Is Australia becoming a Nanny State

[buzzlightyear]

Not one to be drawn to extreme or exaggerated views. But there are two very recent examples of changes to laws which in my opinion border on an overly paternilstic approach to public policy making.

These being Foul language and Betting laws

So are we becoming a nanny state?

 

[Aaron Sice]

considering parliament were considering legislation to ban "planking" - i'd say yes.

we don't need protection form ourselves, we need protection from those who think we need protection.

the dumb will always kil themselves off. accidents happen. there's another 6.8bil of us, one taxpayer, sorry citizen...oops sorry again, i meant person down isn't the end of the world.

 

[bluestorm]

Yes it's becoming a nancy state. But then, a lot of Australians are getting dumber by the day, as a result of the "don't hurt their precious feelings" education system, so probably need to be protected from themselves.

 

[random]

Yep it sure is , to such an extreme that to me it's embarrassing these days. Which I've been saying for yrs and have even mentioned here quite a few times.

And unfortunately Vic will lead the crowd now between our little old women mayer that couldn't make it in politics and the new straight a@@@ prem.
Add that to our new PM and it's not looking good.

Can't busk , can't buy cigarettes , can't open market stalls because of red tape and insurances , permits own pets, insurances and licenses on top of insurances and licenses , taxed into oblivion - I always remember Costello announcing as he intro'd the GST , " prices will start to drop - immediately" no worries Pete

I think the latest is push bike licenses and 240$ fines for swearing !

And all while they sit around smoking dope in milk bars all over Europe - and buying it over the counter.

We're beyond a joke and have become an unaffordable ,way over priced and very embarrassing laughing stock. It's bloody depressing.

No cheers on this one.

 

[House_Keeper]

There was an interesting article about this recently in the herald that has plenty of revealing online comments. One of my favorite comments is that "our nanny state methods have left us with dumb-*** citizens that can't think for themselves" and "We're breeding a nation where the lowest common denominator is in charge of the rest of us".

It looks like it is worse in Victoria.

The country seems to be increasingly run by bureaucrats who believe their job is to create more and more regulation, as if regulation was the solution to all problems.

I'm not looking forward to where this is heading .

 

[sash]

Probably yes...we have become so arrogant that have lost touch of what other countries around us are doing.

The article below and some of the comments from people pretty much sums it up.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/socie...ket-20110530-1fczf.html?comments=200#comments

People have become to mediocrity to the point that they are in denial. We might be an advanced nation...but our citizens are pretty stupid are believe anything their government or corporation tell us.

Ignorance seems to be bliss....if we don't pull our socks up soon our standard of living will drop. The other thing which bothers me is that Australians grown used to high wages for doing little. This is not sustainable...at some point this going to bite us in the ar$e.

I am better off than most....but the general it won't affect attitude of most Aussies is pretty sad. They think they have it rough now....wait till have another period like 1989-1992 ...."the Recession we had to have"!

 

[random]

Yes it's becoming a nancy state. But then, a lot of Australians are getting dumber by the day, as a result of the "don't hurt their precious feelings" education system, so probably need to be protected from themselves.

Spot on Bstorm they are becoming dumber by the day but not within their education itself , I know teachers quitting right now because of the pressure even primary school kids are being put under.
Kids have nothing to do with what we've let our country become, they control nothing yet. It's the adults that have become pathetic.Just lead me around like a dumb old puppy dog and do with me what you will please Mr Government and yeah, charge me whatever you like while your at it , no prob !

Not to mention the fact that it's become a crime in Australia to have a personality these days . Ever noticed how conservative Australians are now.

I'm really admiring the Americans lately , they still feel strongly about freedom and will fight for their rights and , they are as loud as they damn well wanna be !
I don't want a big population but unfortunately because we are so small , they can see and control each and every one of us in one way or another. Add that to our moronic pollies competing with one another with yet more new laws and promises to get in each time , I hate to think of where we're headed.

 

[sash]

Yep...could not agree more!

We seem so willing to give more power to the authorities to the point some states are essentially police states!

I'm really admiring the Americans lately , they still feel strongly about freedom and will fight for their rights and , they are as loud as they wanna be !

 

[jaycee]

Yep...could not agree more!

We seem so willing to give more power to the authorities to the point some states are essentially police states!

LOL I couldn't agree less !

watching the US citizens at the rodeo on the Borat movie cheering Borat on while he was yelling sarcastic stuff like "may George Bush drink the blood of all Iraqis etc" comes directly to mind.

yeah, so very admirable.....

 

[tom32]

Something everyone can agree on.

