Surely it only feels futile? Please?
Oct. 30th, 2007 02:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsidheA few thoughts come to mind while reading this.
Summary: The Federal Department of Employment and Workplace Relations found out that public servants were planning to take annual leave, and spend their resultant free time going to a union rally to protest against legislation which would make it illegal to, well, attend a union rally at all, really. The Dept of Emp & Work Rel. advised — officially advised — other departments that they should refuse any leave if there was a chance that it was to go to that rally. Basically, the Fed Dept of Emp & Work Rel gave an official decree that what people legally did on their time off was its business, and some legal activities should be forbidden for political reasons. The Federal Court has just determined that this was, in fact, illegal, and given close to the highest available fine in punishment: $30,000.
Will this effect the election? I suspect that it will flare for a couple of days, if that, then die to be replaced by a photo of Turnbull picking his nose or something. Ultimately, this will effect the result precisely as much as the ‘Debate’ did(n't), where the story was all about Channel 9 running the Worm and being cut off. Apparently there were a couple of stuffed shirts talking about something, but no-one was paying any attention to that.
This bit of news will not change many people's minds. The ‘Howard Haters’ already knew that Howard and his gang of thugs had done their level best to corrupt the public service. The Howard sycophants are probably already screaming about how the ruling was a fix, and in between ... I suspect that sufficient distractions will be arranged, such that there will be other things on most people's minds on the 24th. Sure, a few people might remember, but I don't think it will make much of a difference.
Still, the polls are pointing at a thorough pasting for Howard and his gang, so hopefully it doesn't need to — it's icing.
Because, despite what I said about no-one taking much notice, it does stand as an indictment on Howard's attempts to suppress any speech he doesn't like the sound of.
(hat tip to the LJ-less mpp)
Summary: The Federal Department of Employment and Workplace Relations found out that public servants were planning to take annual leave, and spend their resultant free time going to a union rally to protest against legislation which would make it illegal to, well, attend a union rally at all, really. The Dept of Emp & Work Rel. advised — officially advised — other departments that they should refuse any leave if there was a chance that it was to go to that rally. Basically, the Fed Dept of Emp & Work Rel gave an official decree that what people legally did on their time off was its business, and some legal activities should be forbidden for political reasons. The Federal Court has just determined that this was, in fact, illegal, and given close to the highest available fine in punishment: $30,000.
- Um, isn't the court actually fining the Taxpayers, for a partisan political fuckup by individuals in a given bureaucracy? It does point out that “some senior departmental officers knew it was wrong to issue such advice”, which does rather raise the question as to who it was who issued such advice, and why, and why those aforesaid Senior Officers did not quash it. But why are those, identifiable people (and given that this is a public service bureaucracy, if they can't identify the miscreant(s), that's another outrage) not being fined, but the department is? Because that will just be soaked immediately in the budget and those responsible will avoid any personal liability for their actions (and lack of action). It's basically everything which
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erudito most (and most rightly) derides about ‘socialist’ systems: the lack of personal accountability. - $30,000 looks like a lot when it is in your bank account, but a Government Department spends more than that on paperclips. It really will just get soaked in the general budget mass, and won't even be noticed. What ‘deterrent’, then? No-one at all will actually be deterred. Although the Union involved might make some poetic mileage out of it.
- At least the Federal Court is showing some cojones. Although it could be argued that the Fed Dept of Emp & Work Rel itself showed big brass ones, giving a ruling that was illegal under the existing system, against protesting against a system under which the ruling would still be illegal.
- So, Howard's has really shown itself up for exactly how much it is a friend of Free Speech and workers' rights. That would be: “none at all”.
Will this effect the election? I suspect that it will flare for a couple of days, if that, then die to be replaced by a photo of Turnbull picking his nose or something. Ultimately, this will effect the result precisely as much as the ‘Debate’ did(n't), where the story was all about Channel 9 running the Worm and being cut off. Apparently there were a couple of stuffed shirts talking about something, but no-one was paying any attention to that.
This bit of news will not change many people's minds. The ‘Howard Haters’ already knew that Howard and his gang of thugs had done their level best to corrupt the public service. The Howard sycophants are probably already screaming about how the ruling was a fix, and in between ... I suspect that sufficient distractions will be arranged, such that there will be other things on most people's minds on the 24th. Sure, a few people might remember, but I don't think it will make much of a difference.
Still, the polls are pointing at a thorough pasting for Howard and his gang, so hopefully it doesn't need to — it's icing.
Because, despite what I said about no-one taking much notice, it does stand as an indictment on Howard's attempts to suppress any speech he doesn't like the sound of.
(hat tip to the LJ-less mpp)