MARK M ALDRIDGE - Rann Government Power mad?           a.userlink { color: #000000; } a.userlink:visited { color: #25120d; } a.userlink:hover { color: #25120d; } font[size="1"] { font-size:10px; } font[size="2"] { font-size:13px; } font[size="3"] { font-size:16px; } font[size="4"] { font-size:18px; } font[size="5"] { font-size:24px; } font[size="6"] { font-size:32px; } font[size="7"] { font-size:48px; } .GuestBookMessage { font-family: Times New Roman; color: #25120d; font-size: 13px; } .GuestBookMessageRow { font-family: Times New Roman; color: #25120d; font-size: 12px; } .GuestBookHeader { font-family: Times New Roman; color: #25120d; font-size: 12px; }                                                                           Government power and control   How much control should we install in government, the power to control every aspect of our lives, what we wear, ride or drive, with whom we spend our time?   Thomas Jefferson once said “When the people fear the government, there is Tyranny, when the government fears the people, there is Liberty!” considering the actions of the Rann Government over the past couple of years, we must ask what they intend for our future.   Mike Rann rules with an iron fist, side by side with his sidekick Michael Atkinson, they have invested huge amounts of our state money into controlling every aspect of our lives, the largest contingent of staff and spin doctors ever seen in our States history, threats of litigation against those that dare speak out, and writing self serving legislation on the run.   They have a well paid job for all their mates, every board has a buddy, the public service silenced through employment conditions, even any of the private sector reliant on government funding, dare not speak up in fear of funding cuts.   Since late 2007 they have gone mad with power, SOCCA (serious and organized crime control act), which takes away the presumption of innocence, uses secret evidence which can not be scrutinized, in fact any concept of equity before the law.   Legislation that declares the water that falls on your roof government property, rebates that determine how we spend our tax money, Free water for their corporate mates unrestricted from any source, while we go with out even the latest electoral laws that deem we must declare our private information to enable us to blog on governmental policy.   Their power is such that our Minister for Justice the Attorney General can ignore written law when ever he decides, shut down pubs to stem dissent, and intimidate who ever stands in his way, even when he lost a defamation case, for his attacks on out Judiciary we pay for the privilege.   Every South Australian should be concerned when our own government attacks our judiciary, our rights and freedoms and our hard fought Liberty’s. To go as far as attacking democracy through structural biases of the electoral act, is a major concern.   Legislative change must be transparent and policed for self interest, the new mental health act, public health act et al, include several sections that anyone informed enough to know their content would oppose their introduction, Michael Atkinson has proved with the internet laws, that he can slip them past the opposition, so who is slipping up?   I am running for the Legislative council to ensure any new law complies with the ideals of our signatory to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. We Must demand ICAC (Independent commission against corruption), we must ensure all recent legislation is overhauled, and most of all, we should peruse our own enforceable civil and human rights to ensure this situation being played out by the Rann Government, never happens again.   The Government has gone too far, and should they be re-elected, they will surely feel they have a mandate to continue in the same direction, of which the consequences are bloody frightening for every South Australian.   I have never met an informed South Australian that would willingly cast a preference for the Rann government, so luckily for Mr. Rann we all have to have a preference for him, even more so that he does not have to face an informed electorate, good one master of spin.   The thing Mr. Rann should fear most is people like me, as the internet and its access to informed debate may just be his undoing, I say use it while it is free of governmental influence, as I am sure time is fleeting.   Mark M Aldridge Independent Candidate for the Legislative Council P O Box 1073 Virginia S.A. 5120 08 82847482 / 0403379500 Email; aldridgemark@bigpond.com  Web; www.markmaldridge.com.                        Website provided by Vistaprint