Our freedoms are being taken away...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Exactly. For covid it has worked very well. The transparency provided shows that all the different perspectives are considered and a course of action decided, which is why we have done so well during the pandemic.

The big problem we have though is that for everything else this has not happened. Many diverse law changes have been made after expert advice and submissions from people affected who said "Don't" but they "Did" anyway. Current examples include the new mortgage rules, which, like many other law changes in the past, have more negative impact on the "innocent" than on the people they were targeted at. It's heartbreaking to see news items where people who can afford the mortgage they require are turned down for trivial reasons.

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I wonder that too, although I also see the side that when you have spent time putting together the submissions and arguments at the appropriate time, also knowing that many other people are doing the same, and the proposed changes to [whatever] just go through anyway, you become disillusioned and give up. When I was young I thought that democracy gave me a voice. Now I realise that whatever is on the table is going to happen regardless of what those who actually know about it have to say. I've found the last couple of elections very difficult to decide how to vote so the next step is probably to give up altogether. Although personally I won't as I've always said that if you didn't vote you can't complain and I still believe that.

vote or not, as long as i pay taxes i will reserve the right to comment on how it is spent.

And how much government spend you accept?

I think it works both ways. We live in a community, we benefit from that. We therefore have civic responsibilities beyond paying the taxes due.