farmdoc's blog post number 399

Way back in the foggy blur of my schoolboy years, bolt upright at his desk beside me, sat my classmate and friend Demos Dimitriadis. Even at his then tender age, his olive-skinned good looks personified the Greek heritage he was so proud of. His name Demos, he said, means ‘the people’ in Greek; and his ancestors gave the precious gift of democracy to the world. Demos, the exultant young Greek Australian, was right, of course. Democracy – government by the people – is a precious gift. And a gift so fragile it must be continually cherished and nurtured. Or it will wither and die. Which is a consequence too terrible to contemplate. A major reason for my passionate involvement in Save Albert Park is the Grands Prix Act’s removal of democratic rights. It’s ironic how governments – which govern at the pleasure of the people – are so intent on eroding the full force of democracy. The latest governmental onslaught – in Victoria and Tasmania – is on planning. It’s too easy to remove democratic checks and balances in the name of expediency. How could anyone reasonably object to cutting red tape? But removing public input from planning decisions diminishes their rationality and increases the likelihood of political cronyism if not frank corruption. I wonder where Demos Dimitriadis is today. And what his ancestors would make of all this.