Penultimatum

Since returning from the break, I've taken stock of the very frightening fact that my degree is coming to an end. 3 years ago, this date was longed for but seemed an eternity away. Now that I'm approaching the final week of instruction, I am very nervous. My parents will soon be down and I must pass all of my courses if I am to graduate in December with them here. It would be a shame if they travelled 20 000 km only to have me have to sit some supplementary exams, which means I wouldn't be eligible to graduate. After my exams, I will be on tenterhooks until the final results are published. I really do hope I graduate as I don't want to have to go through this again.

Anyway, 2 Fridays ago was the annual ACTAFL Umpires' Association dinner. Like last year, it was held at the Southern Cross Club in Woden. It was great fun with many hilarious moments and awards being given out. Some of the more serious awards were Best Umpire and dedication awards while some of the ones with more levity were Bachelor of the Year and the Send Off awards. I didn't win anything this year but we'll see how I go next year. With my GDLP keeping me in Canberra for another year, I look forward to another chance at stardom.

Spring Carnival horse racing is the current obessession of the nation and there have been 2 important races in the last few weeks, all in Melbourne. The first was the Caulfield Cup run at Caulfield race course. This is a Group 1 handicap run over 2 400 m and is second only to the Melbourne Cup in terms of importance for handicap races in Australia. The price money is AUS$2.5 million. The next important race was last Saturday and that was the Cox Plate run at Moonee Ponds, a Group 1 weight-for-age race that is considered the championship for that type of race in Australia. The prize for that race is AUS$3 million. It's hard to convey how important horse racing is to Australians unless you're immersed in it, like I was as I worked at ACTTAB those days. The next big race is the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 2nd and its AUS$6 million prize. I will be working at the racecourse and I anticipate quite a day if the weather holds.

I also took advantage of an opportunity with Legal Aid to follow a practitioner around for a few hours on a Monday morning. I and a GDLP student followed the practitioner around as he talked to clients being held in the cells below the Magistrates Court. We then followed him into court to hear his submissions. I was very enlightening especially when you consider that this lawyer sometimes has only a few minutes to formulate some sort of plea for his clients. He also challenged me on my thesis in my research essay that Australian jurisdictions should adopt the intent to temporarily deprive, and not permanently deprive, as the basis for theft. I am thankful and I worked some of his suggestions into the second draft which I've submitted for commentary. I think I've done all I can with that, given the word limit, and I think I've structured it logically.

I did get some other good news and that was that I received a High Distinction for my moot court presentation assessment in Evidence Law. I reported on this assignment earlier and it turns out my partner and I both did extremely well. Apparently my argument "demonstrated command of the material, facility with the facts, and ability to think strategically." Needless to say, I was very pleased with this outcome. I remember in school aboslutely despising, with every fiber of my being, public speaking assignments but now I've found a sort of comfortable ease with them. I don't understand why so many people simply read off their notes in a prepared speech for assignments when a more natural apporach "feels better." Anyway, I'm happy with this now and all I have to look forward to now is the utter joy of the exam.

There is one more thing I've learned and that is that the drough has officially broken, at least in NSW. The long period of low rain, called the "Big Dry" or the "Long Dry" came to an end last week when the last parts of the state were declared drought free. This is thanks to the La Niña event that has brought well above average rainfall to Australia. All I can say then is thank heaven for little girls. While some people are rejoicing many in the environmental camp are wary and are warning that this may only be a temporary reprieve and that more punishing aridity may follow. We'll just have to wait and see but since Australians get so few moments of unalloyed pleasure from the weather, I say celebrate for now. And I've added photographs from my trip to Melbourne.

Melbourne: The Second Half

On the 3rd of October, Katia and Maria gave me a very special treat --- a trip to Mt. Macedon. Not too far from Melbourne, Mt. Macedon is a fairly high mountain with a cross on top of it. The cross was built after the First World War at the expense of one person so that Melburnians would always remember the soldiers who fought. It was built on the southern flank of that mountain and illuminated at night so that it could be seen from all points of Melbourne. The cross, following years of weathering, a lightning strike and a devastating bushfire, was repaired in the 1990s. However, in all that time it has been a popular destination for a picnic and some light walking.

We headed out in the afternoon and were quickly at the mountain's base. As we drove up I noticed that many people built mansions on the mountain's lower slopes. These were clearly the homes of the very wealthy. As we drove further up, I noticed at a junction a sign pointing to Hanging Rock, a place of importance to Australians. That place is the setting for the surreal thriller Picnic at Hanging Rock. First a book, then a movie it is the story of a group of schoolgirls who have a picnic at Hanging Rock and then disappear, only to reappear again. Once back, though, they have no memory of what happened. I haven't seen the movie myself but I guess I should and the book is considered an Australian classic.

Anyway, we made it to the top of the mountain where there was a parking lot. We got out and walked to the cross. The landscaping is very neat and the view was quite spectacular. Melbourne was clearly visible on the horizon. After a reasonable amount of time, we walked back to the car and drove home.

On my last full day in Melbourne in Melbourne, I decided to visit the Melbourne Aquarium. It was a little smaller than I expected but it was good nonetheless. There were many native species but also exotic things like sawfish, sharks, rays, blind cavefish and a Giant Octopus. There were even some axolotls, a sort of salamander from Mexico that the Aztec once used as currency. Some of the shark eggs were very interesting and one was even in a sort of corkscrew shape. However, I spent the most time at the penguin pen. The Aquarium has two types of penguins, the small Gentoo and the slightly larger King. They frolicked about and swam as is there custom and you couldn't help but stare. There were even a few eggs that were being cared for by the penguins. I spent almost the entire day at the aquarium and I would recommend it to anyone.

I flew out the next morning after thanking my hosts for their incredible hospitality. I always enjoy going down to Melbourne and I think this was a break I truly needed. Unfortunately, I only had a few days before university started back up again and now it's back to the grindstone. Happily, there's only short time until the semester is over.

Melbourne: The First Half

I have recently returned from an almost week-long trip to Melbourne, Australia's other great metropolis. I will relay my adventures there in 2 parts, this being the first. I did have a wonderful time in Melbourne, made all the more hospitable by the hospitality of Katia and Maria Soc, who allowed me to stay with them during my time. It was quite therapeutic for me, I think, to get out of Canberra, stretch my legs and do a bit of exploring. I'll also give the answer to the joke from the last post at the end.

I flew into Melbourne on an early flight as it was the cheapest I could get. There was a delay as Virgin Blue had been having problems with their automated check-in service for a few days. Luckily, I had checked-in on the web the night before. Upon arriving in Melbourne I took the bus to the city centre as I was unable to go to the Socs right away. I took the opportunity to wander around in the warm sunlight. I found myself at the Treasury Gardens and being quite exhausted, I had a nap on the park grass. Once I awoke, I made my way to the train station and caught a train to Broadmeadows in the city's northern reaches. I spent the rest of the day around the Socs home preparing for the next day's outing.

The following morning I decided to visit the Fitzroy Gardens and the State Library of Victoria, both fascinating places. The Fitzroy Gardens are an old city park just next to the Treasury Gardens in the heart of the city. Throughout there are various interesting buildings and artworks. For example, there is the cottage that James Cook grew up in in Yorkshire. It was taken apart brick by brick and reassembled in Melbourne. Having been built in the mid 18th Century, Cook's Cottage claims to be the oldest building in Australia. There is also the impressive River God Fountain and the playful Dolphin Fountain. Then there's the whimsical Fairies' Tree which consists of fairies and native Australian animals carved and painted into an old stump. Beside it it my favourite place, the Model Tudor Village. Gifted to the people of Melbourne by the English for supplying food after World War 2, the Model Tudor Village is a miniature representation of a village in the 16th Century. One can clearly discern a church, a mill and the thoughtful artisans even included Shakespeare's and Ann Hathaway's cottages. If it had been like that, I imagine William and Ann first meeting each other on the village path, then courting and finally marrying. The little village is something to behold.

