Friend Harrassed and Scomo Bin Stickers Removed in The Night. Liberal-Led Council Threatens Not to Collect Stickered Bins

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/676741
Did anybody use the stickers yet? What was the reception?
We live in a conservative area
I was not brave enough to put the stickers on the bin
My family friend was harrassed publicly
Bin sticker raiders peeled off the stickers painstakingly in the middle of the night
She does airbnb and stopped putting them on out of fear
Would this have happened if it was a Coalition supporter sticker?

Liberal-led council threatens not to collect bins with anti-Morrison stickers
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/liberal-led-council-thre…

Poll Options

  • 61
    Would have happened if Coalition Supporter stickers
  • 338
    Would not have happened with Coalition Supporter stickers

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Comments

  • +17

    The streets look like crap every election with the countless billboards stuck to so many power poles.

    Imagine if everyone started decorating their bins with political stickers, our streets can look crap every week instead.

    • +1

      Dont forget the front yards of the various houses. And there are still posters on a few power poles that have the last election posters still there.

    • +4

      Yeah bins are such gorgeous things.

      • +8

        My day is ruined every time I am unable to gaze upon a gorgeous, bare wheelie bin. I am old fashioned and like my wheelie bins without any sinful posters or new-age colours, thank you very much!

    • +1

      Well yeah, but councils don't threaten to stop providing services - which the owner has paid for, mind you, because residents are displaying a political opinion they don't like during the election season.

  • +5

    I'm not one to put my beliefs out there like that, however if I put stickers on my bins that got ripped off, I'm spiteful enough to just keep putting the stickers on every day.

    However, if she does Airbnb, then she probably wants to be more careful in putting those out there. As part of a business you don't want to alienate your customers. It's like saying everyone's welcome, but when they arrive they see a vegan sign saying meat is murder.

    I suppose they have a case saying they are council property. In which case just put it on a lawn sign similar to those Vote LNP/Labour/Palmer united signs. That can't stop them taking the bins.

    • +2

      True, keep putting them on, until someone more spiteful trashes the bin.

      BTW Lib/Lab/Green/Palmer etc etc believers are just as likely to be as spiteful as each other.

    • Meat is murder. Tasty tasty murder.

  • Maybe buy a bin from bunnings and put the sticker on it somewhere then put a camera to see who is doing it lol

  • Everyone likes my bin sticker.

    • +1

      You must have nice neighbours

      • +14

        Plenty of people have strong political opinions, but no one likes Scott Morrison.

  • +5

    Guess Liberal supporters are so sure they're going to lose this election they'll go to any length or small petty act to try and make sure that doesn't happen. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

  • +8

    Surprisingly the SMH article covers the issue reasonably well

    1. If the bin logo is obscured, the contractor may not collect it ["Who's to say this is a council bin? This could be some illegal-third-party bin masquerading as a council bin!"] - sketchy but there it is. The 'legitimate' reason any bin with an obscured council logo can not be collected.

    2. The bins are council property anyway, so you're not allowed to put stuff on them (no Pikachu stickers, swastikas etc).

    3. As Phillip Ruddock himself says "You own your own letterbox, if you really want to show off those stickers just put them on there, it's not a bin issue"

  • +11

    There's a red wave coming. Just look at SA, almost every electorate swung against the Liberals.

    • Don’t need a red wave. Need the current d’heads out as punishment for corrupt stupidity and laziness. They need time on the bench to get rid of crazies and get a leader.
      The red team are a reasonable choice atm even for blue folk that aren’t rusted on.

      • +6

        Need the current d’heads out as punishment for corrupt stupidity and laziness.

        And keep them on govt pension & all the goodies?

        Nah, we need politicians to be accountable for their doings, with public review and investigation/prosecution where it's needed.

      • +2

        exactly, first election in a while I won't be voting coalition and Morrison and Dutton need to be gone. My main concern is they will do so much damage to current coalition that the red majority will be so overwhelming that they will have free reign for their pork barreling with no real checks. It is just sad Australia really has no middle ground parties anymore, just extremists in each direction.

      • +3

        Well unfortunately it's going to take a red wave to get rid of these current useless/corrupt bastards. I won't be voting blue again until Scomo and Dutton are long gone, and ideally when the National party have a lot less sway.

