Canberra (pronounced Can-bruh...as quickly as you can say it)

The nation's capitol was on the way back to Sydney, so I made a quick stop there. It was on my itinerary anyway. It was a 24-hour fly in super tour, but definitely worth it.

Canberra has an interesting history. In Australia's infancy, there was a large debate over whether the capital should be in Sydney or Melbourne, the two most populous cities. Eventually, Melbourne won the battle, but only as an interim until a new city was built. The government moved to Canberra in 1927 upon completion. Canberra and its surrounding areas are their own Australian territory, the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), much like our District of Columbia. Canberra was designed by architect Walter Burley-Griffin and had a very conceptual plan. The city branches out from two circles, one North and one South of the man made Lake Burley-Griffin (no ego at all that Walter).

It is therefore an incredibly new city, leaving absolutely no old architecture to admire, but there are a few buildings with some charm. The highlight is the stunning War Memorial. The building was lovely and the museum was informative and flashy. I wasn't in the mood for military history that day, but I still gave it a one-hour walk through. The beauty of Canberra stems from its free admission to nearly all attractions :-D.

Canberra is nestled in the mountains, between two large hills. I climbed Mt. Aislie, just behind the War Memorial for a panoramic view of the city and surrounding areas. The other, Black Mountain, has a tall tower on top, but this was too far of a walk for the time I allotted myself.

There is not too much to offer travelers than the many scattered museums. The town is just too gubernatorial, though what would one expect from a nation's capital? The main reason I came to town is to visit the parliament building (see childish drawing above) and learn a bit about the government.

I took a 45-minute tour of the building, read all the various signs and plaques, and even sat in a parliamentary session. I could only endure exactly two minutes of some guy rambling about something so dry, I neglected to even note the general topic. The rest of parliament must have felt the same; the room was nearly empty save the House Speaker and the scribe. If I'd only stayed a couple of hours more, I have seen some real action! A floor debate that afternoon escalated to an argument, only to come to head later on the front steps where punches were thrown. You gotta love Australia!

The government is run very similarly to the states. There is a bicameral parliament; a house and senate. The house is population based and the senate has equal representation for each state. The citizens vote for the parliament members. Interestingly, all citizens over 18 are required to vote. I've had many a discussion with Aussies over whether their system of voting is better. In the states, only people actually care bother voting, but this leaves 50% of the population unaccounted for. The obligatory voting should, but sadly does not stir citizens to learn about the candidates for an informed vote. Instead, it seems to breed a general apathy for whoever gets voted in. The parliament chooses the Prime Minister, whose role is similar to our president's. The are actually two heads of state in Australia. Unable to totally ditch their British roots, Australia still hold Queen Elizabeth as the ultimate word of the law. She is represented by the Attorney General, who is chosen by the Prime Minister. Even though she has veto power, it is rarely used. Aussies would not stand for having a person who's only visited the government house once in fifty years control their lives. She's just a figurehead. All laws first have to pass through the house, then the senate, unlike us, where laws get bounced back and forth. They have a Judicial Branch to interpret the laws. Like most Western countries, Australia just follows the general American model of Democracy, with a few variations.