Government slams door in the face of democracy – scene at Executive Building this morning
Local State member Jackie Trad MP, local Councillor Helen Abrahams and President of the West End Community Association Dr Erin Evans all arrived at State Parliament this morning to present a petition with over 1,700 signatures calling for an extension of the deadline for submissions to the Local Area Plan.
The presentation of the petition had been organized in advance with a number of phone calls to Minister for Planning and Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney.
When the deputation arrived, however, security officers at the Executive Building locked the doors on them and would not allow them entry.
Stay posted for further details as they come to hand.
This is why people are a bit suspicious that ‘security issues’ will be used as a means to wriggle out of the normal democratic accountability we expect in this country and to silence political challenges from opposition or the community. Governments need to remember the story of the boy who cried wolf – if you start locking out elected representatives who are speaking up for their constituents using the excuse ‘heightened security’, does not that create the danger that if there was a genuine security risk, people might not take it seriously? Mr Seeney is playing a very silly game, which will simply do more to erode public confidence.