Growth Areas Authorities - Malignant Growth addiction in Victoria

Who is liable for the damage done to our society by despotically created 'Authorities'?

In its statement of its values, the representatives of this new horror, the 'Growth Area Authority' state that "we" act "with honesty and openess, are publicly accountable for our actions and are respected for our high quality advice, expertise and impartial decision making."

It is as if the 'value statement' were capable of actually changing the reality. Statements, however, are only words. How can any of us hold the authority to its words? We know that those words will be minced up to suit the values of the authority; not to protect our values.

The Board contains no ecologists, wildlife activists, nurses or doctors, local agriculturalists or permaculturalists, ethicists, civilly concerned social scientists or community activists. It only represents big business.

This board will act to enforce growthism

The problem is that this board can only act in one direction - for overpopulation and inflation linked to scarcity of all resources and against Victorians' human rights for self-government and to maintain a democratic society.

The 'Authority' talks of its 'vision and values', which include 'promoting employment opportunities' and 'foster[ing] the development of communities'. We are going to hear a lot more about 'jobs' because this is the 'carrot' which will be used to cover up the protests against the sticks which such an authority must condone.

"Fostering" community

We will hear more about 'fostering community' too. That won't change the fact that every new development destroys and fragments communities and that local governments have been dismantled and government planning departments have been all but contracted holus-bolus out to corporations of developers, to satisfy Kennett's, Bracks's and now Brumby's growth addiction. This is how our system of democracy has been destroyed by growth. 'Fostering community' will boil down to building new suburbs, importing new people, and sidelining the real communities.

Folks, we are being herded by people who think that they are better than the rest of us because they have managed to seize power from us and call themselves our government. But for nearly two decades now, liberal and labor have had increasingly similar policies and have refused to give the voting public details of differences in policies. Articles at Propaganda Watch, show how the mainstream press and even the ABC have supported this decline in democracy.

Hollow, faulty financial system overwhelms democracy

When it gets down to it, the Victorian government is not governing for voters; it is acting for, financing or defending and supporting developers - financers and builders of new suburbs and infrastructure. Bankers, engineers, construction corporations, acting through the medium of planners - who have recently exploded in numbers, like economics grads and 'financial advisors'. These corporations have made their wealth from high immigration driving up the cost of land and creating an infrastructure boom. This is the system which has brought the Western world to its knees and our government, like the US government, is now a captive of that system.

We must break through. We need to talk about what is happening and reach a consensus to resist this malignant force.

No-one willingly gave the Victorian government this power to hand over our taxes and power to development and finance corporations; they have taken it.

The faces of authority

The following people are the public face of this 'Authority' - the 'Board'. They are in the development business. They are not in the business of government or democracy; they will function to minimise any remaining vestigial opportunities for citizens of Victoria to stand up against the bulldozer of development which is destroying our democracy, our safety and our quality of life.

Their names are public property, listed at the Growth Area Authority site.

Chaired by Chris Banks AM, other board members are Felix Blatt, Frank King, Di Fleming, Ann Keddie and Ian Munro.

The Board reports to the Minister for Planning under the Planning and Environment (Growth Areas Authority) Act 2006.
- Chris Banks AM Chairman.
Chris Banks AM brings a developer's perspective after many years in the housing industry as Chief Executive Officer at Delfin and AV Jennings.

Felix Blatt is the Chief Advisor Project Management for Rio Tinto and has extensive experience managing greenfield engineering projects.

Frank King.
As a former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance, Frank King is a member of the audit committees for the Departments of Treasury and Finance, Sustainability and Environment and Justice.

Ann Keddie.
With extensive experience within the industry, Ann Keddie is a Director of Ann Keddie Architects. She is also a sessional member of VCAT and a member of the Priority Development Panel and Planning Panels Victoria.

Di Fleming.
Di Fleming is a former Victorian Telstra Businesswoman of the Year, associate professor in Digital Design at RMIT University and director of lab.3000. She steered lab.3000's evolution to become the state's first Centre of Excellence in Digital Design.

Ian Munro.
Ian Munro PSM, is a consultant for the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (DIIRD) after formerly holding the position of Deputy Secretary and CEO, Invest Assist for DIIRD.

Source: http://heykidscomics.com/

The big question

Are these people liable for the impact of their decisions to promote infrastructure for population growth? If not, who is?