I was amazed at how stupid and arrogant the local ALP government has become with its imposition in the Territory budget of an $11 tax on anyone who wants to become a volunteer in the ACT. I was therefore pleased to see Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley announce she will seek to disallow this retrograde measure when the Assembly resumes in September. I would hope the independents and Greens will support its disallowance. I note Fiona Carrick has already committed to doing so.
Canberra has always been blessed with volunteers for all manner of sporting and community organisations. It’s part of the very fabric of our vibrant society. Thousands of Canberrans freely give up many hours of their time each week to help out and run the various groups and organisations that make Canberra such a great place to live. Now, most of us can afford $11, but that’s not the point. It’s a clear disincentive for citizens to get involved. It’s a slap in the face and devalues the good work so many Canberrans do as volunteers.
Just think how much it would cost to pay for the work our volunteers do for nothing. It would run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps even billions. Now, I know many Labor members have no idea how to spend money wisely, but surely they can’t be so short-sighted as to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Volunteering not only helps those who receive support, but the volunteers themselves gain a great deal of satisfaction from giving their time. It’s a win–win situation for everyone.
I would hope Labor will have a rethink and scrap this insane tax themselves before Leanne’s disallowance motion is even debated. The community would be impressed if the government said, “Sorry, we got this wrong. We have listened to you and will scrap it.
On another note, I was saddened to see the Independents for Canberra party dissolved. My daughter‑in‑law was a prime mover in getting it up and running and has explained to me why the group dissolved, but I’m not sure I agree with her. It was registered, still had great potential, and a sound philosophy that clearly struck a chord with the community. I’m well aware there were personality issues, you get them in any group, but just because there was a falling out, and just because many in the group believed Tom Emerson only used it to get elected (he did resign from it soon after being elected, which I thought was strange), that’s politics, and in my view no reason to deregister the group.
The idea of getting all (or as many as possible) of the various independents together under one banner and working out who the best candidates to run are has great merit. One problem was that the Independents for Canberra organisers did not embrace groups that were prepared to play along and get involved, such as the Strong Independents and the Belco Party. However, the concept is a good one, and I hope whatever replaces it is successful in helping attract good, community-minded independents to stand at the next election.
