Amid cries of "Hindenboob'', the ACT government has been accused of subjecting the national capital to ridicule by commissioning the controversial Skywhale balloon artwork to mark Canberra's Centenary.
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Just a few kilometres from Parliament House, where attention was focused on the federal budget, the ACT's Parliament turned its attention to what cost territory taxpayers $300,000.
During a fiery question time, Chief Minister Katy Gallagher defended the government's decision not to keep the balloon in territory ownership at the end of the Centenary year, because taxpayers would have had to pay for maintenance and a pilot.
Ms Gallagher said that at the end of the Centenary, Skywhale would remain in the custody of Melbourne-based Global Ballooning. The balloon had a life expectancy of about 100 flights.
''Once that agreement expires, we hope the Skywhale lives a long and happy life. And, yes, we hope she hopes she comes back and visits us from time to time in the short life expectancy that the Skywhale has,'' Ms Gallagher said.
When Opposition leader Jeremy Hanson interjected with a query about whether the balloon was a she, Ms Gallagher responded: "Mr Hanson, you have a look at the Skywhale, I assume it's she.''
Liberal MLA Andrew Wall said the 34-metre by 23-metre balloon had heaped national ridicule on Canberra and what plans did the government have to rescue the city's reputation.
Ms Gallagher said Skywhale had helped attract national and international attention to Canberra and would continue to do so through interstate flights.
"The role of the art is to project Canberra outwards to Australia, not just here in the ACT,'' she said.
Ms Gallagher said the government had spent $24.5 million on commissioning a range of Centenary events and attractions to meet different tastes, including $500,000 on an international one-day cricket match, $300,000 on fireworks and $160,000 each on Canberra Symphony and ballet performances.
Of all the events, the Skywhale has garnered the most publicity for Canberra's Centenary, with international news agencies, from the UK to Lebanon to Venezuela, reporting with videos and galleries of the balloon in flight over Canberra.
While Skywhale has been met with many and varied reactions - filed on various sites under Art, Travel, International and "odd news" - there is no denying the amount of attention it has attracted for the capital, with the debate at home fuelling the international interest.
"Controversy over giant turtle with breasts," read a French headline.
While no one has put a value on the coverage, Centenary organisers believe it's been a hit … ''love it or hate it''.