After the gardens, I went to the State Library of Victoria, an imposing building near La Trobe Street. I originally intended to see if I could obtain some documents for my internship essay but it turned out they were unavailable. I decided to explore the library and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. On the upper floors there was an exhibit dedicated to Australia's most famous scoundrel, Ned Kelly. A troublesome son of a convict settler, Ned and his gang of reprobates became bushrangers, robbing what they could, when they could in the 1870s. In doing so, they endeared themselves to the citizens of the Colony of Victoria as they were seen to be fighting the establishment and the corrupt Victorian police. Matters came to a head in 1878 when Ned and his gang burned mortgage deeds, the only copies of that bank's debtors and Crown property. The gang also ambushed 4 police constables, killing 3 of them while the 4th escaped. They were declared outlaws and were finally cornered at an inn in Glenrowan in northern Victoria. The police encircled the inn and a gunfight ensued wherein Kelly's 3 accomplices were killed and Kelly himself captured. In one unbelievable act that ensured their immortality in the Australian psyche, the Kelly Gang made suits of armour out of ploughs and in these they faced the police. Ned Kelly was tried in Melbourne and hanged in 1880, his last words supposedly being, "Such is life."

In the State Library I found that Ned Kelly's armour was on display, or as near as could be figured. It has been restored although it still bears the indentations of the bullet strikes. It also has an apron which Ned Kelly probably did not wear but was worn by one of the other gang members. A little further on was a cast of Ned Kelly's death mask. They are amazing pieces of Australian history that I was glad to find. It is also a little ironic since the library and the vast reading room adjacent to the exhibit was largely the work of Redmond Barry, the judge who presided over the Ned Kelly trial and sentenced him to death. In fact, the library was built in the very same year.

On another floor there was an exhibit about books through the ages. I found myself pulled towards a book about mathematics, printed in the late 15th Century, by Caxton, the father of English printing. I was pleasantly surprised that with only minimal effort I was able to read and understand the English of so long ago.

I made my way to Federation Square where I found a radio show, MTR (Melbourne Talk Radio), broadcasting. And here, I had a chance to win 2 tickets to the Grand Final replay and I completely blew it. I was among 4 people asked to commentate on a fictitious final 30 seconds of the Grand Final and the winner would win the tickets. I was among 4 people and though I slightly rehearsed beforehand when it came my turn (I was 2nd), I completely messed up as I could only remember 1 player's name. Anyway, it was an unmitigated disaster but I did get 2 tickets to a Toni Childs concert the next day and a copy of Ben-Hur which I gifted to Katia and Maria. Slightly depressed, I returned to Broadmeadows intellectually satisfied though shattered in spirit.

The next day I went to the Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Hall. 1880 seems to have been an eventful year for Victoria as Melbourne hosted the World Exhibition. For that occasion an enormous hall was built, like London's Crystal Palace, although this one is the only original such structure on its original site. It was also where Australia's Parliament met until Parliament House was completed in Canberra in 1927. I couldn't go in as it was closed but from what I could see, it was an impressive building and I could only imagine what it had been like when it had first opened.

The Melbourne Museum is a much more modern structure to which, I was happy to learn, student admission is free. There were a myriad of interesting exhibits dealing with natural history, the human body, dreams and the struggle for Aboriginal rights. I even got to see an IMAX 3-D movie about the Hubble Telescope. At the time there was also a very popular Titanic exhibit but it has been sold out for ages and I didn't really have a desire to see it. Still, the rest of the museum was absolutely fascinating and I hope to go back again. Although I was there most of the day, I still missed a portion of it and I hope to complete my tour of the museum soon.

The evenings entertainment consisted of me going to a club to see Toni Childs, whom I had never heard of but was apparently very big in the 1980s. Later research revealed that although she was an American, she was most popular in Australia. The band that opened for Toni Childs was very good and I enjoyed listening to their bluesy rhythms. One thing I noticed was that much of the crowd was made of of people in their 40s and beyond, who I can only assume have been Toni Childs fans since the beginning. Toni Childs came on after a while and although here music was good, it wasn't really my cup of tea so I left after about half an hour. The club itself was in the very posh suburb of Toorak so it took me a while to make it back to Broadmeadows by train. If there are any Toni Childs fans out there, I hope you're not too mad at me for leaving.

The next day was Saturday the 2nd, the replay of the Grand Final. I managed to get myself invited to a small Grand Final party (just 5 of us) at a friend of a friend's house. We eagerly watched the game which the Collingwood Magpies easily won. It was great fun to watch it with other people over a few pizzas. Later we were invited to a 30th birthday party at a bar in the city called Troika, which had a sort of Soviet theme, much like Kremlin Bar in Canberra. I met many fascinating people at that shindig and I now have new friends to visit in Melbourne.

And at some point during this first half, I ran into someone I hadn't seen in about 10 years and then only in Ottawa, Zirka Reshitnyk. She was just walking down a Melbourne street when I happened to notice her and called out. It turns out that her boyfriend is an Australian who works for a dramatic production company and they live, at least for the moment, in Melbourne. I thought how unbelievable it is to meet someone I hadn't seen in such a long time and from nearly half the world away! What a strange and wonderful continent this is.

Anyway, that's the end of Part 1 and here's the answer to last post's riddle: Why was the dolphin allowed in adduce hearsay evidence against the credibility of a witness? Because he offered the evidence for a non-hearsay porpoise (as opposed to non-hearsay purpose). I welcome your groans.

Moot Points

I had a rather exciting day in court last Wednesday. As part of the assessment in Evidence, one of the activities was a mock argument in court, effectively a mooting exercise. My partner and I, who played the role of Crown prosecutors, had to make submissions asking for certain evidence to be included and excluded. There was also a 1-person defence team comprised of the magnificent and near-invincible Kate Maloney (the nominal student head of the JD program) who stepped in at the last minute as we would otherwise have had no defence team against us.

I made my arguments first, submitting that the victim's criminal record and tattoos should be excluded. Then Kate made her counterarguments and then submitted that the accused's statements should be excluded. My partner, Roland, then made his submissions that the accused's statements should be admitted. All the while our professor-assessor, Molly, interjected with questions challenging our positions. At then end, she said she was very impressed with our performances, in particular that we had good presence and were able to effectively address the judge on a personal level. I remember her saying that there was no question that she could ask that would phase us, which I take as high praise indeed. I had also made a particular argument that admitting the victim's criminal record and tattoos would render the trial unfair for the accused which is a violation of their rights under the ACT Human Rights Act. S. 21 of that act states, paraphrasing it, that everyone has the right to a fair trial, the operative word being "everyone" not "every accused". I submitted that in this case "everyone" includes the victim. I had actually gotten the argument from my Criminal Justice class but it seemed appropriate. I was told it was a very good and creative argument and that if I'd been able to find some sort of supporting precedent, it would have been "killer". At all odds anyway, my partner and I left the moot in high spirits as it seems we did very well.

After 10 weeks of back-breaking labour we have entered the 2-week break. This will be the last 2-week break after 10 weeks as ANU is switching to a new system next year following mounds of unfavourable feedback from students and staff. I am taking this opportunity to visit friends in Melbourne from next Wednesday to the following Tuesday, so there won't be a post next Saturday. I haven't been out of Canberra for quite some time and I think I should take my leave for a little bit.

