I was concerned to hear from Belconnen colourful racing identity Alan Tutt that within two days of the ACT government taking over running Calvary Hospital, two people approached him and complained they had both been kept waiting for more than eight hours to be seen at the Emergency Department. A woman said that on Monday 3 July she gave up waiting after eight hours and went home, while a man said he experienced the same on Tuesday 4 July. Both said they had always been seen promptly when it was Calvary Public Hospital. It seems the low standards set for seeing patients at TCH are now being replicated at the northside public hospital.

Unfortunately, the staff at Calvary are silenced and can’t complain to the media as they are now government employees and that has always been the case with government employees; that’s what you’re supposed to have unions for. However, I have been almost bombarded in recent years by individuals and groups, including welfare, community and sporting groups, who are terrified of saying or doing anything that may offend the local Labor-Greens government for fear of being victimised. Groups are especially concerned about losing their funding or being punished in other ways for being critical of the government.

Now, whilst I am aware that one or two groups were frightened of similar treatment from one of my colleagues in the 1990s, it was rare and not endemic like it seems to be now. Groups and individuals were certainly not scared to really put the boot into the local minority government in the 1990s, and if any minister attempted to shaft them, they would go straight to the Labor opposition and complain. They were not afraid in any way and realised they had the whip hand.

I recall never threatening anyone that I’d defund them or make life difficult for them. Indeed, I recall telling Jim Roberts and Harry Marr, the founders of ACT Sport (the peak body for sport I helped set up in late 1989) I expected them to be highly critical of the government I was a part of if we ever did things they felt were not in the best interests of sport (and they did on occasion). It’s called a healthy democracy.

I say this to any individual or groups too scared to complain about something the government does they don’t agree with: If you are going to be shafted, you might as well go down fighting. You have nothing to lose. Stand up for your rights. Stand up for yourself. This government (indeed, probably most governments) will walk all over you if you don’t stand up for yourselves. Appeasement never works.

Say what you need to say, don’t take crap from the local government, go to the media and opposition, and tell them of any threats made, and get your colleagues and friends together to pressure the government. If you apply enough pressure, even this government will back down, and we will all be better for it. It may not seem like it at times, but we are still a democracy here.