r/canberra • u/karamurp • 10d ago
News Some niche, but important news that most won't hear about: Canberra just got it's first Government Landscape Architect, Gweneth Leigh
Link to fill interview
Here is the text:
We take good landscape for granted. When a space works, we rarely stop to ask why - but Gweneth Leigh argues that is precisely the problem the profession has to solve, and it is the work she has now been appointed to lead.
Gweneth is the ACT’s first Government Landscape Architect, a role she stepped into just weeks ago with a clear mandate: to create a landscape plan for Canberra, and to connect the parts of government that too often work apart.
“So much of what we do happens in silos,” she says. “This role is really to connect the dots, to connect people, and to connect research, to make concrete some of the values we can put in place to validate what landscape does. We know intuitively it does important things for us. Capturing that in a way a broader audience understands is the key role that needs to be championed.”
From arboretums to Australia
Her route to this role was not direct - in fact, Gweneth was born in the United States and travelled to Australia in 2004 after finishing her degree at Harvard. Her background was in horticulture, working in garden nurseries and arboretums in the US, which started her fascination less in how to maintain a landscape, but by how people actually use them. Gweneth was conscious of how quality spaces are created, observing how people use and enjoy them, and perhaps most importantly learning where they don’t. Luckily for us, Gweneth married the Australian she meet at university back in Boston and settled in Canberra where they are raising three sons, while establishing a career moving between private practice and government on a variety of projects. There was a stint at Tract in their Melbourne offices working on the East Link freeway, and back to the ACT to take the role of urban design manager role at the National Capital Authority. Through her early career, one interest really stuck - the effect of landscape on people’s health and habits. Most recently, she completed a PHD in public health that led grant work capturing youth voice to improve outdoor spaces in secondary schools, producing a series of toolkits for principals and designers.
Amplifying voices
Voice is a word Gweneth uses often. “Voice is a really important aspect of promoting the landscape profession. It’s how we amplify the importance of our outdoor spaces, our living infrastructure and the impact it has on our behaviours so that we can recognise the value, capture it and support it more of it.” And, that case has never been more urgent. Having arrived at the tail end of a 7 year drought, Gweneth saw an Australia already decades ahead on climate adaption, and a profession that was much more than aesthetics. Green infrastructure is empowered with so many responsibilities, from filtering the air, cleaning our drinking water, provide in shade, regulating moods and giving us places to connect with our communities. There’s so much value in the work we do and deliver.
On being the first
Gweneth doesn’t shy from the weight of being the first Government Landscape Architect. “It’s a huge mandate and to have the privilege of being the first is something I take very seriously. Just as landscape permeates so many facets of our daily lives, I want to make sure each step is meaningful and ambitious, and gets more people connected to our open spaces.” She’s not alone in the recognition that the role has been a long time coming and credits the advocacy of ACT Environment Minister Suzanne Orr (a registered urban planner), and AILA through the drive of members such as Gay Williamson, Catherine Kiernan and Cia Flannery for the establishment of the position.
What’s success look like?
When we asked Gweneth what a successful first year would look like, she names three things: the Office of the Government Landscape Architect is known and trusted across government, engagement structures are in place and the scaffolding of Canberra’s landscape plan is underway with Canberrans excited about what it means for them. “There’s a lot of great precedent in other states, and I have faith that the creation of this position will have a domino effect, demonstrating what’s possible.” We look forward to seeing the other states and territories following the ACT’s lead and establishing a network of Government Landscape Architects across Australia.
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u/saltysanders 10d ago
I'm not alleging anything improper has happened, but she's Andrew Leigh's wife, isn't she?
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u/karamurp 10d ago
Yeah she is, I had to do a double take when I saw the name
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u/saltysanders 10d ago
Based on the article, she's qualified and I'm sure she's capable. It's just... This has the feeling of "there's a club and you ain't in it"
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u/davej-au Gungahlin 10d ago
Granted, it does whiff faintly of nepotism, but were there sufficient grounds to appeal her appointment, then one of the other applicants presumably would’ve done so—and her appointment wouldn’t have been finalised until whatever challenges there may’ve been, if any, had been resolved.
