“When a society loses the desire to know the truth, that is a precursor to totalitarianism,” observed author, Holocaust survivor and political philosopher Hanna Arendt (1906 – 1975). Tasmanian society is now seeing that observation come closer to realisation around them. If we look at the totalitarian-like behaviours of the joint enterprise that has arisen there consisting of the police, the courts, the bureaucrats, the political class (all largely unscrutinised by the local media), we can expect decisions such as the one last week which we have labelled the ‘Clayton’s review’ of police surveillance in prisons, triggered by the case of solicitor Jeff Thompson. Do you feel safe speaking out against them? Continue reading →