reprimand me, thankfully.  The Press Gallery, which was basically up in the attic, was also neat to explore, with its cramped quarters and period correct news equipment.

After that I had a smoked salmon sandwich from the the cafe downstairs and hopped back on the bus.  I rode over across the lake to the National Museum of Australia.  It had to have been designed by an architect doing drugs as of yet undiscovered by other human beings, because the building is insane.  If you don't believe me, look up a few pictures on the web.  Go, I'll wait.  Now you understand my opinion, don't you?  Inside were some pretty cool exhibits, including ones on the general history of the country, on bushfires, on immigration, and on the culture of the Torres Strait Islanders off the very tip of Northern Queensland.  My favorite part of the museum, though, was the Aboriginal wing, which was, obviously, dedicated to the history, culture, struggles, and successes of the Aboriginal community in Australia.  In the main atrium there was an entertaining exhibit on the development of soccer in the country, which has fought for popularity in much the same way it has in the US, although battling very different sports for attention.  In the museum shop I found a didgeridoo which really connected with me, so I bought it (I'm sure everyone on Eaton 3 will be thanking me next year, haha).  It has a hand painting of a kangaroo wrapping around it, which I have yet to name, as well as various other features of typical Aboriginal artwork, such as a large white handprint and dot painting.  I was, overall, very pleased and excited about my purchase.  Back at the hostel, I did some work and then got off to bed.

Friday, June 11th
I spent this morning lazing about and doing work on the computer.  This was on account of my plans to go to a lecture at midday and to have a meeting at 3:00 pm.  At noon, after getting dressed up, I picked up a cab for the short ride across the lake to the National Library of Australia.  The building was modernist in design, and very tall for a library, albeit due to the fact that it houses every book ever published in Australia, as well as documents of historical significance, such as Captain Cook's log from his exploration of New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia (although this is, unfortunately, not on display to the public).  I got there a little early, so I walked around the foyer, with its stained glass windows, and then sat down and read a book for a little while.

At 12:45, in a well sized auditorium, the event I had come to see began.  After some opening remarks made by the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the man of the hour, The Honourable Justice Jack Kirby, was introduced and welcomed to the podium.  He had served on the High Court, and only recently retired due to age.  He gave a rousing lecture about Aboriginal communities and how the law affects them, both at the state and federal level, using as examples some of the cases he judged while sitting on the bench.  He also stressed the importance of the court in the federal system (to be honest he gave a very good argument for institutionalized checks and balances) and the need for all people to be well educated about their constitution and their system of government, as well as what those in power are up to.  He was a very good selection for the 2010 Wentworth Lecture, in my humble opinion.

I then walked back to the YHA and picked up my backpack and interview materials.  I then proceeded to walk to the nearby offices of NACCHO, or the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization, ready for my meeting with Policy Director Mark Saunders.  Mr. Saunders was very welcoming and he was happy to help me with my work.  He gave me both documents and a handful of trinkets about his organization, for which I was very thankful.  During the meeting we discussed NACCHO's role in health, the importance of their collaboration with the federal government, the huge disparity in health outcomes among the country's populations, and the efforts of certain communities to change things for the better.  He was particularly passionate about bettering the flow of funding from the government and properly understanding the effects new initiatives are having on groups before discontinuing their funding.  He was also kind enough to show me around NACCHO's library, which was a great source for a few titles of interest to my research.  For my last night in Canberra I had a quick dinner of pasta and then sat back and watched the opening ceremony and first games of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, very excited by the aerial shots of the country I would be visiting in a month's time.  My companions for this were a group of drunken English and Irishmen, who, for understandable reasons, took great pleasure in cheering against the French national team in their match against Uruguay.

P.S. Mathematically I am now a third of the way through my trip, although I will only officially acknowledge this once I leave Australia.  I have been on the road for a month now, and I am struck by two conflicting thoughts: 1. How is it possible that I have been traveling for a month already? and 2. How has it only been a month so far?  Oh well, food for thought.