The Most Precious Flower - Lest We Forget

As the value of our local economy is being removed by a group of wealthy cronies the grassroots working citizens are paying more for a local government that our Premier, Colin Barnett, believes to be corrupt. We are sinking fast towards a Greek tragedy, where the public sector costs more than the private individuals can comfortably pay.

When the centenary of the Gallipoli landings was commemorated we remembered the sacrifices made during the last century. We remembered the two world wars and what was lost, what was won. The current catalogue of democratic failure is a violation of the human rights and democratic principles those costly wars bought us. 

After WWII the world leaders said, for the second time, 'Never again,' and they created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration on Democracy. But with those rights come responsibilities. In 1991 Associate Professor of Politics, Paddy O'Brien, wrote;

'Arguably democracy is the most precious flower of western civilisation... Most people who have lived, who live now and who will live in the forseeable future have not enjoyed, do not enjoy, and probably will never enjoy the freedoms it guarantees. This places an enormous responsibility upon those of us who have it not only to defend and preserve but also to constantly improve it....Democratic societies must constantly be wary of corporatist collusions since, if they are not checked, they will erode the rights of both civil society and individuals.'

But we have not cared for that precious flower of democracy in Augusta-Margaret River.

While we were all having fun at the beach that most precious flower faded, and we forgot why we wanted it, why we needed it.

In its place we have an Executive government of the shire, and elected councillors who merely nod through the decisions of the CEO.

Margaret River Inc.

Are we outraged yet?

(Anyone too young to have lived through the Royal Commission that sought answers to how the state finances of WA got into the a complete mess through cronyism, or have maybe forgotten, I would recommend the book "The Executive State -WA Inc and the Constitution", edited by Patrick O’Brien and Martyn Webb and published by Constitutional Press. I would also recommend another book by Paddy O'Brien, "Burke's Shambles" but be warned if you order this book from the library it can only be read in the library and cannot be removed from the premises. It was such fun I had to fork out for a copy of my own!)