Fair cop?

I AM writing in regard to a parking fine I received from the City Of Perth after attending a sporting event two Saturdays ago.

I parked at a parking spot with a sign adjacent to my car. At the time people parked behind me and we chatted about the parking sign. It was very hard to read and not very clear. But to myself and all parties it looked fine to park in this spot.

So we all did.

Upon returning I found a $95 parking fine on my window to my disgust. It stated that on some Saturdays its ok to park there except for on a few dates it specifies you can’t park there upon a much closer read.

What makes it my concern here is that it was difficult to read at first glance, and I believe this is a deliberate act to confuse a person into parking.

Why should some Saturdays be off-limits, when other Saturdays a person can park there. 

It was not affecting any residents’ need for street parking from my perspective.

Is this a fair comment?

Michelle
Herne Hill
The Ed says: That’s a real bummer, Michelle. Probably the only thing we can offer is that time-worn advice: Always read the fine print.

A gap in the argument

IS an Indigenous Voice in the Constitution required to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage, because finally there will be ‘consultation’?

This is a common argument from advocates, but consultation and shared decision-making structures already exist around the country. 

The Minister for Indigenous Australians’ own agency identified 31 “strong partnerships” across the Commonwealth alone. 

There are hundreds of Indigenous owned and controlled bodies such as land councils, health, legal and welfare services, media and education networks – and thousands of Indigenous businesses.

Advocates often regularly raise the Closing the Gap issue arguing that a voice is the solution, but fail to reveal what is actually happening with this key commitment. 

In July 2020 the Coalition of Peaks, an alliance of over 80 Indigenous peak organisations, signed a huge new National Agreement on Closing the Gap with all nine Australian governments (federal, states, territories), committing to sharing decision-making on policies and programs spending billions of dollars aimed at improving life outcomes, with a priority to ensure the full involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

The mantra about lack of consultation in decision-making is nonsense. 

Most Australians support constitutional recognition. 

But many don’t want a new, permanent institution in the Constitution where one group of citizens have a special right of representation not available to anyone else. 

Because in our national rule book, everyone should be equal. 

Alan Payne
South Fremantle