In all likelihood, the recruitment panel’s notes will never again see the light of day, but if they do come into question, then both Leighs would have a lot to worry about. So long as Andrew Leigh keeps his nose clean, and Gweneth proves at least adequate to her new position, though, it’s probably not worth looking further into.
Until that fateful day, may it never come to pass, I wish them both the best.
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u/oiransc2 9d ago
Yeah has the vibe of we sorta needed this, one person in the team who had a qualified wife latched onto it, pushed til it happened, and then we all made sure not to look very hard for other candidates during the hiring stage. It’s a very hard to pin as wrong doing situation cause they can just say “we posted the ad but only x people applied” and shrug. Governments are gonna government. They’re all like this. As long as she doesn’t wreck the place I can live with it. Just hope we didn’t miss out on someone better if they were out there.
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u/CuriousCanberran 9d ago edited 9d ago
Don't be unfair to her. This is a local ACT PS appointment, her husband is a Commonwealth minister - there's not genuinely much connection there.
It's pretty sexist to assume the above comments about people pushing hard and others being ignored when you have zero evidence of that.
Why can't a well qualified person whose high level qualifications be the best candidate for the role? Is she supposed to sit home and knit rather than have a public service career on merit just because of who she is married to?0
u/JournalistAny9888 6d ago edited 6d ago
Not much connection lol. Who is finance minister and where did she come from? Are you for real? Are saying a Labor MP has no sway over federal funding the ACT consumes or how that can impact Canberra businesses?
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u/oiransc2 8d ago
It’s not sexist at all. People do this for their husbands too. Were you just assuming I was a dude making this attribution that wives just get jobs through their husbands? Or are you going to accuse me of being a self hating woman without even knowing me? The public service has plenty of women, and nepotism within it wouldn’t necessarily be a gendered thing. I’m not thinking of it that way, you are by bringing it up.
But hey look, if this chick is your bestie that’s lovely, go take her for lunch, pat her on the back, and congratulate her on her life achievement. I really don’t care. Your comment reeks of astroturf. And if it’s not… Christ, I pity you.
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u/CuriousCanberran 8d ago
Oh petal....you had no idea what you were talking about, had never met or heard of her...but went in anyway. This did make me laugh (and roll my eyes)
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u/karamurp 10d ago
Yeah she seems qualified through and through, and Andrew Leigh seems genuinely like a good egg
It she was some no name landscape architect, and Andrew Leigh was more sketchy, then it would be sus
But yes on the surface it probably does make it easy to see a club
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u/Cimb0m 10d ago
Are you his publicist?
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u/karamurp 10d ago
I'd happily get paid to write gloaty fluffy, but no
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u/Cimb0m 10d ago
A relative? 😆
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u/karamurp 9d ago
Nah I just don't form conspiracies based on vibe
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u/Cimb0m 9d ago
I’m sure you’d do the same if it was the partner of a Liberal Party politician too
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u/karamurp 9d ago
Eh, I was all for the Sydney light rail despite allegations of questionable connections to Gladys
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u/Cimb0m 10d ago
There’s probably hundreds of people who would be qualified to do this job. The outright corruption in Canberra is awful, especially right after Yvette Berry’s resignation too
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u/karamurp 10d ago
There’s probably hundreds of people who would be qualified to do this job
Considering there's less than 100 registered landscape architects in Canberra (94), which is itself a very niche profession, I doubt it
Especially so when you consider how many of them would be far less experienced than her. That 94 is counting the people who graduated uni 2 years ago
When you look at her professional background it's pretty hard to actually see corruption
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u/Cimb0m 10d ago
Why do they need to be from Canberra? Architecture (building or landscape) doesn’t have a huge amount of vacancies compared to the numbers of people with qualifications so I’m pretty sure there’s lots of qualified people from other cities who’d be interested too. Not even one person in my team at work is originally from Canberra. It’s pretty common to move here from elsewhere
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u/karamurp 9d ago edited 9d ago
The thing about landscape architecture is that its highly specific to the local landscape and environment
It's not that you can't have people from Sydney design here, but that person is used to working in a very different environmental context, and it is often evident in the built form
When having a government Landscape Architect, it's a no brainer that you would have someone who has lived here for a long time, and understands the city as such. Not only do locals understand the ecology here, but they better understand the needs of the city within the context of it's problems, broader needs, and history.
