The Honourable Ken Travers reminds the Western Australian Legislative Council of the origins of the Dadour Amendment and the right to vote on proposed council mergers and #amalgamations.
By excising a small piece of Subiaco Council from the proposed amalgamation with Cambridge, Mr Barnett has denied Subiaco residents the right to access the Dadour Amendment.
There has been duplicity and double dealing at every level and on all sides on this issue as long as it has been running. This is pretty much the “normal state” of democratic politics. The reason democracy works is that we have process and conventions that divide power and force informed deliberation.
When the institutions of our system decay beyond a critical level, power becomes too concentrated and thus susceptible to corruption by vested interests. If we do not react to this circumstance intelligently we put our place in the world at get at risk.
Gough Whitlam was able to tell us pretty this story the last time we were in this circumstance. Disraeli did the same for the UK before that – indeed it’s what all great leaders do. Our job is to create the environment – the willingness to listen – so whatever talent for great leadership that’s out there gets inspired to go into battle for us.
Reblogged this on Western Suburbs Alliance.
There has been duplicity and double dealing at every level and on all sides on this issue as long as it has been running. This is pretty much the “normal state” of democratic politics. The reason democracy works is that we have process and conventions that divide power and force informed deliberation.
When the institutions of our system decay beyond a critical level, power becomes too concentrated and thus susceptible to corruption by vested interests. If we do not react to this circumstance intelligently we put our place in the world at get at risk.
Gough Whitlam was able to tell us pretty this story the last time we were in this circumstance. Disraeli did the same for the UK before that – indeed it’s what all great leaders do. Our job is to create the environment – the willingness to listen – so whatever talent for great leadership that’s out there gets inspired to go into battle for us.