    • -8

      Its a serious worry, concerned for my small business, genuinely worried about hiring new staff in case we get an ALP government, like the last 3 times they've been in government the whole industry i'm in suffers and contracts and I'm laying people I've just hired back off again. At the moment I literally cant find enough workers, in 3-4 months I oight be laying people off! If it wasnt so serious and didnt affect people's livelihoods so much it would almost be funny.

      • +6

        The last three times? So given the ALP has only been in power once in the last twenty five years just how far back do you go?

        • Early 90's but I was counting Rudd/Gillard/Rudd as 2 Governments since they were re-elected and formed 2 governments. Add in Keating in the 90's and that's my 3.

          • +6

            @2ndeffort: So not really a change of Government between Rudd and Gillard. However, given Rudd stopped us from the worst effects of the GFC I’m not sure I would be blaming the ALP for you putting people off. Perhaps it had more to do with the GFC. When people make these sort of claims I tend to be a tad skeptical, particularly when you add up who has provided surpluses and who has, actually, been responsible for higher taxes. There seems to be a perception based on a prejudice. My suggestion is people do there own research into what has occurred. If you want to get concerned have a look at todays Age. The economic outlook, under the LNP, isn’t looking very good.

            • +5

              @try2bhelpful: perhaps the guy manufactures pork barrels. as we all know only the LNP supports pork barrelling.

              just like when the ALP get voted out anyone in health care, education etc is probably getting cuts to budgets.

              • +3

                @Antikythera: I’m one of Gough’s babies.

                I grew up in Geelong in the 60s/70s and went to Uni in the 80s. Many of my cohort were the children of people fleeing Europe after the war. A lot of their parents worked in
                places like the Ford factories. My parents were “Aussie”, but neither got past third form. For many of us we were the first generations, in our families, that had a shot at University; mainly because of Gough’s views on education. Gough also brought in Universal Health Care, which the LNP butchered when they got back in. People should look up why is is called Medicare, rather than Medibank. I think Gough got a fair bit wrong but he also got a lot right.

                Me, I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I had to fight for my chances. I couldn’t fall back on mummy and daddy bank. Education gave me chances my parents never had. It is the greatest equaliser in life. My taxes paid for my education, over and over again. That is what I call a hand up, rather than a hand out and lifting rather than leaning. A chance for a good job starts with a chance for a good education.

                Your health, and education, shouldn’t depend on your parents wealth.

            • @try2bhelpful: I work in the Defence Industry, the ALP traditionally talks up a storm but never really invests in new Defence projects. The Industry is booming at the moment but the ALP normally diverts funding to their other priorities. That might be a good thing for those other industries but it isn't good for the folks in my industry, it tends to lead to boom-bust cycles and down the line when we get another surge there aren't any of the specialist folks around with experience. (try finding a combat systems or a reliability engineer with a high level security clearance on the open job market).

              I accept that Governments have the power to manage the country to their own mandate, that's how politics work. If the PM of the day wants to shuffle money into different priorities, that is their prerogative. It sucks for me because I'm not sure if I should hire staff or get ready to fire staff. My issue is more about the boom bust cycle and the uncertainty for business. I dont want to have a debate about favourite politicians or the political manifesto of the various parties. I'm just concerned for my business and livelihood.

              • +1

                @2ndeffort: The Defence Industry. OK that explains a lot. The ALP do tend to have other priorities than defence for the money. A lot of us are concerned that tax payer money might be better spent than the current priorities; however I can see how that might affect you guys.

                Frankly, I don’t think the LNP are managing the defence budget all that crash hot either. The “maybe subs” is, pretty much, a fiasco: with a billion dollar price tag. This seems to line up with other, big, purchases we have made in the past. I just wonder if we might be better off with things like cyber security, drones, etc. We seem to think China and Russia is a problem now; so asking them to cool their heels until we get subs might not work out so well. We seem to be giving them time to develop counter measures. Just a thought.

                I can sympathise but I can see a, few, trade offs here. One door opening as another closes.

          • @2ndeffort: You suffered a downturn during the Rudd years when Australia had the #1 performing economy in the OECD? And you're gonna blame Labor for this?

            Sounds more like you run a sh1t ship

            • @ThithLord: Economy is a very broad term, one part can be flying whilst another part is tanking.

      • +4

        Carpark building business? Or some other rort I assume.

