Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is being forced out of her official Canberra residence — not because of her plunging popularity but so the aging building can undergo urgent repairs.
Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson will move out next year as the 84-year-old home, known as The Lodge, undergoes a major renovation to fix a leaking roof and remove dangerous electrical wiring and asbestos.
“If The Lodge were a patient it would be in hospital,” Special Minister of State Gary Gray said last Tuesday.
Photo courtesy of the National Library of Australia and R. C. Strangman
照片由澳洲國家圖書館與R. C.史崔曼提供
“There is a lot of work to be done.”
The repairs, expected to cost millions, will take about 18 months.
Gray said an appropriate Canberra home would be found for Gillard, who is flailing in opinion polls and who only has a slim parliamentary majority, while the 40-room Georgian revival-style mansion is refitted.
Gillard and Mathieson have a modest home in the western suburbs of Melbourne and there is also a prime ministerial residence on Sydney harbor, but it is not yet known where they will stay in Canberra.
The Lodge was initially built in 1927 as a temporary residence and a block of land has long been set aside for a new official home, but the issue has never gone any further.
(AFP)
澳洲總理茱莉亞‧吉拉德將被迫遷出坎培拉官邸─原因並非她支持度下滑,而是要為這座年久失修的建築物緊急整修。
吉拉德與伴侶提姆‧馬迪生將於明年搬離這座有八十四年歷史,名為The Lodge的古厝,以讓老屋進行大翻修,包含修理漏水屋頂,以及移除危險電線與石綿建材。
特殊事務部長蓋瑞‧葛雷上週二表示:「若The Lodge是個病患,則它應該住院了。」
他說:「有很多工作要完成。」
該老屋整修計畫預期耗資上百萬,且將需要十八個月的時間完成。
葛雷表示,整建這座以喬治亞復興風格為主,內有四十間房間的宅邸期間,政府會為吉拉德在坎培拉尋覓一個合適的住宅。這位總理目前不僅為人氣下滑所苦,且議會內只有些微多數優勢。
吉拉德與馬迪生在墨爾本西部郊區有個不大不小的家,另外在雪梨港也有個總理官邸。不過至今尚無法得知他們會住在坎培拉的哪裡。
The Lodge首建於一九二七年,當時是臨時官邸,而另有一塊長期休耕的土地可蓋官邸,但是該想法一直都沒有實際的進展。
(法新社/翻譯:林亞蒂)
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