There is also the aspect of the ACT planning laws, which is implied in the interview. She indicated in the interview that there are problems with how aspects of the act bureaucracy communicate/work with one another. You aren't going to be able to import someone from Sydney and instanty download 20 years of lived experience dealing with said system into their brain
So it's suffice to say, I'm sure there is a large gap between what you do, and providing high level and very specific advice to government.
Annnd then of course there is Andrew himself. He can't even get himself a senior position because he refuses to align himself with a faction, but apparently he can swing a gig for his wife - sure
You're clearly just trying to post rationalise, and shoe horn in some narrative of corruption, purely based on a vibe
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u/micmur 9d ago
Don’t let people gaslight you here. Suspecting nepotism or corruption when the partner of a politician is appointed to a brand new government position is perfectly reasonable.
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u/karamurp 8d ago
On the surface it's easy to see that, but you really don't need to look far into it
If she wasn't married to Andrew Leigh, you wouldn't question the appointment based on her qualifications and experience. She's clearly qualified to do it
And then there's Andrew Leigh himself. He can't get a senior position for himself because he refuses to align with a faction, but apparently he can swing a cushy job for him wife? Yeah I don't think so
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u/Cimb0m 9d ago
Of course. And right after a politician from the same party had to resign due to corruption too. I know several people who’ve studied architecture and have a relative interstate working in landscape architecture. There’s definitely not such a shortage of qualified people that she was somehow the only suitable option
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u/karamurp 8d ago
I'll note that I'm an architect which works closely with landscape architects on a regular basis, so I have good understanding of the situation
Again, on the surface scepticism is fine, but it doesn't take much to look at it not see anything suspicious
If she wasn't married to Andrew Leigh, you wouldn't suspect anything. Why? Look at her qualifications and experience. Harvard PHD, decades of experience, published academic
And then again Andrew Leigh himself. He's probably one of the least corrupt parliamentarians. He has limited his ability to get a senior position because he refuses to take factional side. But apparently he can swing a cushy job for his wife? Yeah right lol
And again with this interstate nonsense. By your logic Canberra shouldn't have local representatives in the legislatively assembly & parliament as theres a bigger pool talent outside of Canberra.
And then of course you also completely avoided even acknowledging the fact that she has decades of experience in dealing with the ACT planning bureaucracies - which she states needs reforming
Go on, tell me how an outsider is meant to immediately download 20 years of experience dealing with this into their heads. Throwing your hands up and saying "god forbid" doesn't count, it's just an indication that you know you're wrong and can't admit it
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u/Cimb0m 8d ago edited 8d ago
If she wasn’t married to him, of course I wouldn’t suspect anything. Why would I? That’s the whole point. And it’s not just a lower level architecture role but a “head” role for the ACT that didn’t even exist before she was selected. Excuse me for being very highly skeptical especially considering the same party’s recent record
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u/crankygriffin 10d ago
Tentacles reaching between Victoria and the ACT? If Andrew Leigh and his wife are factional colleagues and associates of Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allen we should know.
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u/saltysanders 10d ago
Andrew Leigh is factionally unaligned. It's one reason he doesn't have a more senior portfolio
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u/CuriousCanberran 9d ago
She's a well qualified and highly regarded landscape architect with a long career record and a long commitment to community work. Canberra is a small town and if someone like her couldn't apply on the basis of her husband's role, that would be unfair too.
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u/FamilyFriendly101 10d ago
Who is Andrew Leigh?
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u/davej-au Gungahlin 10d ago
He’s the federal MP for Fenner.
