Shafted

“Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains. Discuss.” It’s time to bring back this 70s high school essay topic. It has never been more relevant as our way of life has never been more under threat.

It appears that to preserve Western democracy we must display a willingness to place the shackles on ourselves.

At every opportunity, from anti-terrorism to anti-vilification legislation, governments are attacking the freedom of the individual, and in the process enhancing their own power. Though these measures create a sense of unease, most of them will never touch the average person directly, however the level of regulation in local government is also rising, potentially turning yesterday’s happy-go-lucky citizens into law breaking fiends.

Let investigate one example. The Melbourne City Council’s Carlton Parking Strategy announced on 23^rd May 2005: “There are no plans under the strategy to install meters in Lygon Street.” In fact you can still go to the official City of Melbourne parking FAQ page today and read: “Lygon Street will be exempt from having parking meters installed.”

Unfortunately, in September 2006, (who said that in politics you should never say never), the unthinkable has happened. The council is raking in $2.00 an hour along the heart of Lygon Street, encouraging short term visitors to seek parking in nearby residential streets.

I’m certain that as soon as the webmaster in council’s PR department notices the discrepancy between statements on the official website and fact, the website will (along with our collective memory) be cleansed and certain phrases such as “Lygon Street will be exempt…” will vanish from the vocabulary, 1984 style.

Image driven public organizations are adroit at manipulating public opinion and a media savvy Lord Mayor is worth a room-full of spin doctors.

In fact does anyone recall our darling of the A list participating in a glamorous parking meter commissioning ceremony, perhaps by being the first to shove a specially minted gold coin into the slot.

High fliers can afford this $2.00 surcharge on a cup of coffee. It’s a piece of cake. But there’s a different view out on the street. “I’d much rather buy a coffee than a f***ing ticket to stick on my dashboard. What for?”

I’m sure the ideologues in council’s back rooms have sound reasons for the money grab and aren’t totally controlled by the bean counters.

One can see that by charging for parking a car, the tram ticket becomes $2.00 cheaper and your bike will pay for itself in no time. Judging by the type of conveyance parked outside Readings on a busy Friday afternoon, the council’s little piece of social engineering may already be paying dividends, both for the environment and for the city’s coffers.

The new conditions will certainly assist the parking officers who, according to the State Ombudsman’s report, were threatened with the sack if they did not issue at least 30 fines a day. One look at the ticket on the dash will verify the status of the parked car and infringement notices can be issued instantly without marking tires and lurking around corners waiting for the hour to be up. And if someone pays $2.00 for a second ticket, surreptitiously swapping them over, when the first one runs out, it’s money in the bank.

We’ve got to pay for Docklands somehow.