While in Melbourne I may get a chance to see Game 2 of the AFL Grand Final. They played Game 1 today and it ended in a tie. In AFL, for some ungodly reason, if the Grand Final ends in a tie, they play another full game the next week. I much prefer the ACTAFL's approach involving extra time. I was working at ACTTAB today and I watched the game when I could. The St. Kilda Saints were playing the Collingwood Magpies in front of 100 016 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was an exciting game with St. Kilda pulling out in front just minutes before the game ended but Collingwood managed to tie it up although they blew a few chances to put the game away. At full time the final score was 68-68 and it's only the 3rd time in history that this has happened. Each team is trying to win their first premiership in many years; Collingwood last won in 1990 and St. Kilda last won (its only win) in 1966. If there are any tickets available I'll definitely try to go down for the game. This doesn't happen very often and if I can I want to see the thrilling conclusion.

To end off, here's a joke for the lawyers. I'll post the answer the next time I blog. See if you can guess the answer.

Why was the dolphin allowed in adduce hearsay evidence against the credibility of a witness?

A Day at the Footy

Saturday was a very long but fun day filled with aussie rules football. It was the last day of the season and as such the U-18, Division 2 and Division 1 Grand Finals were all played on that day. Although I wasn't officiating in any match I headed down to Manuka Oval for 2 reasons: to support my fellow umpires and entry is free for officials. Every year the umpires present a cohort for the final day and we sit as a group.

The games were of high quality though without the added excitement of a close result. The matches were handily won by the victors. I did have something of a small victory myself. During one of the intermissions I received detailed feedback on my performance in the latter part of the year. Because of manpower issues, the umpire coaches cannot see everyone throughout the year and only do these detailed assessments towards the end when deciding who will get a finals appointment. According to the assessor, I had progressed "in leaps and bounds" this year and of 20 or 30 assessment points, there were only 2 "mistakes", if you can call them that. The first was that I was wearing a gray shirt underneath my orange uniform when it should be black or skin-coloured; I think I mentioned this previously. The second was that for one decision I may have straddled the line a little late, but the assessor wasn't sure. In other words, it was not clearly a mistake on my part. As it is almost certain that I will be in Canberra for another year, this bodes very well for me. The assessor informed me that my progress had impressed the coaching staff and if I continue to perform very well, there may be good things indeed in store for me.

After the games, the lot of us proceeded to the nearby Kingston Hotel for a repast. We watched part of the St. Kilda Saints-Western Bulldogs Preliminary Final and toasted another successful year. The Umpires' Association Annual Dinner will be held in mid-October but until then, we're free of obligations.

Free of obligations is perhaps being a tad generous as fitness has no off-season. Although there will be no games until February or March, it is still necessary to maintain a certain level of fitness so I've resumed running 4km every few days. I may increase that to 8km later on but for now, I have to ease into it. I want to be as fit as is humanly possible for me when next season rolls around.

The weather has turned quite pleasant with spring in the air. The days are warming up to 20C which means t-shirts and shorts. Temperatures will hover around this mark for a month before rising again.

One final bit of good news, I received a Distinction for my Equity and Trusts take-home exam. This is not an easy course and I am very happy that I have grasped at least the basic concepts. We'll see how I do when the final exam rolls around but this has given me a much needed boost of confidence. Now let's hope my other courses follow suit.

Finales

It's been a fairly eventful week. There have been some extraordinary occurrences in Australia and the world throughout. Some are more mundane than others, but each have there own characteristics of interest.

In Canberra last weekend there were some damaging winds, accompanied by some rain. With the reservoirs now at 75% and looking to reach 80% soon, Canberrans are eagerly awaiting the easing of certain water use restrictions. The winds, however, knocked down several trees including some along the boulevard of Northbourne Avenue. Luckily, the damage wasn't too significant and there was no disruption to general city life.

Less can be said for Christchurch. New Zealand's South Island's largest city (sometimes mistakenly referred to as New Zealand's second largest city) was shaken by a powerful earthquake that measured 7.1 on the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS). I'll spare you the boring details but the MMS is what scientists use although it is more commonly called the Richter Scale. It seems that there was significant damage to the city, although no deaths. The South Island is considerably less tectonically vibrant than its northern neighbour but is clearly not immune. The earthquake building code probably prevented more significant damage although at a certain point there's nothing that can be done. It will take some time to clean up after the quake but New Zealand has experience with this type of thing so I wouldn't be too worried.

And keeping with the disaster stream, it seems northern Victoria is in the midst of floods. The Australian Defence Force has been called out to assist. While this will go some way to relieving the drought, especially considering the low levels the Murray River has suffered recently, it's still a great inconvenience.

On another topic, Australia finally has a government. After some political trading, the final 2 independent members, Windsor and Oakeshott, sided with the Labor Party. This gives them the 76 seats required for a majority and Julia Gillard remains PM. I understand that Kevin Rudd, the former PM, will be Minister of Foreign Affairs which is where he made a name for himself before. I had a chance to watch Windsor and Oakeshott announce their decision in a press conference. Windsor was fairly brief but Oakeshott took forever to announce his decision. He droned on and on and listed the reasons for the decision. I think the consensus is that this was his moment in the sun and he wanted to get as much out of it as he could. This new government, technically a minority one, will be interesting if not only to see how long it lasts. All parties, though, are talking as though the government will be allowed to complete its full 3-year mandate barring anything surprising.

I had a great opportunity yesterday to be a goal umpire for the ACTAFL Division 4 Grand Final at Manuka Oval between Goulburn and ANU, and what a game it turned out to be. The day was sunny and warm with only a hint of wind. The game was close throughout and when full time came around, it was a tie. This necessitated the use of a special procedure for tie-breaking wherein 2 additional 5-minute periods are played and at the end, whoever is in front wins. In the end, the result was 1 point in favour of ANU; final score Goulburn-84, ANU-85. I think that not only was this the best game I've officiated this season, I think it was the best game I've ever officiated. I haven't seen that full game assessment from the umpire assessor but the half-time report was quite positive. It's always an honour to be asked to officiate a grand final, it means you are one of the better umpires throughout the year. Barring anything unusual happening, though, or being asked to be an emergency on-call replacement, I think this is the end of my season. Next week the Under-18s, the Division 2 and the Division 1 grand finals will be played and that will end of the season officially. I think I've ended on a very positive note and I can't wait for next year.

La Niña

Australia has come under the influence of the little girl, the La Niña event that affects the Pacific every so often. And I must say that it's not a moment too soon. La Niña almost always brings with her above average rainfall and Australia could certainly use as much as it could given the dryness of the last 15 years. Lately, though, there has been a period of prolonged wet weather which has elevated the levels of the all-important reservoirs and changed the red interior a healthy shade of green. However, this chica loca is a wild girl.

Let's take today as an example. A large and powerful low pressure system has moved over southeastern Australia bringing several centimeters worth of rain to Adelaide and Canberra with additional appreciable amounts to most other capital cities. In Adelaide the rain was accompanied by wind gusts up to 100km/hr while Canberra will tomorrow face a slightly drier day but gusts approaching 75 km/hr, although it's howling outside right now. Unfortunately as it is the playoff season for the local Australian rules football league, I have to umpire in these conditions tomorrow. Actually I dodged a bullet as I was originally scheduled for today but was made to switch with someone when their unavailability unexpectedly changed. Today's rain was fierce and persistent but it is supposed to ease up tomorrow so these clouds do have silver linings.

I also had the opportunity to participate in an interesting exercise in evidence class --- a trivia contest dealing with hearsay. The game was spread out over the two days we would have had lectures and was designed to familiarize us with relevant provisions of the Evidence Act relating to hearsay evidence. I was with a team of some old friends and some new ones. For those who aren't familiar with the intricacies of evidence, hearsay is (roughly) non-first-hand evidence and there are rules about when you can and can't use it. I, and others including the lecturer, think this is the hardest concepts in evidence law. The problem I find is that while I can usually recognize admissible and inadmissible hearsay evidence the Evidence Act is not a well-drafted bit of legislation which makes hearsay rather tricky. One of my dad's stories from law school was that he, rather unexpectedly, received a very good mark for evidence. I'm hoping that history repeats itself.

