2012-07-30
Dear Gabriel – I sent this article into The Islander commenting about Joanne Overton’s letter in last week Islander about dog restrictions – post it when you see fit
Regards
Linda
In regards to “Dogs on the outer again” it seems some people should miss “Home and Away” and discover that the local council By-Law No.5 (Dogs) passed 13th Aug 2010 has a dog management plan for a ‘Public place’ which includes roads , open space, foreshore etc, and any other land under council care and control. The crust of the dog By-laws were shown but drew little interest from the public, so now out comes the signs followed by fines to the oblivious ones.
We do need a emboldened council watchdog association who will openly condemn the battue against our more brave, tenacious councillors of Walkom, Liu and pulverised-out Chirgwin. These three vilified councillors bravely confronted the ruling elite for people’s liberties but sadly the populace were on the flaccid side and cowered instead of brandishing their swords in support for the outnumbered trio.
The Islander gave many articles which, if read between the lines, exposed what was happening in council, but very little outrage came back. So now you must grin and pay up!
Linda Davis
Cygnet River
Disagree that another organisation is needed – we already have too many for the number of us in our Community. All we need is for people to read the notifications given by Council or NRM or whichever agency when they seek input and provide rational feedback in a timely manner. One of the most frustrating things about being on Council was finding ways to get considered and informed input from the community in a timely manner. So often people complain about something they were given two months to comment about and did nothing. “I’m too busy to read all that bureaucratic waffle!”
The “bureaucratic waffle” is how democracies work and yes it is time consuming to read the plans or attend the open forums, or volunteer as a Councillor, or even attend Council meetings so you are informed about what actually is going on rather that what you think is going on. Our community does not operate based on the volume and content of “letters to the editor” – it relies upon people taking the time to comment positively on suggestions put forward for future plans or providing realistic alternatives where they feel there is a better option. Just because the result is not what a particular individual would like does not mean they have not had an input or influence – again that is called democracy. Not ideal but the best human society has come up with in the recent millennia.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? – Who will watch the watchers?