7 June 2005

Can you feel that jackboot on your throat? That's the Minister Not Responsible, Katy Gallagher

| johnboy
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Ever heard a theory that Government should be of the people, by the people, for the people?

If you meet Katy Gallagher please enlighten her.

ABC Online have a disgusting piece in which we are informed:

the ACT Government is at breaking point on the laws and if there are too many blatant breaches of the rules, it is ready to make changes.

This under the heading: Obey firecracker rules or face ban, Govt warns

So, if all of the people were to go out and lob firecrackers around; our theoretically democratic government would pass laws against us? That’s a fascinating approach.

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Um explosives are bad ok. Sure reponsibly used firecrackers can be exciting but they are dangerous and not every user seems to see that that means they need to accept responsibilities if they want to use them.

I’m not sure that telling people to be responsible or the rules will be reviewed is jackboot politics. Sure this town is full of middle class righteousness and that tends to mean forcing things down to the lowest common denominator, but just for a second remember that fireworks could and have caused serious injuries, I don’t think they need banning but if users can’t be responsible then something has to give.

What if everyone drove the way they felt like and took no responsibility for their actions. That’s all that you have to do.

Yet another item we will have to spend hours explaining to our grandchildren… Gotta hate a world where the Gov’t decides what is best for all with little or no consultation.

I’m not a particularly huge fan of crackers. I enjoy letting a few off every couple of years, but I’m harldy a die hard. That being said I don’t want to be told what I can and can’t have on the basis that Big Brother knows whats best for me! Can we as proles take away the pay rise due to all MLA’s because a minority of them have behaved like idiots?

If people are breaking the rules, then the people who are breaking the rules are the ones who should be punished.

We allow authoritarian measures in the case of gun control because the stakes are literally life and death. That doesn’t mean government should then be taking precautionary prohibitionist tactics to every other problem that occurs.

Means test them too, if you’re filthy rich or just filthy, NO FIREWORKS FOR YOU !

Fireworks are only for the workers!

The Fireworks Nazi.

Hang on, we’re the only jurisdiction in the country left with fireworks and all they are saying is don’t break the law when using these explosives (as has been done many times in the past) to entertain yourselves or we’ll lose them like everyone else.

I think it’s amazing that we even still have fireworks considering the amount that the animal libbers and old people whinge about them and how every biker pipe bomb is traced back to “ACT fireworks distributors”.

how is the govt at breaking point ? id hope that a govt was robust enough to survive the odd misplaced cracker.

We’ve got laws at the moment on when people can use fireworks, if we break them then I guess we won’t be allowed to use them at all. Big freaking deal – I’m not going to raise my blood pressure over it. It all seems quite ordinary and reasonable to me.

Canberra_unsung_hero7:15 am 07 Jun 05

Anyway, the bottom line is that CIR is just ‘pie in the sky’ stuff. ( I’ll eat my hat if it ever happens in Canberra ).

Canberra_unsung_hero6:16 am 07 Jun 05

Word is, that Gary Humphries ‘borrowed’ that idea from ex-MLC Dennis Steveneson, who had raised the issue of CIR a number of years earlier.

It’s a classic issue or referenda.

assuming of course that either side of polictics had any interest in democracy

Tip the hat to Gary Humphries who championed the use of Citizens Initiated Refernda throughout his time in the assembly.

Not that he actually achieved anything.

Samuel Gordon-Stewart11:30 pm 06 Jun 05

If somebody had placed fireworks in an MLA’s letter box years ago then we wouldn’t have fireworks…they give this warning every year and never do anything, I hardly expect it to change…I still reserve the right to whinge noisily though.

Samuel

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