How to buy off a community - and the question of MPs representing theirs

On Gruen Planet last night (9th November 2011) Toby Murphy explained how to buy off a community. “I worked on a major (major) infrastructure project years ago and we had some particularly difficult people up against us. We developed a six point check list,” he said then listed the ways. It seemed insane he could remember them all until at the end he said, we had an aide-memoir to help…


Forge local relationships

Understand local concerns

Create local opinion leaders

Claim the middle ground

Engage local activitist as consultants

Marginalise the remainder


Here’s the youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHWso24nzgE

Funny but that’s what good governance and best interests of community is up against. Any local activist that is seduced by the big end of town is no community representative (oooh, I’m just thinking about the demise of NSW Labor… Kristina K and CSG mining, what is a local MP representative outside the Greens these days but someone who is a big end of town rep – maybe not alone but through their own party)