THE "RESIGN, JEFF!" REVIEW |
RJR 5 | 29 April 1994 | Melbourne, Victoria |
Commissars to Replace Elected Councils The Kennett Government's pincer movement on democracy shows no sign of abating. Now, with as little opportunity for cries and whimpers from the community as possible, it is creating nine Sudetenlands out of the 21 former inner city councils. And to make sure its agenda is carried out to the letter, it will sack elected councillors and install its own commissars. As always, the Government could have gone about these reforms in such a way as to insure that most citizens were onside. As always, it has chosen to view those citizens with contempt. Ratepayers are being offered the carrot of lower rates in exchange for disempowerment over how their communities operate. They will no longer have a say on services and local development. In fact, services will be diminished--the Local Government Board has come up with a costing scheme that uses the council with the lowest outlay as the benchmark for the outlay of all councils in the particular amalgamation. While this may be good business in the worst sense of the word, it is breathtaking in its disregard for the needs of ratepayers The same disregard will most certainly allow potential developers to ravage neighbourhoods where and when they wish. All that will be needed is a backslapping chat with the regional commissar. Is this a potential for corruption? Victorians ain't seen nuthin' yet. The tragic irony is that countries with a history of dabbling in regional mega-councils have found that bigger bureaucracies produced bigger inefficiencies as well as wholesale corruption, while at the same time destroying everyone's sense of community. The insistence of the Kennett Government in blindly repeating the mistakes made by the United States and Great Britain borders on the criminal. Alarmist as it may sound, democracy is gradually being suspended in Victoria, and until enough people are personally affected, nothing will be done to stop it. One is reminded of developing countries, where the democratic process is an on/off situation, dependant on the willingness of the socially deprived to remain docile under power-mad ruling parties. But Australia is not a developing country; however imperfect, this country has been enjoying the fruits of democracy for a long time. Is it possible then, that the Kennett Government's actions constitute treason against the Australian nation? The point is, in a democracy you don't sack elected officials and replace them with state appointed commissars! There are precedents for the suspension of democracy in Australia, the most recent being Joh Bjelke's banning of the right to assemble for the purpose of protest in Queensland, and the bloodless right wing coup against the Whitlam Government. Whatever apologists have to say about the Whitlam coup, it was still a coup. That is, a carefully constructed plot to bring down a democratically elected government, without even the tacit consent of a majority of the population. But even then, the coup was followed by an election. Given the power, would Jeff Kennett consent to the same? His actions in Victoria prove otherwise. Because Victorians have yet to find an effective dissenting voice, the council amalgamations will go through as the government wishes. But let's not kid ourselves about the rates. They will not be reduced enough (if at all) to offset the drop in services or to cope with the disruption caused by the sudden construction of a fast food outlet down the street. What will be accomplished is the further erosion of rights heretofore enjoyed by all Victorians. Is it conceivable that, like Winston Smith (at the conclusion of Orwell's 1984), his feet twitching involuntarily under a table at the Chestnut Cafe, we too may one day be staring, beaten, at a vast portrait of Jeffrey Gibb Kennett, the colossus that bestrode Victoria? The smug bully would love to think so. RESIGN, JEFF! PRO VICTORIA Lest We Forget: MOOROOLBARK SECONDARY COLLEGE. Remediation program for students with learning difficulties cut from 20 to six periods. $24,000 FOOTSCRAY YARRAVILLE SECONDARY COLLEGE. One ESL teacher position abolished. $40,000 BRUNSWICK SOUTH WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL. Art and phys-ed programs cut, along with half the ESL program. $70,000 COBURG HIGH SCHOOL. Literacy and numeracy program for students with learning difficulties abolished. $48,000 After a Hard Day of Tom hasn't had many opportunities to get vicious in Parliament, but, thanks to Master Jeff's example, he knew exactly what to do when his turn came. Defending his right to release confidential police information to ACT mates for political purposes, he had a whee of a time slinging rocks at the Opposition for daring to question his probity. And golly, didn't he deserve the fun. Night after night of reciting Jeff's mantra--"kick em in the guts, nobody cares if they're right"--while gazing fondly at a replica of his idol, complete with skinhead and Hitler moustache, finally paid off! Heil Jeff! • GEOFF SPRING TO BE NOMINATED OBERST-GRUPPENFUHRER OF KENNETT'S SS. He's been doing his best to foment dread and fear among the state's school professionals, but Geoff Spring's meetings with senior police before the notorious Richmond Secondary bashings in December reveal his desire to be even more forceful. According to Mark Bruer (Age 14/4) the director of the Directorate of School Education (already sounds like he wears a uniform) and his officers told police they "could be fired on by a protester believed to be armed with a high-powered slingshot," and that "'trouble and possibly violence can be expected from this group, given some of the radical elements that have joined the hard core of school protest occupiers.'" Documents obtained by 'The Age' under FoI report that "Chief Superintendent Peter Graham and