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Healthy development in early childhood is a predictor of success in later life. As such, monitoring the development of young children and, where appropriate, intervening to support that development is of critical importance. However, resources available to support early childhood development are limited and must be allocated in the most efficient way possible. In this paper, we discuss the role of spatial targeting in the allocation of those resources. We compare two Australian cities, Greater Sydney and Canberra, and explore the clustering of areas of high and low developmental vulnerability. We find that while spatial targeting may be appropriate in some areas, in others, differences in the spatial clustering of developmental vulnerability may mean that other targeting strategies would be more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine the ambiguous place of Canberra within the political geography of Australia, through exploring the place of the city among a particular category of political actors—lobbyists. Drawing on a series of interviews with lobbyists working for interest groups, government relations firms, or as freelancers, the city is presented as a central site of lobbying within the national polity through two key (and related) dimensions: the city as a site of localised political knowledge, or metis; and Canberra as a place of 'urban buzz' or situated communicative interaction. The paper concludes both with a discussion of how these concepts may help us to better understand the political behaviours of lobbyists, and how the observed spatial imaginations and practice of lobbyists in Canberra interacts with the theorisation of 'urban buzz'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]