It is fascinating to observe that tiny things can cause such a kerfuffle in the minds of otherwise reasonable Wingecarribee councillors, these tiny things take the form of cardboard "for sale" signs stuck in the window of legally parked cars and it seems to infuriate some of our councillors to the point of apoplexy.

There are hundreds of vehicles that have all sorts of other signs on them, I have even seen a red double-decker bus displaying signage, council's vehicles display signs, yet don't seem to offend at all.

As a disinterested observer, the fuss seems ridiculous, people need to privately sell and buy cars, these same people are probably rate-payers who contribute to the upkeep of the roads and are not breaking any laws or causing any problems except to these tidy but tiny minded councillors.

Perhaps council could consider providing a place where people could park their sign-bearing cars, thereby providing a service instead of another pettifogging piece of ineffectual regulation.

From a strictly legal point of view it is worth noting that the High Court recently said that the constitution gave the "implied right of freedom of speech", "the vibe of the thing" I guess.

More specifically Australia is a signatory to The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which says in Article 19, paragraph 2, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."

I should think this includes a cardboard sign in the window of a car. Attempting to inhibit this "freedom of expression" could lead to a fascinating High Court challenge.

The Castle II, perhaps.

Ken Stinson

Bowral