Ray Metcalfe Something happened in February that the people of Franklin will not easily forget: Death in the morning
IN THE early hours of Thursday morning 26th February our clubhouse was demolished. It was the greatest act of vandalism that I have witnessed in Tasmania to date and an affront to the people of Franklin. It was a sad day indeed.
You and I may have different opinions about whether the building should have been saved but that is not the issue. The real issue is that Council did not seek our opinion (unless you are a councillor or a ‘stakeholder’) before the decision was made to demolish the building. Your opinion was not important. This was the action of something close to a dictatorship – an oligarchy.
The injustice of this outraged me. Those in a position of power and authority used their position to dominate and control the outcome. They sought to dominate and control you and me and those on Council who did not agree with the decision. We were rendered incapable of influencing a decision that had already been made. The brief stay of the decision was simply a political ploy giving no time for community consultation. It’s ironic, isn’t it, that Council held a public forum in Franklin the following week to discuss this very issue.
So what do we do?
Many residents I have spoken with say that there is nothing we can do. This sort of thing has been happening for years. We can either resign ourselves to the status quo, allowing the Council to control us, or we can use the only thing we have left; our vote.
When the time comes let us not forget February 2009 and test the resolve of all Council candidates to change the culture.
