I attended a recent presentation by Peter Spencer who is fighting a legal battle on behalf of himself and all Australian land owners. His concern is with governments’ systematic erosion of our property rights. I agree with all he says regarding the flagrant and autocratic use of legislation to incrementally remove democratic rights through regulation and I was struck by the parallels in his arguments with my own deep concerns about compulsory fluoridation and amalgamation. In each of these examples the Queensland state government used their parliamentary numbers to push through legislation against the wishes of the people. 

With fluoridation, they cynically omitted any provision for prior community consultation despite their own research indicating the vast majority strongly believed this to be a minimum requirement. They also added sections to the legislation that removed any recourse to civil action by those suffering ill effects as a consequence of fluoridation. 

As far as the amalgamation of local government was concerned, they enacted amendments to remove an existing legal requirement to hold a public referendum before boundary alterations could be made and denied any right of appeal against the traumatic changes subsequent imposed. This was contrary to the expressed wishes, in the case of Warwick and Stanthorpe, of 82% and 87% of residents respectively. 

Peter’s call to the assembled audience to make a stand against incursions upon our democratic rights evoked an enthusiastic response. However, from the public apathy I witnessed during the amalgamation battle and the apparent complacency with which our community awaits the fluoridation debacle, I believe that’s as far as resistance will go. 

We have nine elected councillors and I can’t recall a squeak of protest regarding the evident failures of the amalgamation policy or the right of the people to be consulted before fluoridation. Council and government regulation is strangling property rights with little more than token councillor resistance. Looking back over their campaign literature, all councillors promised strong, fearless public representation and yet they remain silent in the face of what I see as constant and flagrant abuses of democratic rights. 

Peter Spencer spoke passionately of people power but polite applause from a comfortable seat in a heated hall will not generate it. If our elected representatives will not do it for us, we will have to get off our complacent backsides and demand our democratic rights back ourselves.

Where are our heroes? 

Trevor Cooper

July 7 2010