I'll close by saying that recently I've rediscovered one of my favourite Canadian singers --- Amanda Marshall. She was very active in the blues/adult contemporary genre from the mid-90s until about 2001, when she suddenly went quiet. Apparently she has continued to sing at concerts and the like and has an album planned for this year, which will be her 4th (excluding "best of" compilations) and her first since 2001. She had some of the most memorable songs in that period and I'm sorry she sequestered herself. The thing about her is that while she might not have the vocal range of some singers, her voice has more power behind it. In my opinion, one of the most underrated and overlooked singers of the period even though she was quite well-known and successful during her time. Let's hope she receives the recognition she deserves.

For One Who's Come Across the Seas

I had a rather interesting visitor this past week. My cousin Laura, who has been teaching English in South Korea for the past 5.5 years, paid me a visit. She stayed most of the week in Canberra and I managed to show her around. She seemed rather impressed with Australia and said repeatedly that she plans to return. Her time in Korea runs out in February and after some travelling she'll be taking up some sort of position, teaching again I think, in Pakistan.

Laura arrived last Monday in what turned out to be a very odd week weather-wise. The whole of the week was quite cold and cloudy whereas Canberra usually has at least a few sunny days per week. It was windy, rainy and even had a touch of wet snow. At any event, because of my rather hectic schedule Laura took in many of the sights by herself but made some friends along the way I understand. We did get to see one attraction together and that was Old Parliament House.

Not too far from New Parliament House is the Old, or Provisional, Parliament House. From 1927-1988 this was the seat of Australia's government. Built rather hastily in the art deco style, Old Parliament House was originally supposed to be Parliament's home for a few years until the permanent structure was built. However, the Great Depression and World War Two prevented construction and Old Parliament House served its role until 1988. In 1927 there were 300 people working in the edifice (including politicians, journalists, political staff and building staff) but by 1988 that number had increased to 3 000 and the building simply couldn't cope with the numbers.

Old Parliament House is now the Australian Museum of Democracy and I took Laura there because it wasn't too far away and I'd never been there myself --- and we were both pleasantly surprised. Recently refurbished, the interior, while left mostly in its original state, is now full of interactive displays about the history of Australian democracy. Laura and I wandered through the building which was fairly empty given that it was late afternoon and marvelled at it. The Prime Minister's office I found particularly interesting given the near-street level windows that would now make for a security nightmare and the spy hole that the PM's secretary could use to make sure he was alright. Because Laura and I were more or less the only ones there, we got something of a private tour of a section of Old Parliament House.

The one thing I truly remarked about Old Parliament House was how cozy it felt. Because it was meant to be temporary, it was never built to a grand size, like Canada's Centre Block, which can have a cold sterile feel about it, especially given that it's made of stone. Old Parliament House, on the other hand, has a sort of organic quality and walking through the narrow halls you get a sense of belonging or something. Unfortunately it was too late in the day to thoroughly explore every nook and cranny but I plan to come back once I have more free time to really explore Old Parliament House. Given the history that has been made therein, I think it's one of Canberra's great treasures.

A few days later, Laura left for Sydney on a weekend trip to have a tour of the Opera House and take in a concert. When she got back, she could not help but rave at the experience although she did say that she would prefer to live in a small city like Canberra. Quite early this morning Laura flew out to return to Korea but I imagine that this trip has only whet her appetite for Australia. She would not be alone if that is the case as many have succumbed to the same feeling.

The other news worthy of report is that there is still no decision as to who will form the next government. The Labor Party has 73 seats (thanks to the one Green Party member), the Liberal Party has 73 seats (thanks to its coalition) meaning that the fate of Australia now rests in the hands of 4 independent members. Talks between them and both large factions are currently underway but so far no resolution. Let's hope they sort themselves out soon.

150

For my 150th blog post, I have quite a bit to report on. As it happens, it falls on the night of a very important Australian election and the 150 members of the House of Representatives are seeking office. It's also a test of the Labor Party's policies and the results are very exciting.

First of all, some other news. I read that the US has ended its combat operations in Iraq. We'll see what this means in the future and what the consequences of America's actions will be. After 7.5 years in Iraq, only history will tell what impact the Americans had on the country. Contrary to many predictions, Iraq has not descended into civil war and hopefully it was not only the Americans' presence that prevented it. While there will still be support units in the, Operation Iraqi Freedom (they've got to come up with more imaginative names) has concluded and this chapter of American history closes; let's see what the footnotes will say.

In health news, I got a massage for my stiff iliotibial band at umpire training. Every training session a physiotherapist comes in and offers massages to those who need them. To limber up my iliotibial band, I asked for one and it is an experience unlike any other, and not one which should be repeated. In order to loosen the band, pressure must be applied to it but in its stiff state, that causes considerable discomfort. The physio knew what she was doing and it did help but I really felt the pain. Next time, I think I'll just inject some drugs right into the band.

In lighter news, I got the chance to effect a Scottish accent in my criminal justice class. The lecturer asked for someone to do it to read out a passage by a Scottish author. No one put their hand up so I volunteered and I think I pulled it off. In truth, I did it better than I thought I would. Unfortunately there is no recording of this event.

The big news in Australia is, of course, the general election and what a night it has been. The final result is too close to call and will likely not be known for some weeks as there will be recounts and challenges. However, for the first time since World War 2, Australia will have a "hung" parliament, which means that no party has won a majority of seats. In my opinion, a better solution would be a hanged parliament. The predicted final tally in the House is the Liberal/National Party, 73 seats, the Labor Party, 72 seats, the Green Party, 1 seat and independents, 4 seats. This mess will take some time to sort out but until then, Julia Gillard will continue as Prime Minister. As you can see, the formation of the government will depend on how the independents and the Green Party members align themselves. An even more curious result would be a 75-75 split which would really liven things up.

This result has come about due to poor performance by the Labor Party in the 4-week election. Apparently they had a pretty disastrous 2nd and 3rd weeks and so that has hurt them. The Labor Party has lost something like 15 seats! The Labor Party was already in trouble due to declining polls, the ousting of PM Kevin Rudd, the mining supertax and the failure of the Emissions Trading Scheme (whatever that was). Also, it seems that they underestimated Tony Abbott, the Liberal/National Party leader, who was able to run a fairly effective campaign. I think the Labor Party could have secured a better result if they'd stuck to pointing out that they managed to keep Australia out of recession with their stimulus package and Australia has one of the best performing economies in the industrialized world.

This election has been remarkable for other reasons. The first Green Party member was elected for the district of Melbourne. A 20-year old from Queensland in poised to become the youngest ever MP. Also from Queensland, voters elected the first indigenous Australian Member of the House of Representatives. In general, there has also been a strong showing for the Green Party nation-wide and they will now hold the balance of power in the Senate, and to some extent in the House as well.

A few words, or as few as can reasonably be uttered, about the Australian electoral process. Australia's election system is nothing if not entertaining. In Australia, voting is compulsory and done on a preference system. On the ballot page you mark in order from 1-whatever the candidates whom you wish to elect. In other words, your first choice you mark "1", your second, "2", and so on, though you don't have to exhaust your choices. First, the 1 votes are counted and if no candidate has 50%+1 of the votes, then the 2 votes are counted and so on until a candidate has achieved a majority. While creative and, I think worthwhile, this system is very confusing to an outsider, as Bill Bryson noted. The analysis speaks of things like "1st Party Preference, "2 Party Preference" and the "swing". The swing is the easiest concept, it's the percentage change from the last election so that a swing of 5.8% to the Liberal/National Party (as happened in Queensland overall), means 5.8% more people voted for that party than the previous election. Still, if you're not in tune, Australian election banter quickly degenerates into what sounds like meaningless drivel, although it may actually be very astute observation. I'm ineligible to vote so, luckily, I don't have to know any of this.

