ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
In an unprecedented show of unity, over 20,000 Canberrans took to the streets yesterday to protest the city’s booming tourism industry, which locals claim is wreaking havoc on their quiet, suburban lifestyle.
Chanting slogans like “From Gungahlin to Tharwa, Canberra will go unda! [sic]” and “Our Roundabouts, Our Rules!” the demonstrators highlighted issues such as skyrocketing housing costs, overcrowded cafes, and the constant presence of visitors clogging up local attractions like Questacon and the National Dinosaur Museum.
One protester, holding a sign that read “Tourist Go Home You Are Not Welcome”, expressed the collective frustration.
“We are against the Disneyfication [sic] of Canberra!” one protestor told our reporter in Canberra’s fabled Civic district.
“Tourists come here from all over Australian and disrespect our culture, they don’t speak the language. There are Melbourne-style cafes and bars everywhere now. Sydney-style casinos and brothels! Enough is enough! Our culture is not your playground. We live here.”
City officials have pledged to address the concerns by implementing measures like restricting tour bus access to popular sites like Old Parliament House, limiting short-term rentals and putting a daily tariff on tourists that enter the city.
“We hear the residents loud and clear,” said one council member.
“Canberra must remain a liveable city for its citizens. Even the ones that live south of Deakin.”
However, many locals in Betoota say they will not be changing their holiday plans with many saying Canberra has been a destination for generations and residents there need tourism to survive.
At Betoota Remienko Memorial Aerodrome, passengers lined up for the 7:15am Rex service to the nation’s capital said Canberrans can “suck eggs”.
“We’re escaping the heat,” said one traveller.
“We don’t complain when people from Canberra come up to Queensland to sun their pale meat sacks!”
More to come.
