This is a great way to bring the process to the public, by putting the boot on the other foot, so to speak.

I have contacted the writer and he is agreeable to have it republished in this forum.

DEAR Premier Peter Beattie:

As you may well be aware – beef and dairy cattle face reduced grazing
capacities during cold and dry winters.

The need to improve pastures is always our top priority, and we shall continue to do this consistent with standard practices and initiatives within our local communities, and we are always listening to the people and reviewing our practices.

However to continue to supply top quality beef and milk to the good people of South East Qld we are currently forced to look for other options that may include, resumptions of property for grazing, and recycling of milk and beef products.

Recycling can be very efficient, however public support is still lagging and an education policy is still being fabricated.

To deal with our crisis, we have decided to make it yours. We have therefore decided to reclaim lost grazing areas of Wilston and the surrounding suburbs. This decision may adversely affect your property, and we shall endeavour to continue to “update” you and your family as we strive to provide a better service for Qld.

Prime fresh beef and milk may run out within three to four years should we not “acquire” your property and return it to its original grazing capacity.

We understand that this decision may bring hardship to you and your family, and we in turn shall send you letters of longwinded information to help confuse the issue and render you unreasonable and ignorant of the facts. However, to help with your unreasonable anger we shall provide free counselling services at an indirect cost to you.

We understand, that your community and family may have to
make a sacrifice for the greater good of this great state.

The standard procedure will be this:
We shall endeavour to make an amiable sale of your property at
a price that suits us.
We shall “stand in the market” with our own valuation team (that
your money indirectly pays for) and ridicule your property with
terms such as “depreciation” and “unimproved value”, until you finally realise that our words of compassion and integrity are not backed up with any real credible actions.

Should you not agree with our valuation we shall send you to our court system to have a fair accurate assessment made. There are no avenues to question this authority that works for us, and thatyou pay for.

Should you never agree to sell your property we shall forcibly, acquire your land for the good of South East Qld, and you may well end up breaking the law by choosing to stay, even though you are the lawful property owner.

Our strategy for our local community must be realised, if we are to continue to enjoy whatever we want, and take it from whoever we want, whenever we want.

Feasibility studies with unlimited budgets shall now be undertaken but are in no way meant to change this decision that is already made.

The purpose, however, is to allow you to think that a healthy democracy still exists in Qld and to provide more employment and overtime to an already strained public service.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Courtney MacRae.

He raises valid points however,especially regarding our manners. As a person who has stood for federal parliament under a libertarian banner (Progress Party) in the very early 80s, I would have shuddered at the thought of yobbo and some others coming to my aid, as while they provide great “shock and awe” tactics to keep the comitted people in line, they are not people to put in front of the electorate.
Voters do not respond well to insults.

I enclose advice that I sent to an American group, The Advocates for Self Government, in response to an online poll:-
Probably the best advice that I can give is to try to use the more aggressive libertarians as far as possible, on the converted, while approaching the public with more explanatory types.

An analogy was once given to me about a man standing on top of a cliff, looking down at the beach.

Explaining to him, about the path around the side, would please him, while just telling him that you are going to put him down there may give him the wrong impression.

It is my belief that there are huge numbers of libertarian semi believers out there, who, having grown up in the comforting arms of statism, can see the flaws in it, and understand what we are on about, but are afraid to venture outside the comfort zone of their mental chains.

These people need to be coaxed, not driven.

The main problem with libertarian politics, from the point of view of getting people into government, is that a true libertarian has no time for politics or the type of person who wants to be a politician. The Progress Party had this problem too. Our preselection process, was not one of back-stabbing to get it, but one of ganging up on some poor bastard to push him or her into it.

SO WATCH IT DEAD SOUL,I recognise the first signs. Actually with your attitude, basicly of despising politicians, I can see you as a natural libertarian one, so Go for it fellas.