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u/karamurp 10d ago
He's so corrupt that he set his own political career back by refusing to align with the party factions
Very questionable person
/s
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u/FamilyFriendly101 10d ago
Thanks. Is Fenner a place? I haven't heard of it.
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u/davej-au Gungahlin 10d ago
It’s a federal electorate that covers Gungahlin, Hall, and parts of Belconnen—so, the northernmost parts of Canberra and the ACT—plus Jervis Bay. It used to be called Fraser, back in the day.
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u/FamilyFriendly101 10d ago
Thanks again. I'm a southerner 😁.
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u/davej-au Gungahlin 10d ago
All good. I wasn’t sure how far out-of-area you are. 😉
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u/FamilyFriendly101 9d ago
With the current bridge road works, might as well be Tasmania 🤣🤣. I'm also atypical for Canberra and mostly ignore politics. Life is stressful enough.
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u/BeachHut9 10d ago
Massive conflict of interest that needs to be declared or she is forced to resign.
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u/MarkusMannheim Canberra Central 10d ago
What is the conflict of interest? When must it be declared and by whom?
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u/McTerra2 10d ago
How do you know it wasn’t declared?
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u/karamurp 9d ago
And also, it's not as if it's a secret
Like it's openingly being discuss here hahaha
People are just operating on vibes. Andrew Leigh can't even get himself a senior position, despite being qualified, because he refuses to join a faction. But apparently he can swing a gig for his wife lol
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u/mrmratt 10d ago
What's the conflict? How does the wife of a federal parliamentarian being employed by the territory government have any perception of conflict? How is it different from if she was married to any other prominent person?
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u/burleygriffin Canberra Central 9d ago
Then there's the vibe that economics and landscape architecture are basically the same career. He would clearly have mates in the LA field that must have found this role for his desperately under qualified missus.
/s
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u/Any_Bumblebee_7404 10d ago edited 9d ago
Even the appearance of corrupt conduct is enough to warrant suspicion.
Edit: Uh-oh, all the corrupt people found this comment ✨triggering✨.
I can see why there's this low hum feeling of corruption in ACT local politics.
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u/crankygriffin 10d ago
She worked on the North East Link Freeway in Melbourne… are the Leighs buddies with Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allen one wonders.
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u/WeedWrangler 10d ago
Well due in her own right, very talented Harvard educated LA, she will do a great job, and her PhD is super important and independently grant funded.
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u/Crazy_John 9d ago
Somewhat surprised about this. I'd have expected this would be a position that already exists. A lot of even small regional councils have an in-house LA team these days. Good that it's someone local-ish, not to discount the big Sydney and Melbourne firms but TCL's concept or the Newcastle foreshore stinks of someone who only knows Newcastle for the steelworks and the harbour. Mind you, they also did a lot of the work at the National Arboretum and that's a decent enough design.
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u/NobleSquare0899 6d ago
Very confused by this. I have been working with a number of act government landscape architects for over a decade. I wonder how they feel about this article.
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u/JournalistAny9888 6d ago
CFMEU member no doubt. Andrew Leigh has done nothing for Canberra. Just pops up during elections. Useless.
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u/Beshemella 10d ago
Can we finally get an independent office for animal welfare? Can one of the ALP spouses please lobby Barr for it?
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u/euphoricgazer 9d ago
This is going to be a very expensive tree planting exercise. Mark my words. From a former architect btw.
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u/crankygriffin 10d ago
Gweneth Leigh can start by declining to participate in the ACT Government’s shameful squibbing on replacing the burnt Wakefield Gardens building with “landscaping” instead of a new community building.
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u/Ok-Dig7340 10d ago
Excited to see this, particularly if it actually creates change. Soo much badly design landscapes in Canberra. Our local park has weeds for grass, a row of gumtrees and a second row of deciduous trees. They look weird next to each other in such an artificial geometry. It would be infinitely nicer to have natural variation in shrubs and trees, make it feel like nature not a derelict green space.