(The Hon. George Souris MP, Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney)
Whilst I have heard nothing from The Hon. David Borger MP (Minister for Roads), I was heartened by a letter I received during the week from my local politician informing me of his representations to the minister with regards to my 'exemption' application for not 'wearing a helmet whilst riding a bicycle' on grounds of civil liberties and therapeutic grounds.
That The Hon. George Souris MP has been prepared to do this and keep me informed of any developments is reassuring, and I must admit that I am touched.
For the past 4 month, 'manners & communication' have been sorely lacking from the relevant government departments and authorities:
* I have been 'ping-ponged' between personnel & offices;
* I have been quoted daft interpretations of the legislation; and
* I have been repeatedly informed that I am dealing with very important people who have no time to either meet me or take my concerns seriously - after all, have I forgotten, that I'm only a VOTER?
No I have not!!...and I'm really looking forward to remembering next March 2011!!!
But back to George...
...throughout the whole of my 'mandatory-bicycle-helmet-law-quest' process, I have copied him into everything (oh! the downside of being my local member; in fact I even remarked to my husband that I've probably written to George more over the past 20 years than I have to him!!!!). Anyway whenever George has 'received' documents procured and/or produced by me, he has, without fail, courteously replied to every single one. He has never left me in the dark wondering whether or not he has got 'it' and neither has he ever ignored me. Moreover he has actually acted upon my apparent concerns, and has copied me in to numerous 'communications' despatched from his office, and occasionally received by his office from the occasional minister.
So this post is a 'thank you' to him for being there for me! - I really, truly appreciate the care that he shown me (his incessantly noisy 'constituent') & that he never ever seems jaded when I 'touch base' over and over again...
...THANK YOU, GEORGE!!
Well done George Souris, MP.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see that there are some elected representatives out there that represent their electorate. Let's hope that he can sink his teeth in somewhere.
It is precisely this lack of response from government bodies that encourages a few people to get louder - and so you should, Sue! We need more vocal people questioning what is considered 'normal' so we are constantly improving ourselves as individuals and as a society.
They usually rely the vast majority of us 'mere voters' just towing the line and shutting up. This isn't 1984.
Dr Paul Martin
Brisbane, Australia
Hi. I have just found your blog and agree 100% with what you are doing. I would like to correspond with you about the steps you have taken in your helmet-free choices in the hope of taking up the same issues here in Adelaide.
ReplyDeleteMy e mail is wright_2_me at me dot com
If you have a few moments between your letters to Politicians et al, I would love a chat.
Cheers
Andrew
Thanks, Paul, and have fun in Melbourne - soooooo jealous!!
ReplyDelete...and hey! Wombat! lovely to hear from you and yes I love to 'chat' with you!!! A bientot!!!