Superintendent Garry McKenzie of the police 'A' (or city) district met twice with Mr Spring, his supporting staff, maintenance staff and private security consultants in the week before the clash." The officials briefed police on political and teacher-union matters and 'some fragmented intelligence reports.' After the confrontation, the State Government provided 'The Age' with a list of protesters it said were linked to extremist groups. One was an 83-year-old pensioner who did not attend the protest. Another, described as a Communist Party agitator, told 'The Age' she had never belonged to a political party." One wonders, is Geoff Spring proud of his contribution to fascism? At the moment, the only dangerous extremist group in Victoria, is the Kennett Government itself. • OVERRULED AGAIN. Last year, Marie Tehan emerged from Jeff's coat pocket to announce that contrary to Federal Government standards, Health warnings would only cover 12 per cent of the front and back of cigarette packets in Victoria. Of course, Jeff had earlier emerged from the coat pocket of the Tobacco cartel to instruct her. Now it appears that the State Government, in its ever zealous bid to do the wrong thing, is to be overruled yet again. Federal Health Minister Dr Carmen Lawrence will impose national standards that will see health warnings occupying 25 per cent of the front and 33 per cent of the back of packets. (Based on an article by Michelle Coffey, HS 15/4.) • NAT DELEGATES WHISTLING IN THE WIND. If country members attending the National Party state conference in Hamilton thought they were going to be heard by the Deputy Premier, Pat McNamara, they were sadly mistaken. They could have gone on for 24 hours giving speech after speech on their concern and outrage at the State Governments abandonment of rural Victorians, but Blind Pat was always going to fob them off. "The important thing is to be in Government," says he, speaking for himself, no doubt, even if it means screwing the very people who put you there in the first place. (Based on an article by Michael Magazanik, Age 16/4.) • THE GROWING STINK OF VIC INC (1). That multi-million dollar advertising tender awarded to Leeds Media, a company with clear links to the State Government, is still on the front burner. John Thwaites' tireless efforts to obtain FoI documents, shows that Leeds Media's bid was considerably more expensive than its competitor, Total Media, and that rate structures had been portrayed to make Leeds' bid look as if it was the cheapest. The owner of Leeds Media, Paul Leeds, is a long-time business associate of Premier Kennett's director of communications, Peter Bennett, who recommended Leeds for the contract. Paul Leeds was also chairman of advertising agency DDB Needham when it ran the Coalition's infamous 1992 "guilty party" election campaign. Indeed. Well, it wasn't until after his election that Jeff Kennett told the hoi-polloi of his admiration for Joh Bjelke-Petersen. It appears, though, that when it comes to plain old corruption-without-conscience, Jeff is making the former premier look like even more of a dumb hick than ever. (Based on an article by Mark Forbes, Age 17/4.) • THE GROWING STINK OF VIC INC (2). It's not often we side with the Americans, but let's hope New York based ITT Sheraton sues the pants off the Kennett Corporation for breach of tendering procedures, even though we taxpayers will have to foot the payout. Since Crown Casino wants to alter their original, winning design, ITT feels Crown should be disqualified and themselves named winner, or that tendering should be reopened in the name of competitive and public fairness. In fact, many feel ITT's original bid was by far the best. But Jeff Kennett is merely thumbing his nose, not only at ITT, but the very idea that anyone but him could control who gets what in Victoria. (Based on an article by Russell Skelton, Age 19/4.) • SLOBODAN CONTEMPTEVIC KENNETT. Graham Barrett (The Age 19/4), in writing on the Bosnian war, says: The Serbian warlords "went to war believing that the West and the United Nations were too feeble to check them. Nothing that has happened since then has changed their minds. Indeed, events have only reinforced their impression that they may do whatever they wish with almost total impunity." Who do these warlords remind you of? Simply change the players and you have Jeff Kennett representing General Ratko Mladic, Dr Radovan Karadzic and Slobodan Milosevic, and the people of Victoria representing the "West." There's no bloodshed here, but the roles are identical. • CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE? The following small item is quoted entirely. "Two State Government backbenchers have publicly attacked proposals by the Planning Minister, Mr Maclellan, to allow fast food outlets to operate in residential areas. Mrs Inga Peulich and Mr Geoff Leigh spoke out against the proposals in a local newspaper, but yester-day failed to support an Opposition motion against the plans." (The Age "In Brief", 20/4..) How many Liberal backbenchers find themselves in the same position? How many others are recoiling from the daily outrages of their Premier and his smug posse of bullies? Where is the backbench revolt, signalling that not all Liberal MP's are spineless toadies! • MR MEAN STRIKES AGAIN. The most hated man in Australia, Jeff Kennett, today reached new lows in vindictive pettiness by refusing to release funds allocated to the opposition leader, John Brumby, to fly to Canberra for a meeting with the Prime Minister. "Brumby's always whingeing about something," said the Little Tyrant. In fact, it was Kennett who used to whinge while in opposition that not enough money was set aside for the Liberals. The RJR sincerely doubts the Labor party was ever this spiteful. (Channel 7 News, 21/4, not reported in the dailies.) |
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