Is Australia becoming a nanny state;

15 Yes.

0 No.


I think we have forgotten just what the law is for well the idea of it in a modern liberal state at any rate. To protect the rights of the individual against society at large. Not to protect the individual from himself.

This example might be controversial but here goes;

My oldest girl could not understand why after 12months of sitting in a normal car seat with a seatbelt, why we suddenly at age 6 had to put her back in a child carseat.

I explained that it was because the government gets paid a lot of money by lobby groups who sell carseats and because of this they fine me if I don't buy enough carseats.

Has anyone read superfreakonomics? They set up at a car seat test on a normal car seat lap sash with a kid dummy, i.e. a control test and test it and find it complied with the child restraint requirements for child restraints... So you could theoretically market the cars default seat to comply with the Americal standard for child restraints.

further they find in the book that the fatality rate for children over 2 in and out of carseats is the same down to a statistically insignificant margin.

How many people have had to buy people movers or family sedans rather than smaller greener alternatives just to fit 3 car seats across the back seat. You would like to think your first kid is out of a car seat by the time they are 6!

We have 6 carseats of various sizes and shapes due to this crazy law and drive larger cars than we need to.

 

[buster]

Yes. Allow the laws of natural selection to do their thing.

 

[intrigued]

All they need for planking is a JSA

considering parliament were considering legislation to ban "planking" - i'd say yes.

we don't need protection form ourselves, we need protection from those who think we need protection.

the dumb will always kil themselves off. accidents happen. there's another 6.8bil of us, one taxpayer, sorry citizen...oops sorry again, i meant person down isn't the end of the world.

 

[lizzie]

i think the over regulation will only increase the gap between haves and have nots.

the have's will always find a way to work the system to their advantage, regardless of how many barriers the pollies try to throw in their way.

the have nots will sit back and accept what is done to them, and expect to be looked after because of their compliance.

unfortunately the government is trying to outlaw idiocy ... something that cannot be done ... and just results in the standard of regulations being lowered to idiot level.

 

[Graingrower]

We have 6 carseats of various sizes and shapes due to this crazy law and drive larger cars than we need to.

I remember in 1987 we went on a family holiday/road trip. XF Falcon sedan, 2 adults, 5 kids aged 2 - 14. We had one car seat for the two y/old, 2 kids shared the middle seat, another in the back and one in the front. Luggage on the roof. Cops would deliberately not pull us over.

 

[The Fence]

unfortunately the government is trying to outlaw idiocy ... something that cannot be done ... and just results in the standard of regulations being lowered to idiot level.

Classic case of do as I do.....be an idiot...LOL!!

Kudos Liz

 

[Player]

twenty one - nil, to date.

The system/govt programs most of us to have one source of income, thereby creating a situation of financial cancer where the masses are reliant on the govt (of the day) for a pen$ion thereby ensuring more votes for that particular party.............people only work hard enough to not get sacked by their employer and the employer pays only enough so that the workers don't quit...............they become the lemmings. This stems back to the education system which is designed to spit out tax payers to further perpetuate the "system"

We are over-governed and mismanaged. State govt's should be abolished in a country of barely 25 million. What a squandering of the tax payers money............Nanny state indeed, Sheldon would call it mee-ma state

 

[Belbo]

It's got a lot to do with insurance and the ambulance-chasing lawyers, too, of course.

If there isn't a highly visible sign saying, "Pounding your head repeatedly into this decidely hard object could render you completely unconscious and even more of a drooling idiot that already obviously are", then there's a very good chance that someone will judiciously decide to headbutt that concrete council bollard incessantly until said outcome occurs, equally inevitably at the ultimate expense of our public purse, and moreover, with utter impunity.

What I want to know is, could anyone possibly read every safety road sign around these days without losing concentration and crashing?

It's a nanny's nanny state!

 

[pursefattener]

24 nil so far . I agree with everything so far and feel quite pleased that there is so much agreeance . A lot of Kids grow up so soft these days , including my own despite my best efforts ...

It's a nanny state alright .

 

[tom32]

I remember in 1987 we went on a family holiday/road trip. XF Falcon sedan, 2 adults, 5 kids aged 2 - 14. We had one car seat for the two y/old, 2 kids shared the middle seat, another in the back and one in the front. Luggage on the roof. Cops would deliberately not pull us over.

Wow, you would have struggled to fit a carton in with all of them in the car.

If you loaded up some of the late model falcons like that the auto transmission would likely **** itself. Rotten ford transmissions...

the government should ban them.

 

[Graingrower]

Car was a column shift manual.