A Peculiar View of Democracy

In the Legislative Assembly debate on David Templeman's motion a week or so ago, Homer gave us a bit of insight into why he regards the Dadour poll provision as 'undemocratic'. He said:

Hansard, Legislative Assembly, 10th September 2014. Click to enlarge

Simpson's view of democracy is, apparently, the dictatorship of the majority, without regard to the wishes of any minority.

In practical terms, it would make little or no difference to the rest of the western suburbs whether Peppermint Grove was in or out. And if the people of Peppermint Grove wish to (according to Homer, anyway) pay more for a small, very local council, why shouldn't they.

The problem is not that the poll is undemocratic. The problem is that the whole process, right from the Minister's initial proposals, has been undemocratic. If proposals had been developed in response to community wishes and concerns, they would be supported. So, if, for example, the strong views of Peppermint Grove residents had been acknowledged at the start (and assuming that other western suburbs were happy with amalgamation - a big 'if' but bear with me for the sake of the argument), a G6 proposal might have gathered support.

Alternatively, if the Local Government Advisory Board were able to undertake polls as part of their assessment process, it could develop 'significantly different recommendations' (ie significantly different from the original proposal - as it has done with Cockburn and Melville) that would allow those that want to amalgamate to do so while leaving unaffected those that are happy as they are.

Now this certainly makes amalgamation more difficult and the achievement of Barnett's prime objective (reducing the number of Councils) less likely, but the result would be communities having the local governments they want not those that our 'masters' want or think we ought to have.

Sounds democratic to me.