Another peculiarity of the Australian election system is that all constituencies have proper names, and not just descriptive ones like Ottawa-South or Toronto-East. For example, I live in the electoral district of Fraser, and around the country there are Fraser, Bennelong, Sturt, Eden-Monaro, O'Connor, Durack, Lingiari, Werriwa and countless others. I think this is very clever on the part of Australians. Although perfectly functional, Canadian riding names are rather bland but Australians have spiced theirs up. I think Canada should seriously consider following the Australian example.

There is also the nerve-center of reporting, called the Tally Room. This is where all the results are sent through more or less as soon as their known. I'm not sure if there's something exactly similar in Canada although I do know that news agencies report the results and that individual political parties have something like it at their respective headquarters. I've been told that it can be quite the experience and I may have gone had I not been assigned a take-home exam on the subject of fiduciaries. If this is a hung parliament, then the next election might not be too far away anyway and I can visit the Tally Room then.

So who's going to be the Prime Minister? No one can as yet say. What is certain is that the Labor Party has been dealt a significant blow but, for the time being they remain in power. We'll see what happens over the coming weeks if a changing of the guard will be in order.

Moving on Up

I had a rather important day last Sunday --- I was appointed to umpire my first Division 2 game. In the ACTAFL there are several divisions, though we only umpire the 5 most senior ones. The division are, in increasing order of "importance", Division 4, Division 3, Under-18s, Division 2 and Division 1. The appointment is important for me because I am 1 step closer to umpiring at the AFL level. In Canberra, between Division 2 and the AFL there is only Division 1, although there may be other intermediary leagues. I don't know if I'll ever get to the highest level, though I would certainly like to try, but it is a good step. I'll have to see how I go in the playoffs to see if maybe next year I'll get a crack at Division 1.

Australians, especially Canberrans, have had a lot to cheer about recently. There has been quite a substantial amount of rain throughout the country easing the drought. While no one dares say that the drought is over, Canberra's water reservoir levels have surpassed 60%, which is a big deal in Canberra. Some analysts are optimistically predicting reservoir levels of 70-80% by year's end which would be amazing. This is as a result of increased rainfall combined with better water management techniques. As Amanda Marshall sang, "Let it rain!"

Also, my primary means of conveyance, my bicycle, is undergoing repairs at the moment. A few months back I had a bit of a spill in wet weather and I think it may have bent my rear wheel and hanger. At first the problem wasn't to bad but over the course of a few months the bend has just become too pronounced. The bent wheel also wore away the rear brakes which also have to be replaced. I think the hanger also became bent in that spill. There's not much that can be done other than getting those items repaired/replaced and just hoping that it doesn't happen again. I should get it back tomorrow good as new. I hope it doesn't need repairs for a while at least.

A Spot of Culture

About the only thing of interest that happened this week was the annual ANU Law Revue. This is a show put on by ANU law students that satirizes just about anything topical. Perennial favourites are impressions of professors and politicians, however anything particularly topical will also find its way into the Law Revue. I missed last year's and I was determined not to miss this year's and I'm glad I didn't. The Revue was exceedingly funny especially when it came to professors and politicians. I don't think I've ever seen a professor at the Revue but I think they should go. It's meant to be good humour and it really is. Some of the segments were a very funny video lampooning our Vice-Chancellor's decision to cut humanities programs, a simulated election rap-off, professors lamenting while singing that teaching students is too complicated (to Avril Lavigne's Complicated), Survivor: Christmas Island (where refugees are housed while being processed and a song about never being able to escape Canberra. I laughed very heartily as did the rest of the audience.

One thing the Law Revue must be substantially commended for is their inclusion of a High Court decision handed down just that day. As this was the second show, it means that the directors had to quickly come up with something and they did. It was really just a mention but well done nonetheless.

This particular High Court decision comes from something called the GetUp! Case. As I understand it, GetUp! is a citizen's group devoted to electoral awareness. In Australia being enrolled as an elector and voting and compulsory and it used to be the case that once the election was called, you had 7 days to enter yourself on the electoral roll. A few years ago, the Howard government changed the rules so that the electoral roll closed on the day the election was called. Why that was I'm not sure but this rule survived. However, some time ago GetUp! mounted a challenge to that law and the High Court agreed with them that it was unconstitutional. I haven't read the decision but it means that something like 100 000 voters are now eligible to enroll and vote. The analysis is that this may help the Labor and Green Parties but we'll have to see how it plays out.

Come to think of it, the election is only 2 weeks away. As of right now, I still think Julia Gillard will win but 2 weeks is a very long time in politics and in this war, there are no holds barred.

Legal Aid

The first 2 weeks of semester have gone by and I can't say that there is much to report. Tutorials begin Week 3 and run to the end of semester but so far there have been no assignments due and nothing will be due until mid-August which is when I have 1 or 2 mid-semester exams. It's just the slow process of learning.

I did meet with the person who's going to be my research supervisor at ACT Legal Aid, Matt O'Brien. He's a rather pleasant criminal attorney. We had a discussion about possible topics and he indicated that I should come back in a few days to sort everything out. This is part of the legal internship program which is essentially a research task. While I probably will have a work space at Legal Aid, it's not compulsory, but at least it will give me some experience in the field. Matt has also said that if I want to go to court I can, including observing interviews with clients and heading down to the cells. We'll see where this goes but I'm looking forward to working with some real lawyers.

Last Sunday I attended the final functions of the Landmark Country Football Carnival. The first was the Grand Final at Manuka Oval. Being an umpire, I had a free pass. The game was of high quality but Victoria Major was far too good for South Australia. I was hoping for a close game but it was a pretty wide margin. After the game, there was a function at the Ainslie Football Club where trophies were handed out. I went for a final get-together with my fellow umpires and for the free food. The carnival was really exciting and I enjoyed umpiring at a reasonably high level. It's just unfortunate that my tendon wouldn't let me finish off my last game, but I think it's paid off; next week I've been appointed to my first Division 2 game.

Lastly, on Sunday Fenner also had its annual Bush Week trivia night. I was in charge of 2 rounds --- the first consisted of 3 short questions for the leading team and the second was a full round of lateral thinking questions. I think I made them too easy since most of the teams got most of them; 1 team even got all 10. Unfortunately my team didn't win so we couldn't get any extra money for floor events, but we gave it a good try.

That's it.

The Beginning of the End

I can remember my first class at law school, Contracts, and thinking how far away the end seemed. I knew 3 years wasn't all that long and that I would be finishing much sooner than some of my colleagues but I couldn't begin to imagine the end ever actually arriving. And now it's here. This past week marked the beginning of the end of my law degree as my final semester got underway. I have 4 classes: Equity and Trusts, Evidence, Criminal Justice and Law Internship. The law internship is really a sort of research assignment that is supervised by a legal practitioner. My supervisor will be Matt O'Brien from ACT Legal Aid's criminal law division. I'm meeting with him in a few days to discuss a topic and then I'll get underway. Otherwise my classes seem pretty standard so far. I just hope that I pass all my courses on the first go, in other words, that I don't have to sit any supplementary exams because that will delay my graduation by a semester. My family is coming down for my expected graduation and I don't want to disappoint them.

The Australian rules football country championships were played in the Canberra region this week and I managed to officiate some games. There was a call for volunteer boundary umpires and I put my hand up and was appointed to 2 games in Queanbeyan. These are fairly high quality as they are state teams. There were only 2 17-minute halves which made the running load much lighter than otherwise; a typical game in the Canberra league is 20-25 minute quarters (depending on the grade). I went alright in the 1st game but as it progressed I could feel my ITB seizing up. The ITB, or iliotibial band, is a tendon which runs down the thigh and joins with another muscle at the knee. A few days ago I had had a pretty solid run and I had tweaked it a bit. The ITB is notoriously difficult to stretch and once irritated, it really hurts. I managed to get the 1st half of the 2nd game down before I couldn't run anymore. I was somewhat irritated that I couldn't finish off the game and it was only because of this knee thing. It was my first attempt at boundary umpiring and even though I only had to make 1 decision, I am told I was fairly impressive. I'm taking a week off training just to give my leg a rest and I'll see about further boundary umpiring afterwards. I still continue to goal umpire without issue.

