Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

History is replete with examples of emergency powers being granted during a crisis, whether real or imagined. From Ancient Rome to the events prior to World War II, tyranny descends under the cloak of emergency and the promise of safety. History is repeating itself all over the Western world. In Rome, dictators were given absolute power for six months to lead the Republic in times of war. This worked at first but eventually led to certain dictator-generals taking absolute control and rewriting Roman laws and the constitution to entrench their power. The convenience of centralised power, although arguably necessary in war times, eventually led to tyranny.

As Australian historian Dr Stephen Chavura noted, 'Emergency is the language that you use when democracy is no longer working for you.' Political power is rarely relinquished voluntarily once it's acquired, and it's often acquired by those who would seek to subvert the democratic process by exploiting or inventing a crisis. Freedom must always be safeguarded, and the apparent convenience of centralising power in the hands of a few must be resisted. There may be circumstances such as wartime in which emergency powers are necessary for a limited time, as the purpose of emergency powers is to suspend the regular democratic process so the nation can efficiently deal with the threat at hand. The COVID period has highlighted this so clearly.

Two and a half years on Australia is still in virtual states of emergency, in many cases with the true democratic processes still suspended or partially suspended. Victoria's and South Australia's Labor governments have permanently entrenched newfound emergency powers and have significantly expanded the scope of these powers, ready to be enacted when the next so-called emergency arrives.

Now, magicians perform their tricks by using distractions. The same is true of swathes of our political and bureaucratic classes. As the great Thomas Sowell wrote:

If eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, incessant distractions are the way politicians take away our freedoms, in order to enhance their own power and longevity in office.

Does COVID still look like an emergency to you? Would anyone still be afraid if not for the incessant propaganda of the corporate media cabal and our bureaucratic class? The greatest emergency I see is a lack of strength. And of course the pattern continues with the lamentable World Health Organization declaring monkeypox a global health emergency, while the White House is now pivoting to the monkeypox emergency without even batting an eyelid.

Coming up next is the so-called climate crisis. South Australia's parliament recently declared a climate emergency with no real evidence, and their proposed solution is transforming the economy to net zero emissions. Quite a goal, but how exactly will it be achieved? Well, here's the spoiler alert: it'll involve more government control over your life, restricting your ability to run businesses how you want, restricting your ability to buy what you want and go where you want, along with soaring food, fuel and electricity prices.

People do strange and terrible things when they're afraid. They behave emotionally and look for people to blame. Those who want rational debate and value freedom over the promise of safety are now labelled as threats to the public. We saw this with people who refused COVID mRNA injections; they were called anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists just for wanting transparency and not wanting to be locked in their homes. I'm sure we'll see that with climate lockdowns too.

Australians need to be aware that whether through apathy or by design we are allowing our liberty to be sacrificed at the altar of safety. The weapon is fear. The remedy is the emergency declaration. As Edmund Burke said:

No passion so effectively robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.

Aspiring tyrants know this well and will continue to exploit it. The game plan is to hold us in a perpetual state of emergency until absolute power is obtained. Don't sit by the sidelines and watch our freedom fade away. You'd better get involved before it's too late.