2025 – that was the year that was… and here it is, month by month, through the bright eyes of the CityNews columnists – a quirky, serious, funny and sad look at the 12 months just gone. IAN MEIKLE takes a poke around November… 

“On November 12, Mark Parton became the leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party in the ACT Legislative Assembly when then leader, Leanne Castley, resigned.

“On November 18, Jess Wilson became Leader of the Opposition in the Victorian Parliament when Brad Batlin lost a spill motion in the Liberal Party room.

“On November 21, Kellie Sloane assumed the mantle of leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party in Macquarie Street.” 

So said letter writer Ian De Landelles.

Ian is a well-known, well-regarded former Labor apparatchik and partner of beloved Gininderra MLA Mary Porter.

Little did he know that eight days beyond the purview of this column, the South Australian Libs would flip leaders for the third time in 18 months to 34-year-old Ashton Hurn and gave her but 103 days (and Kamala Harris’ phone number?) to knock off insanely popular premier Peter Malinauskas. 

Turns out, Ian’s final taunt wasn’t far off: “At this rate, Mark Parton will be the longest-serving Liberal leader in the nation by Christmas.”

But we’ve jumped over what started all this leadership turmoil locally. On November 10, without apparent warning, former leader Castley and her deputy (former leader and former deputy leader) Jeremy Hanson went into the Liberal party room library and, gobsmackingly, with stiff upper lips, shot their leadership for reasons we know not.

“In the spirit of ensuring a genuine fresh start for the new team, we will not be commenting publicly on the circumstances that have led to this decision,” Ms Castley said at the time and has pretty well kept to that pledge.

As the deckchairs kept moving around, it is salutary to remember that the Canberra Liberals will have been in opposition for 27 years when the 2028 election comes around.

Columnist Andrew Hughes was quick to make the bleeding obvious plea: “The Liberals need to be what they haven’t been: united, effective and policies reflective of what Labor isn’t doing. That’s a contrast we want and need to see, even Labor.

“The contrasts between the Liberals and Labor right now could not be more stark on the three key areas of policy, party and leadership. Literally night and day, east and west.”

So is Parto the answer? Columnist Michael Moore was optimistic saying: “Has well-honed communication skills and may finally provide the leadership to break the Labor deadlock on government in the ACT.

“It beggars belief that the Liberals have been so long in opposition, but they only have themselves to blame.”

He was more circumspect about their chances in a later (November 27) column saying: “However, even the deputy leader of the Canberra Liberals Deborah Morris is a conservative making the challenge of a co-ordinated approach a Herculean task.”

Ms Morris demurred at confirming her conservatism when I asked her about it on the CityNews Sunday Roast program on 2CC. She dislikes the labels media use and prefers to be known as a “pragmatist”. I’ve never met a conservative who isn’t, Debs. 

The month started under the shadow of one of the saddest stories we’ve published. It was the cover story about the death of little Blake Corney, written by his father Andrew Corney, who openly shared the tragic circumstances of losing his four-year-old son on the sunny morning of July 28, 2018, when a 7.5-tonne truck hit his stationery car at the intersection of Monaro Highway and Mugga Lane. 

“I still cannot get my mind around a happy four-year-old boy listening to his favourite music while travelling to a toy store with his family and the horror of what I saw next. I am trapped in this space,” he poignantly wrote.

Andrew then calmly outlines his frustration at the criminal legal system’s failure to protect the community from the carnage caused by repeat offenders and the telling indifference of local politicians.

The relentless Canberra Critics Circle, under the disciplined hand of CityNews arts editor Helen Musa, met in November and though a mysterious voting process, something akin to a Catholic cardinal’s conclave, anointed the 2025 CityNews Artist of the Year as well as welter of other awards for standout performers.

Michael Simic was named and praised by the Canberra Critics’ Circle as a “consummate professional entertainer” known for his rich baritone voice, relentless energy and effortless rapport with audiences.

Better known through his flamboyant stage persona Mikelangelo, Simic and his band, The Black Sea Gentlemen, have performed to sold-out audiences on London’s West End and at major festivals across the UK, Europe, NZ, Canada and the US.

It all began in Canberra, where Simic was born in 1969. “Coming up to 56, I feel like I’m only getting started,” Simic says. “I’m only halfway through. I’m going to keep going until my nineties.” Now that’s a show I’d like to see, Mikelangelo!

Ian Meikle is the CityNews editor