An interesting piece of news that crossed my desk was the report that Helena Guergis has been cleared by the RCMP. Guergis, who was a junior minister in the Canadian government and had a rather famous, if somewhat overstated, rant in the Charlottetown airport, was removed from cabinet and caucus following "serious allegations". To date, Guergis has not been told these allegations and no one outside the PM's close circle seems to know either. With the RCMP investigation concluded, it made me think of my administrative law principles; the principles that govern when someone can seek judicial review of a government decision. Although I doubt Guergis would be able to seek judicial review, I think there was a complete failure of what is called natural justice (procedural fairness), which would ordinarily give someone the ability to contest the decision in court. In a famous Australian case (VEAL v MIMIA), the High Court held that whenever a person is accused of something, even if the reviewing body takes no notice of it, that person must be given a chance to respond to those allegations. In that case, the refugee applicant designated VEAL, was the subject of a letter to the refugee board which accused them of committing crimes against humanity or something like that. The letter asked that the writer's identity be kept secret and although the board said that the letter existed, they gave it no weight in their decision. Nevertheless, the High Court said that natural justice/procedural fairness required that the allegations (but not the identity of the author) be disclosed. I think Guergis' case falls squarely in this camp.

The Guergis Affair also made me think of historical precedents such as the Star Chamber and bills of attainder. The Star Chamber was an inquisitorial court whose meetings were secret. A person could be compelled to testify against themselves and secret decisions could be reached finding people guilty of sedition or treason. Bills of attainder were acts of Parliament that found someone guilty of treason without a trial per se. I think that Guergis' situation falls very close to both of these.

I watched the CBC's Peter Mansbridge interview with Guergis online. I didn't think it was a particularly great interview for her, but I don't think it harmed her and maybe helped her a bit. If nothing else, it served to underline the issues in her dismissal. While the allegations still remain undisclosed, from what I read online, there is a chorus to have them revealed. I think that they should be if for no other reason than that public money has now been expended on the RCMP investigation and the public should know why that money was spent. Of course, I also think the Guergis should be told the allegations anyway because it would be fair to do so. We'll have to see how this plays out over the coming weeks and especially at the next election.

The Beautiful Game

The most important event this past week was the World Cup. It is touted as the world's largest single sporting event, and with good cause. I have heard statistics that well over 1 billion people watch the final live when it is played and I'm sure the statistic rises every time, and at a greater rate than population increase. Unfortunately, today's globalized world means that although you can watch a game on television live, it may be at an inconvenient time. Accordingly, the final was played at 04:30 Monday morning Canberra time.

I woke up to watch the game and went down to Fenner Hall's large TV room where many others had gathered. We all watched intently as the Spanish national team, Los Rojas (The Reds) took on the Clockwork Orange of the Netherlands. I gathered from the responses of the crowd that most of my fellow Fennerites were cheering for Spain, which put me in a minority. The Dutch had been to the World Cup twice before and I thought it was time they deserved to win. As you may know, the game was rather disappointing and neither team played with any vigour, as well as giving the referee plenty of excuses to bring out the cards. At the end of the first half, feeling the TV room was too crowded, I went upstairs to my room and watched the game on my computer. ANU has a website which lets you watch certain channels on the computer. The second half was much like the first, though there were a few more opportunities. Eventually, in overtime, at the 116th minute, the Spanish managed to get one past the Dutch keeper and hoisted the World Cup. Spain was the Number 1 team in the world so I can't fault them for winning, but I did hope the Dutch would pull through. I suspect many South Africans, particularly the Afrikaaners (descendants of Dutch immigrants), were cheering the Clockwork Orange. Well, all that's left is to wait another 4 years to see who makes it in Brazil.

Here's an interesting connection between Spain and Holland you might not know about. In the Dutch national anthem, it mentions that Prince (later King) William of Orange pledges his loyalty to the King of Spain. This may sound bizarre, and in a way it is, but the Netherlands were once part of Spain, and were in fact called the Spanish Netherlands. For its part, the Spanish national anthem is the only one in the world without words. There were words originally when the anthem was written in the 1970s or 1980s but they were dismissed for being too nationalistic. Which begs the question, isn't it alright for a national anthem to be nationalistic?

I was pleased to read on the internet a review of Ottawa by a visiting American travel writer. He called the city "unselfconsciously cool" and that it is a far cry from its other motto, "the city that never wakes." I have noticed that many travel books have made mention of the fact that Ottawa really has quite a lot to offer and that it's reputation, while perhaps originally justified, is no longer deserved. I hope this is taken on board by tourists and other Canadians.

Finally, PM Julia Gillard has called an election for August 21st in what will become an epic battle of the leaders. It will be a chance for voters to decide if Julia is fit enough to be given a proper mandate or if the manner of her ascent makes her undeserving. I've never been in Australia for an election but I can't wait until things really get going. Elections are always so much fun. I am pleased to see that the CBC is reporting this story as well and I do anticipate some coverage, if the last election is anything to go by. I think Australia is coming out of its shell of obscurity, which will no doubt delight the author Bill Bryson who mentioned this obscurity in his book In a Sunburned Country/Down Under.

Learning the Law

I received my marks for the semester and I was very excited at the results. I had already received a Distinction for my postgraduate course but I was on tenterhooks waiting for the results of my other courses. I received a Pass for Litigation and Dispute Management, which I was happy enough with. It was a tricky exam and it was the day after Property, another tricky compulsory course. Speaking of Property, I received a Credit for that course and I was very glad. My exam was worth 100% of my mark and the result indicates which means that I am finished above the average. A Credit is a very good result for the Property Law course, or so I'm told. And finally, I received a Distinction in Intellectual Property, where it seems I have a slight talent. I have good reason to believe that I received a High Distinction on the final exam. I also received a congratulatory e-mail from the professor informing me that I finished 3rd in the class! I must say, I do enjoy intellectual property, though I don't really know why. I have been known to get impassioned about some issues, notably the Land Down Under Case and Google Street View privacy concerns. All in all, I think this has been my 2nd best semester. All that remains is to successfully complete my final semester.

For most of the week, my time has been taken up by a course known as Becoming a Practitioner, the preliminary course for the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, the piece of paper that lets you be admitted. The course, which is actually a series of workshops and activities ran from Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00 virtually every day, except for Friday when we were let out at lunch. For the course, we learned how to properly draft a letter to a client (plain English), how to draft a will/legal provision (plain English), how to negotiate and how to appear in court (complicated English). The most fun was had on Friday when we were assessed on our negotiation and advocacy techniques. The negotiation exercise involved teams of individuals (we had been assigned on Tuesday) playing the part of various interest groups in a harbour construction plan. As it turned out, my group represented the unions and we did very well. We managed to secure the on of the best possible outcomes for our constituency, which gave me confidence for my advocacy assessment. The advocacy assessment was just a mock submission to a lawyer playing the part of a judge or magistrate. I did a plea in mitigation, essentially trying to get a light sentence for my client; it turned out alright. I think I've got the basics down now. I still have to submit 2 short written assessment, but I suspect they will not prove troublesome.

