A lot has been said in recent times about the level of distrust & dissatisfaction held by the community towards our political class.
There is a widely held view that our political masters are arrogant & detached from the world that the majority of us inhabit, don’t care what we think about issues that may affect us & are totally preoccupied with their own self-interest or that of their sponsors.
This detachment helps breed contempt towards our politicians; it fuels cynicism & erodes support for our democratic system of government.
Recently the association published
a highly critical analysis of the Office of Local Government (OLG) & its failure to uphold legislated standards of behaviour on the part of councils across NSW. In that piece, mention was also made of the failure by the Minister for Local Government to show concern about the issues raised & to acknowledge, let alone respond to them.
Over the years, the association has had occasion to correspond with numerous politicians on a variety of issues at a local, state & federal level. The experience is much the same & ranges from no response to a non-response. Very rare are the occasions where a politician of any kind, or a functionary acting on their behalf, will demonstrate any real interest in addressing the issues raised.
The notion that our politicians are representatives of the people is utter nonsense.
While the Member for Bega has apparently flagged his intention to abandon politics sometime in the future (whatever that means), it was not so long ago that he the brazen claim that he believed his role as a Member of Parliament was to serve only the interests of those who don’t criticise him.
Perhaps it is this kind of “one-eyed” thinking that ultimately gave rise to the “Sports Rorts” scandal?
Speaking of the Member for Bega, some may recall
the kerfuffle that blew-up last year after the state government’s intention to commercialise the Light to Light Walk in the Ben Boyd National Park became public.
In pursuing the issue, the association requested a copy of the Business Case & Cost Benefit Analysis completed for the government in support of the proposal. That request was refused on the basis that the documents were “Cabinet Documents”, effectively making them secret.
While the association lodged a GIPA Application to test that claim, it & a subsequent appeal to the Information & Privacy Commission (IPC) were also unsuccessful.
Of course Cabinet Documents are funny things. On the one hand their sanctity cannot be overstated, with politicians referring to them in hushed tones, creating the impression that they harbour the deepest & most important secrets of government: certainly not information that ordinary citizens can be trusted with.
On the other hand, there is much evidence to suggest that the principle of “Cabinet Confidentiality” is more often than not a convenient device used by government to conceal its behaviour from public scrutiny.
But
Cabinet Documents don’t have to remain confidential. The BVSRRA understands that
Cabinet Documents can be released on the authority of the
Premier or the Cabinet & on that basis it wrote to the
Premier, the Hon Gladys Berejiklian, in November last year, pleading its case for the release of the
Light to Light documents.
A simple enough request one would have thought, requiring nothing more than a “yes” or a “no”.
But it seems our
Premier can’t be trusted with such decisions & the following week
her Parliamentary Secretary advised the association that she had referred its inquiry to the
Minister for Energy & the Environment, the Hon Matt Kean MP (who just happens to be the
Minister whose department had told us to go-away in the first place).
And then, some four months later, the association
received an undated letter from James Griffin MP (
Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment & Veterans) advising that its request had again been refused. Nevertheless, James was determined to assist the association & took the trouble of explaining all over again that the documents we wanted were
Cabinet Documents & we couldn’t have them.
Of course what James neglected to mention was that the Premier was not only not prepared to grant our request but that she lacked the food grace to pay us the courtesy of informing us directly.
It is the casual arrogance of our political class & its willingness to openly treat the public with absolute contempt that should disgust Australians.
As for the Premier & her government, the association believes that their behaviour speaks for itself.
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
Tel: 0264945669
Email: secretary@begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
Website: http://www.begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au