Wednesday 13 April 2011

Buy A Round, Face The Judge

While regularly watching the civil liberties car crash which is California, it's sometimes easy to forget that righteous Australians are first class graduates from the university of health-obsessed dictatorial excellence as well.

New South Wales, for example, are now moving to make citizens legally liable for the free choices of others.

MATES who shout a round of beers to their drunk friends could end up in court under tough new drinking and intoxication laws.

[New South Wales Police Minister Mike Gallacher] said he was determined to crush the culture that made it acceptable to get irresponsibly drunk.

The former police officer said friends and family needed to shoulder some of the responsibility of curtailing a drunk's boozy night before the person became a menace.

He said mates could find themselves in court giving evidence about why their friend had been drunk and disorderly.
I suspect that Gallacher's definition of 'irresponsibly drunk' will differ greatly to that of an Australian majority, considering his vow to 'crush' something he calls a 'culture', thereby logically suggesting it to be accepted as not too burdensome a problem by most.

And while it's clear (at least, I think it is) that the guy is referring to consequent criminal or delinquent behaviour on the part of the inebriate at the moment, the installation of such a charge of failing as one's 'brother's keeper' - in an era where personal lifestyle choice is being routinely dismissed as a concept - doesn't take much moving of the goalposts to become more sinister, does it?

Especially since we know the kind of levels now considered to be hazardous by the bansturbulary (© Mark Wadsworth) in the UK, and probably in upside down land too. That is, more than two pints per day.

So, the social custom of buying rounds is under attack again, which isn't too much of a surprise from a conservative of any stripe. The eradication of rounds was, after all, a brilliant idea promoted by our own pretend free market Tory, David Cameron.

But how about this aspect of Gallacher's determined plan to restrict his grown-up infantilised charges from doing as they have done for many decades. The denial of due judicial process.

Mr Gallacher said he would also be working with Attorney-General Greg Smith to ensure those charged with being drunk and disorderly would not be able to escape punishment by appealing against the penalty through the court system.
Nope. No appeal allowed. Once charged, that's it. You're guilty, and how dare you even consider appealing against it.

The state is infallible, you see, and always knows best. You, however, merely exist to be managed as an inconvenient hindrance to their daily routine of spending your money.

Oh sorry, did you still believe the state existed to cater for you and your enjoyment of life? Don't be silly, there are far more important things to waste your taxes on.

H/T Menzies House via Crampton


15 comments:

Disenfranchised of Buckingham said...

Spot on.

Did you hear the debate on R4 this morning about sports drinks? Something along the lines that it's amking kids hyper so need controlling.

Anonymous said...

"to ensure those charged with being drunk and disorderly would not be able to escape punishment by appealing against the penalty through the court system."


It's one thing to trump up charges on someone who's not responsible and did not make the choice, another to deny them due process of law and yet another when there is no public criticism of this expressed by anyone in the political class or in the media.

It's training the infanticized masses to think this is normal, to lead to more of it, to lead to more and so on, each time one step further.

I once read somewhere about a religion where it was said every soul came back again, recycled, every 3rd or 4th generation.

If a generation is considered every 20 years and the average between 3rd and 4th is 3.5, then 3.5 x 20 = 70, and if Hitler and Mussolini disappeared from around 1943, then 1943 + 70 = 2013.

So yes, sounds about right, only 2 more years remaining and we're almost there, souls coming back for a new recycling. These others like in the story must be some of the support staff coming in first to set up the stage for the coming attraction.

Mongo said...

Christ on a bike, Ive been up in front of a Judge too many times, but I never imagined one day I could be in the dock because someone I know got rat arsed and made mischief.

If it wasn`t so scary I`d admire their creativity, I was wondering how easy it would be to enforce but without any right to appeal well that makes things much easier, wonder what they`ve got lined up next? microchips!

Katabasis said...

This is particularly depressing for those of us who hold out the hope that we can always emigrate to more sensible parts of the Anglosphere when the tyranny of Old Blighty and the EU gets too much.

To find that Australia of all places has the same kind of hectoring jobsworths in dire need of a hammer to the head is like a solid punch in the gut.

Unfortunately this shows, ultimately, there is no where to escape from them. Sooner or later we have to draw a line in the sand and fight them with bare knuckles one way or the other....

DerekP said...

"would not be able to escape punishment by appealing against the penalty through the court system"

The man's not fit to be a government minister in a democratic country - surely he should be working for the EU?

Anonymous said...

DOB, sports drinks contain 1gm of salt per 1.2l of fluid, so should be banned on that ground alone.

Paul said...

I hope the proper response to this is along the lines of "Mike Gallacher can fuck the fuck off! GET ME A PINT OF TOOHEYS WHILE YOU'RE UP, MATE!" or similar.

James Higham said...

The screws are inexorably tightened and no one seems to squeal except on the net.

Anonymous said...

California.
Australia.
Then Scotland.
That's the pattern is it not.

Michael Fowke said...

How can he just decide to crush a culture? Is that a part of his job description?

Mark Wadsworth said...

The Aussies are far ahead of us in many ways, e.g. all this sun screen nonsense kicked off ten or twenty years ago and they don't all have lovely sun tans any more.

And thanks for the 'bansturbulary'.

Trooper Thompson said...

My mate just got back from Oz and bought me some tobacco at the airport (he doesn't smoke), and described an almost surreal situation. He entered a white room, the only decoration being posters for their 'quit smoking' service. No tobacco or cigarettes were to be seen. Needless to say the tobacco comes with pictures of tumours all over it.

Angry Exile said...

I was going to blog on this but it's near the end of a long list of bookmarks. About all I can add is that this is yet more evidence that the Liberal Party of Australia is anything but liberal, and that I've made that point so often - including to Liberal Party borgs outside polling stations - that the urge to batter the bastards to death with a dictionary is becoming overwhelming. I hope this is just a party that's been out of power for a while having a quick circle jerk before getting down to the serious business of taking over where the other fucknuts left off, hopefully buggering up a little less in the process. Failing that I hope NSW tells them not to be so fucking silly and that if they want people to brew their own rocket fuel quality grog at home just to get away from the bloody nanny then they're going the right way about it.

Ian R Thorpe said...

Sound like its time somebody revives that anthemic song by The Macc Lads:

Beer, beer, we want more beer,
All the lads were cheering,
get another beer in,
beer, beer, we want more beer,
get the fucking ber in now!

RL said...

Criminalizing the buying of rounds?

Damn fascists are attacking one of my favorite bar room entertainments and debate tactics.

Leftists spouting stupid whilst becoming 'progressively' louder and more retarded with every drink...All the while thinking they've been having one over on me on my dime.

WV: derworm
That thing at the bottom of a German Mezcal bottle.