Ruled by rules
Local governments in Australia are culprits of over-regulation.
Councils are using satellites to spy on residents (SMH, 18/9). It doesn’t surprise me a bit. For a people who are supposed to have a healthy scepticism of authority, we tolerate a lot of meddling in our lives from our government. Somewhere along the way, we’ve gone from being a nation of free-spirited larrikins to citizens of a nanny state.
Local councils are masters of micro-management. Want to paint your fence or plant a tree? You’ll need permission from your council. Kids want to sell lemonade on the street? They’ll need to comply with the National Code for Food Vending Vehicles and Temporary Food Premises. If your house is heritage-listed, you are not even allowed to do minor alterations. Why is it that the colour of your garden path is someone else’s business? You can pay three quarters of a million dollars for a four room apartment in this city - but you won’t be allowed to hang out your own shirt on your own balcony.
Businesses have their own maze of regulations. Our local café used to have a few stools out in the sun where you could chat and have a coffee. It was a great place to meet other locals and hang out. The stools are gone now - the council had them removed, because the footpath was less than the minimum width allowed by legislation for outdoor furniture. Never mind that they never got in anyone’s way, or that we have lost yet another place where people could interact and have a sense of community. Apparently outdoor furniture, like nuclear assets, must be strictly controlled. We’ve thought about bringing our own stools, but it’s only a matter of time before some bureaucrat appears with his measuring tape and slaps us with a fine.
Our artists pay the highest price for over-regulation. Sydney has a mediocre music and arts scene, and the reasons aren’t hard to find. Staging any kind of performance involves getting a truckload of paperwork: emergency plans, safety inspections, public liability insurance, fire inspections and more. Events have to be planned months in advance at great cost. And it takes just one noise complaint and you have to pack it up. No room for democracy here; one grumpy neighbour ruins it for everyone. Art and culture need spontaneity and space to live. In Sydney, we’re fast running out of both.
So here we are, each of us a Gulliver tied down by a thousand petty rules. Our lives have been zoned and mapped out already. Let them spy from their satellites. They won’t find anything out of the ordinary - we’ve made very sure of that.
I knew there were reasons why I escaped Sydney for 3 years- thanks for articulating it!
Comment by Raj — December 22, 2008 @ 10:02 am