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EUREKA! - Part 2


26th April 2022
By Admin.
There is certainly a delicious irony in HRA having chosen EUREKA as the name of their indulgent Slot Race! History tells us that back in 1854 miners in the Victorian Gold Fields of Ballarat entered into a prolonged period of 'civil disobedience' brought on by the Colonial Authority levying Miners' Licences; and today, Harness Breeders, not only in Victoria but across the entire land, are staring down a similarly unconstitutional tax.

There is certainly a delicious irony in HRA having chosen EUREKA as the name of their indulgent Slot Race! History tells us that back in 1854 miners of the Victorian Gold Fields of Ballarat entered into a prolonged period of 'civil disobedience' brought on by the Colonial Authority levying Miners' Licences; and today Harness Breeders, not only in Victoria but across the entire land, are staring down a similarly unconstitutional tax.

Just as "taxation without representation" was the issue that led to The Eureka Rebellion - which many argue was the closest we have come to civil war in this country - so it is that some 168 years later we have an angry mob mobilising to stand up against an equally unjust, unrepresentative body ... Harness Racing Australia.

On Saturday, November 11 1854 (an auspicious political date already back then!) the Ballarat Reform League was formed, and at their initial meeting a resolution was passed:  that it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called on to obey, and that taxation without representation is tyranny.

And remember that, whilst there were large casualties amongst the miners at the Eureka Stockade battle, when these 'rebels' subsequently faced trial in Melbourne, massive public support led to their release and, even more importantly, resulted in the introduction of the Electoral Act 1856 which mandated suffrage for male colonists in the lower house of the Victorian Parliament.  

HRA's EUREKA! Slot Race funding proposals, which are nothing more than a Robin Hood reversal strategy -- TAKE FROM THE POOR IN ORDER TO GIVE TO THE RICH -- amply demonstrates that this Authority has completely lost touch with reality, simply because they are a totally unrepresentative body - unanswerable to the very industry they were established to serve.

This EUREKA! Tax must become the issue, and moment, that brings about seismic change to the apparently unfettered power of HRA.  Together, collectively, Harness Breeders across Australia must unite, and loudly shout "NO - NEVER" in the face of any attempt to levy a 'Service Tax'.  A failure to do so, will consign the sport and industry we love so passionately to the whim of a few rich outsiders.  Are you prepared to let that happen? Or are you prepared to make a stand, as we build our very own Eureka Blockade? 

 

 

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