I mentioned earlier about my passion for the Land Down Under Case and the judgment was recently handed down. I first mentioned this matter in my post titled I'm a Noun and an Adjective dated 7/02/10. To refresh your memories, the owners of the copyright in the song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, Larrikin Music, sued the band Men at Work for infringement. Men at Work's most famous song is a 1982 piece entitled Land Down Under and it contains a famous flute riff that Larrikin alleged was too close to the tune of their song. In February, the judge of the Federal Court hearing the matter ruled in Larrikin's favour but the actual damages judgment was only just handed down. Larrikin had been asking for 60% of all royalties, past and future, to be paid but, luckily, the judge found that that was unreasonable and excessive. He ordered that 5% of all future royalties only would be paid to Larrikin. While I think this is a fantastic result for Men at Work, I still think the whole case should have been dismissed. Thankfully, Men at Work are still contemplating appealing the original ruling which I still have trouble fathoming.

Without getting into too much detail, there is an equitable doctrine called laches (pronounced "lash") which states that if a person takes too long to bring a matter to court, it will be dismissed barring a compelling reason. The song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree was written for a Girl Guides song competition back in the 1930s. After a series of transactions, Larrikin acquired the copyright in 2000. The song Land Down Under was composed in 1979, although it only became truly popular in 1982, and it became one of the most popular songs of the decade, and not only in Australia. However, it seems that no one noticed the similarity until it was the answer to a question on the popular TV show Spicks and Specks in 2007. It was only then that Larrikin brought suit. Now, my reasoning is that it is reasonable to assume that in all that time (over 30 years now) that both songs have been in existence, the copyright holder of the earlier song would have heard Land Down Under. Furthermore, as no suit was brought until now, it can be assumed that the association was so slight as to escape notice or was made but not objected to. In an event, I think that the doctrine of laches should have stepped in to end the matter. As it turns out, apparently that wasn't even argued but I think it's a good argument. I hope it's argued in the appeal. I still think that the original judgment for Larrikin was one of the worst decisions of the Federal Court.

I'd also like to note that I saw in the news that Canada's new Governor-General will be David Johnston, an academic I've never heard of. Let's see how he does in the job.

Deep Space

In the last week, I've managed to see some far-flung localities around Canberra. One of my floormates is away on a trip around the USA for a few weeks and she allowed me use of her car. I decided that I would visit some of the ACT's lesser known, yet still considerably interesting, attractions. Also, it would give me practice for driving later this year when my parents and brother visit and we all travel to Tasmania. The only trick is to remember what side of the road to be on. Once that's sorted out, the rest comes naturally.

One of the first places I visited was the dog racing track in Symonston, an eastern suburb of Canberra. ACTTAB has a presence there and as I had never been there before, I drove out on a race night. The track itself isn't very interesting, although it does have a somewhat stylish bistro. It forms an interesting comparison to the horse racing track where I have worked quite often. The main difference is that greyhound racing appears to attract clientele from a lower socio-economic class than horse racing. I suppose if horse racing is the sport of kings, dog racing is the sport of yeomen.

The next day I took a trip out to 2 abandoned space tracking station sites --- Orroral and Honeysuckle Creek. Though both have been completely abandoned and all of their buildings demolished, they do form part of Namadgi National Park and are upkept as historic sites. They both also served very important functions in NASA's space programs. In the 1960s, NASA built 3 complexes in the valleys of the ACT to assist with the space program, although only 1 of those still operates.

Orroral Tracking Station operated from 1965-1984, not a very long time as things go, as a near Earth object tracking station. In other words, Orroral's function was to track satellites and, if necessary, receive and transmit data to them. To that end, it was a fairly expansive and well-used site. According to the literature there now, while in operation, Orroral was constantly used. Eventually, as part of NASA's consolidation in the 1980s, Orroral was closed down and its components were either demolished or moved to the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Complex, now known as the Canberra Deep Space Complex. Now, the Orroral site is in a very picturesque valley of Namadgi National Park. When I arrived there in the morning, there was not a soul around, although there was one other car present. I wandered around and photographed as much as I could and imagined what it must have been like in its heyday.

My next stop was Honeysuckle Creek in the next valley. Although considerably smaller than Orroral, for a while this was the most important tracking station on Earth. Honeysuckle Creek was built specifically for the Apollo space missions and despite what the movie The Dish might have you believe, it was actually Honeysuckle Creek that captured the first TV images from the Moon and transmitted them to the rest of the anxious world. After the end of the Apollo program, Honeysuckle Creek was also decommissioned. Like Orroral, the sight has been turned into a historic sight and you can walk around the area. It's completely surrounded by forest and I even saw 2 kangaroos as I wandered around. Again, there was not a soul around and I was pleased to have this important site all to myself.

In other astronomic news, there was a lunar eclipse last Saturday, as I imagine the whole world saw. Unfortunately, that day Canberra had rain and much of the night sky was clouded out. I did see the eclipse through some breaks in the clouds but nothing spectacular.

I suppose the rest of this week's news is rather mundane. Although Canada Day occurred recently, naturally it is not a big occasion in Australia. I celebrated by wearing a Canada Day Festival t-shirt and an official Canada Olympic winter hat. I also watched some of the celebration via Ottawa's webcams, but it's no substitute for actually being there. A friend from another floor was moving out so I bought his small fridge. Now I can enjoy milk in the comfort of my own room.

I suppose I do have some more exciting and bizarre news. First, in the bizarre column, I entered the communal men's bathroom the other day and I heard someone watching TV in one of the cubicles. I do not know how that was possible, save by some small portable device, or even why it would be desirable. Surely one could wait? It's probably the most bizarre things I've ever heard in a toilet. In the more exciting news section, a cousin of mine, Laura, will be visiting me in August, I think. She is teaching English in South Korea at the moment but her time there is expiring and she plans to take a detour before returning to Canada. I haven't seen her in ages and it will be good to catch up. She was always such fun to be around.

I did have one really funny joke last week. While playing Dungeons and Dragons, I suggested that for our current mission, which involved demolition, I should just start randomly throwing grenades. The Dungeon Master said, "Congratulations, you've just destroyed the orphanage." I then replied, "So what? Who's going to miss them, their parents?" It thought it was really funny.

Coups and Cups

There's actually quite a lot to write about this week given the hive of activity in Australia and abroad. Much has transpired worthy of notation, both notable and unbelievable. At last, though, I can relax for a while.

What I hope to be my penultimate semester has finally reached its conclusion. This morning I had the last of my exams, intellectual property. It was a fairly brief exam, not even 2 hours long, and it did pose its own unique challenges. There was no way, given the number of issues, that the exam could be completed entirely in silken erudition and by the end of one of the questions, I had resorted to dot-pointing. However, I feel that I imparted and identified all that there was and I feel equally confident that my resulting grade will reflect this. I think the professor understands that the amount of issues he put into the exam made in-depth description impossible all the way through. With this final exam over, I can look forward to a few weeks of rest, maybe with some time spent in Sydney and Melbourne.

Perhaps the greatest news story in Australia has been the rather unfortunate removal of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd from office by his own party. In an early morning session, the Australian Labor Party voted for a new leader, Kevin Rudd did not himself stand for re-election, and the party chose Julia Gillard, who ran unopposed. She is Australia's first female prime minister and my thoughts immediately went to the ill-fated Kim Campbell of Canada. This situation, is slightly different, as the Labor Party still enjoys popular support, although the election is only a few months away, according to popular speculation. I just wonder if Gillard will last longer than 20 weeks. Gillard was, by the way, the Deputy Prime Minister and had been spoken of as a future Prime Minister. I saw on the television that she once said that there was a greater chance of her becoming the full forward for the Western Bulldogs than the Prime Minister in the near future and I cannot help but wonder if she will now accept that post as well.