  • You need to put your Scomo stickers on the right bin. Put a Scomo in the wrong bin and the whole bin's contaminated.

  • +2

    Freedom of speech?

    • +8

      Only goes one way

    • +4

      We don't technically have that in Australia.

      • +3

        We do technically have an implied freedom of political communication, just not a general right to free speech.

        • -2

          "implied" lol

  • +6

    I've been using these stickers for a few weeks without problem in Sydney's Inner West, until a few days age when they were peeled off. I wonder if they'll be deporting non-citizens over this for failing the Libs character test ?

    • +3

      Ineteresting to hear its happened too in Inner West (near Albo's seat)
      Lasted a lot longer though

  • +13

    Don't bring your activism to your doorstep and then be shocked when counter-activism is on your doorstep.

    • +3

      This is not counter activism, counter activism would be the neighbours putting up their own signs. Someone stole a sticker from them sure it's theft of $1.29 but it is still theft and illegal.

      • +4

        As they had no right to put stickers on them in the first place I don't think having them cleaned off can be counted as theft.

        • +7

          So if you do something in your house that I form the dubious view is not your right, it's ok for me to come in and mess with your stuff?

          Where do people get these crazy views from…

          • +5

            @caitsith01: No its not. however your bins are not your house, they are not even YOUR bins, they are council property. You have every right to put those stickers all over your house (assuming no wierd arse council regs to block it) and no one has any right to screw with it, you don't have any right to put it on property you don't own.

            • +2

              @gromit: unless OP and Caitsith01 lives in the bin. then the bin IS their house.

      • -2

        Activism doesn't need to be lawful to be activism.

        • +1

          Just ask Rosa Parks.

          • @cfuse: Lol are you seriously equating people who remove others’ anti Scomo bin stickers to Rosa Parks

            • @Deals For Days: I could name hundreds of activists that did the ethically correct and illegal thing, but I was aiming for someone that people slow enough to think a bin sticker is important activism could understand.

              Stickers don't change anything, if they did you'd have the government putting people in gaol for using them. IMO, if you want to change things in politics it isn't about getting the other guy to replace the existing one, it's about reducing the power of the political hegemony of the two party system. The more independents (no matter how insane) you can stuff the parliament with the more painful negotiation the ruling party (and their counterpart) will have to do. No more rubber stamps on garbage legislation, even routine legislation becomes a slog. If we are stuck with a representative democracy then maximalising the representation is the optimal solution to that problem.

    • +2

      Sticker vs destruction of property and theft? Hm

      • You don't get to decide how people react. That's why you have to be careful about where you perform your activism.

    • +1

      Putting a sticker on something you own (at least in the sense of having possession of it on a day to day basis) vs vandalising someone else's property and harassing them?

  • +4

    No idea, but I've had a giant stumps sticker on my wheelie bins for years and never had an issue.

  • +9
    • to be fair the bins don't belong to you and are the property of the council.
    • if you want to show your support or disgrace at any political party, cause or views of the world, put up a placard on your front lawn on private property
    • much like the nature strip, owned by council and maintained by you.
    • +7

      Take a photo of the sticker on a bin, make a bin sized placard and put that in your front yard.

    • These were my thoughts as well.

    • Disagree the bins do belong to you. You pay for them out of your council rates. If you want additional or larger bins, you pay for them.

      • +8

        whilst you pay for the bin through your rates it is for the service of rubbish removal..

        • the bin itself is the property of the council…
        • the contents of the bin, whilst within your property boundary will remain yours, however
        • once that bin is placed kerbside, the contents then become the property of the council
    • +3

      to be fair the bins don't belong to you and are the property of the council.

      Even so, don't you think it's concerning that the Council is taking an interest in this? Something tells me if it was one of those "Check your speed" stickers, or one of those stickers of the cricket stumps so the kids can use the bin to play, the Council wouldn't be saying anything. So why this issue? Is it the legitimate role of local government to police political speech?

      • +2

        just stating that you don't own the bins..

        they are obviously picking and choosing what to police.

        • +1

          This is not necessarily true, anyway. For example, in my council area you have to BYO bin if you want to pay for additional green waste collection, so I definitely own at least one of my bins.

          • +1

            @caitsith01: yes this is true.. because you purchased the extra… i can relate to that …

            • +1

              @Archi: Funnily enough, "my" bin has a "climate action now" sticker down the side of it!

