Across the country, one can’t help but sense an increasing number of Australians scratching their heads and wondering ‘what on earth?’, or perhaps ‘wtf?’. A spate of recent policy announcements, by federal and state governments alike, have left many Australians puzzled at best, angry at worst, and wondering when things seemingly got so stupid.
The Western Australia Premier, Colin Barnett, kicked things off in early December, when he announced tougher measures aimed at preventing shark attacks off the WA coast. Professional shark hunters are now paid to patrol large designated zones along the metropolitan and south-west WA coastline, armed with a licence to kill any shark bigger than three metres. If that wasn’t enough, baited hooks have also been placed along the coast to catch even more sharks.
The government insists it is all about public safety. The public it seems, aren’t buying it, and on the weekend, thousands of Australians voiced their anger and protested against the measures. While thousands gathered at Cottlesloe beach in Perth, there were similar shows of support across the country, from Manly to Broome, and Glenelg to Hobart, to similarly voice their disapproval. Hell, they even protested in South Africa and New Zealand. Seems that despite not having a vote, sharks do have some popular support.
The decision to start culling sharks, a decision which netted its first shark last week, is a case of highly questionably risk perception. There have been six fatal shark attacks in two years: all tragic deaths, undoubtedly. But rather than trying to educate swimmers and surfers, or perhaps increasing the supervision and monitoring systems at beaches that sharks are known to frequent, Barnett has set the switch to stupid - and decided to just start killing sharks instead. Not only does it seem like overreach, it beggars belief, on an environmental and conservational level, but also one of intelligence. The sign that declared: “Scared of sharks? Get a pool” arguably said it best.
Back on the east coast, in NSW, another conservative Premier, seemingly stung by a concerted media campaign from the daily Sydney papers, lobbed up in recent weeks with new laws, including mandatory minimum sentences for fatal one-punch assaults, and 1.30am lockouts and drinks stopping at 3am inside a designated CBD/Kings Cross precinct. The precinct more than conveniently excludes both Star City and the Barangaroo site.
The deaths of innocent young men in the prime of their life is truly tragic, whatever the circumstances. But as Bianca Hall wrote in Fairfax over the weekend, O’Farrell’s knee jerk reaction overlooks the fact that 'women and children are still more likely to be belted in their own home than a man is to be struck by a stranger on the street.” It begs the question of where the drastic, and overdue action is for these victims of violence.
These new lockout laws do not guarantee these so-called ‘coward punches’ from happening again. Further, given the much publicised deaths all occurred before midnight, the new lockout provisions - set to be in place by the end of the month - raise many unanswered questions, while also ruining it for so many law-abiding people, impacted by the cowardly behaviour of a boozed up and idiotic minority. The lockouts do nothing to prevent people from loading up on booze in the early evening then going out and wreaking havoc. Boys will still be boys, and should they choose to, they can still drink heavily, lockouts or not. This can only change with a cultural shift, one that starts with education. Seriously considering whether we have a cultural problem associated with drinking, would be a good place to start.
What the lockouts and restrictions do mean, is that many pubs and clubs will now be forced to close early. Others may go out of business altogether. The people behind those bars, behind the DJ decks, the promoters, the club owners - will all be affected, both financially and professionally. However, that’s not the end of it. The local dance music community in Sydney has suffered a huge blow, and it’s not just the likes of a young budding DJ that plays the late set, or the local producer that gets to hear her tune out on a big system that miss out; it’s also the photographer that snaps away at gigs, the humble reviewer who might get his first chance at published work by covering a gig, or plainly, the law-abiding passionate dance music enthusiasts wanting to hear their favourite DJ spin tunes late into the early morning, while hanging out with people that feel exactly the same: these are all opportunities, now potentially lost. Such a music scene might be foreign to today’s politician, but it is a scene that does exist - almost entirely free of violence and agression - and one that forms a huge part of many people’s lives, week in, week out. The impact to it will be a huge blow to Sydney’s culture, and one whose sting will be felt in the years to come.
There will however be even greater injustices as a result of Premier O’Farrell’s knee-jerk reaction. Minimum mandatory sentences have repeatedly been shown to not work. As recently as last year, the NSW Attorney General described them as an ‘expensive and ineffective crime-fighting tool’. Now, pushed by a Premier feeling pressured by vocal sections of the media, he’s suddenly a supporter of them. He and the NSW Premier have reacted to media hype, and have ignored the fact that instances of alcohol related violence and assaults have fallen over the course of the last five years. No consultation or process it seems - but just lots of stupid.
Unfortunately, elsewhere in the country, there’s even more where that came from.
Last week, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority approved a proposal to allow up three million cubic tonnes of dredge soil to be dumped inside the marine park. That is no small amount, and, as Alexander White pointed out in The Guardian in December, that’s 150,000 dump trucks lined bumper to bumper, from Brisbane to Melbourne. The approval allows for the expansion of a coal terminal at the nearby Abbot Point. The damage it will cause to the local habitat will be irreparable. The Reef is regularly listed as one of the seven wonders of the natural world - but it appears we’re currently doing a half-assed job at protecting it. The Prime Minister talks of enhancing Tasmania’s tourism prospects by investing $16m in a chocolate factory; yet remains mute as his environment minister, Greg Hunt, approves a soil dredging program in one of our most well known tourist destinations. We need to start realising - quickly - that when it comes to environmental matters, once the damage is done, there is often no repairing it.
Similarly, down in Tasmania, where the federal government last confirmed it was seeking to delist some 74,000 hectares of World Heritage Listed forest. Seems stupid, right? Rather than seeking to protect some of the more spectacular forests in the country, if not the planet, the government is seeking to remove such protections. Making the move to delist even more bizarre is that some of Tasmania’s biggest native forest producers don’t even want access. Nevertheless, despite the opposition by environmentalists, scientists, and loggers alike, the federal government persists. Logic is thrown out the window, replaced by stupidity, front and centre. The people that have for so many years fought so hard for the protection of our natural environment, must be wondering what, if anything, will be left for future generations to see. We need to start asking ourselves that very same question, before it’s too late.
Back in the 60s, 70s and early 80s, people took to the streets and protested in their thousands when they felt their governments were making a meal of things. While the show of numbers in WA on the weekend was promising, and the noise being made by groups like Save Our Nightlife has potential, the urgency of yesteryear is seemingly lost, replaced instead by a keyboard warrior’s attachment to a smartphone, favourite social media outlet, or the (often misplaced) comfort taken by signing an online petition. As a result, the pressure on governments (of all political persuasions) instead comes from the news cycle - dominated by a few key players - and not from the people themselves.
People need to be more vocal, and not just online, or stupidity may continue to reign supreme.
Elliot Giakalis is a lawyer turned communications adviser and is a member of the Australian Labor Party. He is an electronic dance music enthusiast and erstwhile music reviewer.
