We may all be bound by laws, but how they're policed and applied can be a particularly variable thing as I'm sure we all know.
I'd say there's quite a bit of flexibility in how public officers of any kind approach their work, and some firm direction from above as to how the job should be done could certainly make a difference to the end results.
It might be just because I'm having a pre-BBQ beer on a Saturday arvo, but I feel a certain positivity in the air regarding a lot of this stuff.