              • +1

                @caitsith01: mine has a giant smiley face on it

                • +2

                  @Archi: Up next: your council bans smiling

                  • +2

                    @caitsith01: the rubbish dude works too early definitely needs to smile.,

      • Davros, I mean Philip Ruddock is the mayor. Costello's cocks (Nine Fairfax) probably lapped it up as well.

  • +1

    Mine got stolen by a bin chicken

  • +16

    People on all ends of the political spectrum need to stop treating political parties like football teams and hold them accountable for their actions, not give them a pass because they wear the same colours as you.

    • +3

      That will make them intelligent. Nah no one wants that

  • +7

    This kind of 'born to rule' behaviour is so true to form for Conservatives. Forget facts, evidence, economic analysis and the greater good, it's all about ideology and retaining power at any cost.

    Please read the link below which shows how fundamental rightwingers believe it's just their born right to rule. It is the US, but the Liberial Party always follows the Republicans by about 10yrs. It's very scary and it's coming to Australia.

    https://americanmind.org/salvo/why-the-claremont-institute-i…

    • Liberial Party always follows the Republicans by about 10yrs

      Gun control is one example which shows that to be a factually wrong statement.

      What was it you were saying about "forget facts"

  • +1

    It's amazing how many "friends" have suffered this fate just as "news" breaks on the matter.

  • +9

    Why in the `^ would you put a political sticker on your bin ?

    All its doing is asking for trouble if you didn't know that.

    • +5

      People could just ignore the stickers couldn't they; how pathetic do you have to be to be patrolling for stickers to remove…

  • +1

    I am for the freedom to put whatever you want on your bin.

    But I would also like to think people make up their own minds. Wishful thinking. If some stickers, posters and sign on a front lawn is enough to sway people's opinions I'd think whichever party that invests more in education should win.

    • +2

      I have a "Climate action now" sticker on my bin. I put it there because I've seen them around in growing numbers, and while one sticker doesn't change anything, I'd like to get to a point where any politician driving anywhere sees those yellow stickers.

      I guess it's the same argument with a lot of activism, one person can't singlehandedly change anything, but you can be a tiny part of something bigger.

  • +1
    • Do we actually own the bins?

    • Bin stickers look ghetto. Stick it on your house if you want to display a message.

    • +3

      No we don't own the bins, they are council property in most places. really it is no different to putting graffiti on council property.

  • Stick it on your house if you want to display a message

    Yeap you will get your windows smashed or worst your house fire bombed .

  • +3

    The same people who ripped the stickers off probably walk around with "let's go brandon" shirts.

    Freedom of speech only applies when it's them doing the talking apparently.

  • -1

    welcome to communist australia

    • 同志们好!

    • -1

      Given I've received over 26 downvotes because I said people can have their own opinions you might be right. I'll wait for the communist police to take me away for having an opinion.

      • Common misconception. You can have an opinion, it just has to align with the party.

        • All opinions on anything like your favourite cake must align with a political party*

          • +2

            @Clear: Yes. Red velvet.

            • -1

              @Munki: And mudcake for the Greenies since they're rolling around in mud and hugging trees?

  • +10

    People that feel the need to put up political advertising like this AND the people that deface them are universally insufferable clowns & its awful that they force others to endure their nonsense.

    That they cause each other endless petty angst is a good thing, both parties deserve it.

  • +1

    When certain other people expressed politically incorrect views, and were bashed by the left for it, like losing their jobs, the cry justifying that was that "you are free to express your views in this country, but you have to accept the consequences". So this is an example the other way around. He can put those stickers supporting the left of politics on his bins, he just has to accept not getting his garbage collected.

    What some of us would like is both sides being a lot more tolerant of the other' side expressing its views, and not punishing them for expressing them.

    • politically incorrect

      Translation: racist, sexist or generally offensive to a person or group of people

      • more likely was being "oppressed" for not getting vaccinated to return to work in a key industry during a deadly pandemic.

      • +2

        To the lovely negs, give me an example of what you want ti say that you can’t ‘because its politically incorrect’

  • +3

    Its ruddock. What do you expect. Libs hate free speech. They only like free speech when it agrees with their own opinions.

    • -1

      Libs hate free speech. They only like free speech

      So they both hate something and like it?

      • Selective editing much.

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