''It's as if Timothy Leary did 'something' to Canberra's water supply,'' The Age columnist Martin McKenzie-Murray tweeted on Thursday as he fended off a sometimes ferocious online reaction from upset Canberrans to his piece Happy birthday, to a vision turned sterile.

McKenzie-Murray said the outrage essentially proved Canberrans were still insecure about their city.

''The response has been bat-shit crazy. Operatic. Disproportionate. It's cartoonish. It's just surprising what gets people's goat,'' he said.

''I'm not the writer that is provocative deliberately. I've written on bikies, federal politics, murders, church abuse. Nothing has come close to generating the same the pique and outrage. The indignation is amazing. A friend said to me, people who are secure aren't so vociferous in their outrage and criticism, I think there's a lot of truth to that.''

While McKenzie-Murray was labelled a ''douchbag'', there were some relatively mild-mannered comments and other welcoming invitations to come and see the other side of Canberra. @In_The_Taratory provided its love letter to Canberra.

Another Canberran who preferred not to be named, said: ''It's all a bit of a thrill to see a 'Canberra basher' getting a bit of his own medicine''.

A day after media darling Annabel Crabb was criticised for fronting a documentary that allegedly presented a cliched view of Canberra, McKenzie-Murray was in the firing line for suggesting the Griffins' ''diabolically impaired vision'' had created a city that was sterile to live in - bountiful in natural beauty but lacking in the vitality of a truly human city.

The dominance of the car, the spread-out nature of the city, the lack of density in the living areas and the abundance of green space created a national capital that was ''pretty for tourists but pushes locals apart, limits land availability and drives up property prices''.

''Griffin applied to his canvas a vision that sought splendour in empty roads and monuments, rather than in the people that would inhabit it,'' he wrote.

McKenzie-Murray, who was a speechwriter and communications officer for federal departments when he lived in Canberra, also suggested, rather specifically, that the public service was bloated, especially when it came to government communication teams which appeared to be remunerated far beyond their actual contribution to society.

''Because there is no comparison between a police officer and an alcoholic writer of incoherent press releases - the guy who takes home more than the one fishing bodies out of a lake,'' he wrote.

One Twitter follower suggested to McKenzie-Murray: ''Between you and @annabelcrabb, there'll be pitchforks and firey torches next time either of you touch down''.

McKenzie-Murray joked he should enlist the help of Crabb against angry Canberrans.

''We can fashion weapons from disused white papers,'' he tweeted.

Crabb said she was now looking to ''seek asylum in Queanbeyan''.

McKenzie-Murray said he could understand the pride in a city but not the personal nature of the indignation. He enjoyed his time in Canberra and hoped there would be, at least, more debate about the density of the city.

''And also is Canberra little bit aloof? Has the outrage actually unwittingly proven my point?'' he said.

McKenzie-Murray said he could understand the pride in a city but not the personal nature of the indignation.

He enjoyed his time in Canberra and hoped there would be, at least, more debate about the density of the city.

''And also is Canberra little bit aloof? Has the outrage actually unwittingly proven my point?'' he said.