The unusual thing behind this is that not only was Kevin Rudd a sitting Prime Minister, he was also reasonably popular. While his popularity had slipped in recent months given the failure to get the Emissions Trading Scheme through the Senate and the current debate over the mining supertax, it was not at Brian Mulroney-like levels. Furthermore, Kevin had only faced the voter once and didn't even make it to a second ballot, which is unfortunate. The Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, said that, "a midnight knock on the door was no way for an Australian Prime Minister to go" and that Kevin should have been given the opportunity "to face the voters of Australia." While the now-ex-Prime Minister's removal was not as conniving as Abbott claims, I do feel sorry for Kevin. I feel he is a victim of circumstances not entirely within his control. As perhaps a final solace, he will live in the Lodge, the PM's official Canberra residence, until the next election. He will also continue to sit for his riding and will run in the next federal election.

I suppose the lesson from all this is that it's just politics. It has been called a bloodless coup but I'm not sure how accurate that statement is. Interestingly, at the moment the top 3 jobs in Australia are held by women --- the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and the Queen.

From one ground-shaking event to another, I read about the earthquake that struck Ottawa recently that measure 5.0 on the Moment Magnitude Scale, popularly, though somewhat inaccurately, known as the Richter Scale. While I'm sure it was surprising, I think Ottawans should really just get over it. This is not the first time an earthquake has struck Ottawa, though I will grant that it was one of the larger ones. Ottawa is shielded from most natural disasters and the majority of people don't realize that after the West Coast, the Ottawa-Montreal area is the most earthquake prone area of Canada. Earthquakes are just one of those things that very occasionally livens Ottawa up considerably.

From coups to cups, there have been some spectacular developments in the World Cup rounds as 2 major upsets played out. In the first, South Africa beat perennial powerhouse France, which must have sent a wave of enthusiasm through the host Rainbow Nation. Infamously, the French coach refused to shake the hand of the South African coach at the end. Although both teams are out, I think South Africans will long remember this victory.

The second great upset was Slovakia downing the reigning World Cup champions, Italy, 3-2. Probably one of the most entertaining games to date, Slovakia managed to pull off a stunning victory to knock Italy out of the World Cup. I think that there must have been rampant and exuberant jubilation in the streets of Bratislava all night long.

On another kind of upset, the Australians managed to defeat the Serbs 2-1 but it was not enough to keep them in the World Cup. Despite hopes of bettering their 2006 success, the Socceroos have been sent home in the round robin phase. I guess they'll have to try again in Brazil in 2014.

In keeping with the sporting theme, at umpire training, some of us underwent a 3-km time trial. I ran it in 14:16 which works out to about 12.6km/hr; I was happy enough to beat 12km/hr, or 1km/5 mins. This would be about an average speed. I think that had I done this a few months ago, the results would have been better as I was able to make more Thursday sessions and I was running an additional 2 night per week. Unfortunately tutorials and the cold weather prevent me from exercising fully so I think I could have done better but this isn't too bad for such a run. By the end, I could barely stand and I hope to improve my times in the future.

On a completely different topic, there has been a rather large shake-up in Australia's permanent residency regime. In a reorganization of the area, several occupations were removed from the skills list, among these was legal practitioner. While it is not fatal to me being granted permanent residency if I stayed, it does make things more difficult. It means that I have to get either territory, state or employer sponsorship in order to be granted a permanent residence visa. If the government had held off for another year, I wouldn't have this problem but there's nothing I can really do about it now. Although legal practitioner has been taken off the Commonwealth list, it may still appear in a specialized list for the Northern Territory, my preferred work jurisdiction. If that is the case, then all may not be lost and maybe I'll be allowed to stay in this country if I choose.

Also on immigration, one of my neighbours, Florian Widmann, left Fenner Hall and Australia recently. He was a tall and thin German fellow who is dating our former senior resident, Lisa Liu, and who I gave a good ribbing to whenever I could. He was also very funny when he wanted to be, which is a little unusual for Germans. He was doing his Ph.D. in computer sciences and now that it has finished, he has taken a post-doctoral position and Imperial College in London, UK. If I ever go there, I shall be sure to visit him, and Lisa (although she's staying in Australia for the moment).

As you can see, much to discuss. However, I feel that there will be considerably less to write about during the break. Nevertheless, I've earned my repose.

Auspices

The big news in Australia has been the Soceroos' perceived underperformance at the World Cup. In their first game, against mighty Germany, the Socceroos fell 4-0, an inauspicious start to their campaign. Later, they tied 1-1 with Ghana and have kept their hopes alive but they now must win against Serbia. With Serbia beating Germany, that whole group is up in the air. It was Germany's first round robin loss since 1986. Of course, Australians are also upset at the dismissal by red card of their star Harry Kewel after only 25 minutes on the field. He seems to have hand-balled in the penalty square but Australia may appeal the automatic 1 match suspension that comes with a red card. It would be rather bad luck for Kewel who missed out last time with an infection and has been much hyped this time around. Auspices

Also on the World Cup, I've managed to collect all 6 McDonald's contour glasses. In Australia, and I assume elsewhere, McDonald's has been providing free contour glasses with selected meals. Each contour glass was a different shade and depicted a different aspect of soccer. I now have them all, still in their packaging, and may even use them one day.

Earlier on in the week, I was invited to an "engagement" party for one of my acquaintances from law school. She and her "fiancee" had a surprise for everyone, which turned out to be that they had already been married for 3.5 months and had kept it a secret until now. It was still a great party.

I also had a good performance review at ACTTAB this week. Although supervisor training will be suspended for a while, I have been given a pay increase such that I am now at the maximum level for my rank. I'll be earning $28.36/hr starting mid-July, increasing to $29.55/hr on September 1st, due to our union agreement. It feels good knowing that you're going to get more money.

During my performance review I was also informed about the new system we'll be getting sometime towards the end of the year. If you don't particularly want to read about this, I suggest skipping over the next 2 paragraphs. Essentially, in order to bring ACTTAB as close to the 21st Century as possible, a new betting system is being introduced. Each racecourse for the day will have an assigned number which we will input. Later, touch screen will be introduced as well as automated betting terminals. This will bring ACTTAB close to what other states have already. It's not yet clear if all of the features (such as PIN pads for depositing money into a betting account) will be introduced but it will be a vast improvement on what we have at the moment. The new system will also allow us to offer more species of bets, particularly ones that are popular elsewhere but are currently unavailable here.

The catch is that the new system, including new betting options, will only be available via the telephone service at first. This is bound to create some confusion but I hope and pray that it won't be too disruptive. Also, the trainees who will be trained as extra staff for the Melbourne Cup-Canberra Cup period will be trained on the old system as that is what will still be available. However, those that are kept on will have to quickly be trained on the new system. As you can see, there are clearly areas where problems may crop up but I only hope that the changeover will be less taxing than when we switched sporting events betting providers. We had an issue last Sunday where the betting went down on the day Australia was going to play Ghana. Luckily it was fixed in time but it did take a few hours. It wasn't even our fault but the provider's.

Saturday was a bit of a strange and dispiriting day. I woke up only to realize that my alarm clock had died during the night and I was late for an aussie rules game I was to be a goal umpire for. I made it in time for the 2nd half but I wasn't very happy. Later, I went to work at the Civic West ACTTAB outlet and our principal machine froze. My supervisor did not restart it, as it would have meant our entire outlet would be unable to function for a few minutes, but at the end of the day, none of the figures added up. My supervisor wrote an e-mail to Jenney, our boss, about the problem so I, hopefully, won't have to repay the $42 my till was under. I think that it was because of a system error.

Another party I went to was held at the Wig and Pen, a pub in the city. My floormate, Dimitris, had his birthday party there. Many people showed up and a fun time was had by all.

On Sunday, the Canberra branch of Plast had its annual Svyato Yuriya (St. George's Day) out at Uriarra Crossing, west of the city. The day was perfect and we had a barbeque lunch followed by a hike; I even saw a wedge-tailed eagle.

And finally, my brother has returned to Canada following the completion of his teaching diploma in New Zealand. Where he ultimately ends up is anybody's guess. I'm hoping he'll choose New Zealand.