Census night is a night for a little civil disobedience

Ethan Switch - Sunday, August 6, 2006 - 23:40:39 - print it raw

Taken away in the night and watching the cracks of the road pass underfoot, the stakes of the game are high. Sitting idle in many Australian homes right now is a Census form waiting for the night of Tuesday, 8 August 2006.

A night wherein the population at large will face down the barrel of a blue or black pen and mark their lives in a snap shot for the Australian Bureau of Statistics to collate and regurgitate over the next few years to slight astonishment.

Unlike a consumer survey, where the more outlandish and pompous answer will net a bigger long-term return, it's another field of indicators entirely. Government calculators are expecting honesty, truthfulness and the threat of a $100 daily fine for non-compliance.

Results of the Census are expected to help build the future of this country. From dishonest leaders, runaway backroom deals with monopolies and denying the existence of any wrong doings, it's a welcome change to being ignored without the facts.

In the face of each new trigger happy, fingerprinting legislation, what can be done in protest? What small act will signal the disgust at the rampant intrusion of privacy? Refuse to take part in the Census.

And what of the homeless and those of the cardboard box condominium? Seditious filth of the streets?

On that note...

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