People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.If I had taken a bingo card with me that included the words "government," "sustainability," "climate," and "social housing," I would have won not just a meat pack but the whole cow.
It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary.
Suffice to say that almost every panellist but one were calling for government to not just "put a finger on the scale" to correct some perceived "market failure," but even a whole hand, if they could. The politicians themselves by contrast simply threw word salad at the assembled throng -- obscuring Chris Penk's one actual announcement. TOP's Daniel Eb was the exception, who casually informed us all that the job of government is to determine how society should be made up.
The one difference to the panoply of paternalistic panellists was one Vincent Holloway of the boutique Brooksfield Homes, in answer to the question "What needs to be done to fix productivity and waste in construction?" His quick answer: "Remove Regulations!"
If I told you that my clapping was the only applause in the room, you will get some idea of those there assembled. You won't be surprised to hear that there was much more applause from the floor for the idea that we should all "join Institutions" so we can lobby governments and assemble together more often.
At least they knew enough to gasp when Mr Eb spewed forth.
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