Originally Posted by
Icarus2001
Lead B, these are patently temporary "laws" under the public health act not the stealthy introduction of George Orwell type laws, you know very well what he and I were referring to. The trial "in camera" and the journalists raids were pre-virus so not really relevant. If a journalist has been seen to break the law why should the police not investigate? Why do they get a free pass?
The “pre-virus” stuff is directly relevant: It shows the steady erosion of individual rights and basic precepts of the rule of law.
Re the journalists, it’s about who the police choose to investigate versus those they don’t. Hunt down and punish any outsider who exposes the truth. Don’t hunt down and punish insiders who are responsible for the conduct that is exposed.
The ease with which all these “temporary” arrangements are imposed will give the bureaucracy a ‘taste’. History demonstrate that practically unfettered power is
very addictive.
From my perspective the most interesting aspect of this experiment will be how the authorities practically react to disobedience. Are they going to build and fill new gaols with the dozen people who attend a funeral and the two dozen who attend a wedding? If a bunch of mates jump in a car and go for a drive ‘just for the fun of it’, are the authorities going to put the lads in gaol? Some governments are talking about
releasing existing ‘low risk’ prisoners from gaol.
Does a person who has lost everything care about a $13,000 fine? Might as well make it $13million. Probably get to court in around 2022.