The Council is possibly in crisis, I sent the email, Tuesday 8 March 2022 to Lord Mayor, stating that his media response, to the criticisms of the Council’s Flood Management Plan, and the policies which framed it, is unacceptable to the majority of residents who know anything about public administration policy. Today, 34 days later, I got an acknowledgement of the letter.
I was reminded of this, yesterday, when I was talking to Ruth’s young cousin. We are young, middle-aged, and senior generations of professionals who had enough of this short-term policy decision-making with no future adequate sense of history, no adequate sense of the landscape, and no adequate sense of a healthy civic/civil society. For too long, we have had state and federal politicians, and councillors, who, either, never took a lesson in the humanities and social sciences, or were asleep in the classroom when they did. Philosophically, the lack of such care will ‘do in’ those who are not ‘in it’ for intelligent planning. I note that Australia’s top economists have overwhelmingly zeroed in on one issue of major climate change reforms.
It is just madness that the politicians and councillors, “do not get it.” Having finished watching ‘The White Queen’ series, last night, I see a reflection of the modern plots, schemes, and in-fighting, and the only difference is that the 2022 Federal election will not be a literal bloodbath, and the members of the major parties should be thankful they do not live in the days of the War of the Roses.
Political change is happening but it has been too little, too slow, and, in a number of exact cases, too late. Too late for the residents of Lismore — I cannot see how the city can rebuild, and certainly it cannot be the way it was on the banks of Wilsons River (or it will be like a person who cannot help themselves repeatedly and horribly bloodied banging their heads against the wall — a simpleminded conservative).
My life seems prophetic on many levels. In 1995 I warned Australian evangelical believers that if they continue with the ‘Trumpian ways’ (before Donald Trump was thought about — talking about the prosperity gospel and the institutional alliances with the US-Aust Far Right / Radical Right / libertarian / neo-conservatives agendas) it would turn very sour — witness the classic (roman-greek: Hubris) fall of the Neo-Pentecostal Scott Morrison PM.
It is the same with several Queensland historians, such as Margaret Cook, we have forewarned them, forewarned them where the history laid as a seer. It amazes me that the conservatives continue “not to get it,” especially the neo-conservatives — ones whose heads are full of the worldview threads of the 1980s and 1990s (my discussion of the problem and the working through the solutions). And each level of government can no longer pass the buck and dismiss the problems of the community. We demand multi-governmental solutions delivered, not late, not never, but in the first term of government.
We hope for another ‘renaissance’ or ‘enlightenment’ day in the Council Chamber, and on the Parliamentary floor.
The following two tabs change content below.
Neville Buch
Professional Historian at Professional Historians Association (Queensland) Inc.
Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.