G'Day Schmourghenne,
Your in a similar position that I was a year ago, I wanted a Goto scope which was light to carry and easy to set up.Although I do have a backyard I'm to old to be carrying a bigger and heaver scope in and out of the house so I bought a Meade LX 125,as the lads have said in this thread and it applies to most people "you'll want a bigger scope,the larger the mirror the more you will see" known as "aperture fever" Thats what happened to me,so I bought a Meade LX90 8",then I a bought a Meade 10" and now have that in my Observatory. So here's my 2 bobs worth,taking into consideration that you live in a flat whether ground floor or top floor. I would be going for a scope similar to the Meade LX 125 you should be able to get one for well under $1000 the only hassle you will have is you will have to setup and align the scope each time you go to the park,also you will be going through a lot of batteries.And don't be to hard on the lads believe me they mean well they have given me and others a lot of good advise over this last year.Anyway whatever scope you decide to buy I wish you luck and clear skies.Here are a few links to check out second hand scopes in Oz.
Cheers
Arthur
http://www.astrobuysell.com/au/index.php
http://www.geckooptical.com/cgi-bin/gecko/index.cgi