When bureaucratic inertia trashes civic pride

It's a thought many of us have as we drive around Canberra's suburbs, and even through the National Triangle.

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What would visitors think if they saw this broken street sign, this overgrown grass, this pile of rubbish?

Rubbish at the entrance of Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Picture by Karleen Minney

The former manager of Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve John McRae is justifiably outraged at the state of the entrance, made even worse by the prospect that it's some kind of internal government squabbling that is preventing the mess from being removed.

This is a sight that shouldn't even exist long enough for this newspaper to capture it in real time.

When it comes to any public spaces, much less those that are important for Indigenous heritage, endangered species conservation and regional ecology, maintenance and clean-up should be a main priority.

Granted, Tidbinbilla is more remote than, say, an underpass in Weston Creek or a road sign on National Circle, but this shouldn't be an excuse to neglect basic maintenance.

When questioned, the ACT government suggested safety issues related to the 100kmh speed limit in the area, but this can't be the end of it.

Mr McRae is of the opinion that different government departments are at odds as to whose responsibility it is to clean up the space, but again, the answer should be clear to anyone who knows anything about Canberra's municipal services.

If rubbish mount-up is caused by hoons doing burnouts, the police may well have the task of targeting the hoons, but can't be expected to clean up after them.

If the ACT government is mired in inertia and indecisiveness when it comes to environmental vandalism, what hope do the rest of the city's public spaces have?

Mr McRae points out that Tidbinbilla has and should have pride of place as a showcase for Canberra's bush capital attributes - proximity to nature and careful custodianship of the natural environment.

"We get VIPs, we get diplomats, heads of state, royalty, you name it, they come out here.

"At certain times of year, there's probably more diplomatic plates in Tidbinbilla than there are in Yarralumla," he said.

But an open space invites vandalism and disrespect, with large numbers of cars congregating in the area for burnouts, leaving chaos in their wake.

Why doesn't the ACT government employ a zero tolerance approach to such damage?

How is there even space for any kind of uncertainty as to who is responsible for what?

Furthermore, it's been demonstrated already that in certain parts of Sydney, when graffiti is cleaned up as soon as possible after appearing, perpetrators lose interest and find blank walls elsewhere.

It's an expensive and time-consuming approach to an age-old problem, but worth it when it instils a sense of pride in the city.

If the ACT government is instead mired in inertia and indecisiveness when it comes to environmental vandalism, what hope do the rest of the city's public spaces have?

It's simple: a pile of rubbish, anywhere, signifies neglect. One that sticks around also speaks to dysfunction. Canberra has too many wide open spaces to be able to hide this dysfunction, even when the government denies any need for extra care and attention.

Can't Canberra just have nice things every once in a while - public art, gracious buildings and well-tended bushland?

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