The pen is mightier than the sword, so the saying goes.
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That's why we are today documenting the increasing level of secrecy and obfuscation from the state government.
The government under former premier Daniel Andrews gained a reputation of secrecy and gagging.
With Mr Andrews retiring from politics, successor Jacinta Allan has an enormous job ahead of her to break the view.
It's never been harder to gather information from the state government. Even the most basic requests are either ignored or given lip service. It's like getting blood out of a stone.
The Standard, for 151 years, has campaigned on behalf of the region and provided information our readers, community, need.
This week we asked the state Transport and Planning Department why traffic counters had been placed on the Princes Highway near Tower Hill.
The two sentence response said: "We're continually monitoring our state's transport network for potential improvements to ensure all road users can get where they need to go safely. We temporarily installed traffic counters and cameras on the Princes Highway to undertake local traffic evaluation in the area."
The question of why was unanswered.
The answer, it seems, is because safety might be an issue, so much so, department bureaucrats had floated the idea of a roundabout being installed near the busy highway intersection with Lake View Road.
Last week, for the third time, we asked the agriculture department a series of questions about alleged animal cruelty on a south-west farm. For the third time we received this response: "We take animal welfare very seriously and respond to all allegations received. Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint can contact Agriculture Victoria."
The questions were not answered.
In late August we revealed the government had changed the way contractors would be assessed when fixing, maintaining and building roads. The government said it had not yet finalised targets or projects that would be funded this financial year. In the past 10 days, we have asked on at least four occasions if targets have been set. Given that half the financial year is almost over, it's a fair question.
We didn't receive one response.
Last week we asked about the state of the Hamilton Highway near Mortlake after VFF president Emma Germano slammed it. We received no response.
In recent weeks we have made several requests for answers about why Port Fairy Golf Club is being forced to change its course because less than one per cent falls outside its designated boundary. The club proposed what seemed to be a reasonable, common sense compromise but no response. One department handballed to another - the response was the same. Nothing. Even Warrnambool-based Western Victoria MP Jacinta Ermacora has been asked five times about the issue and she has told us she would seek information from the department and minister. Nothing has been forthcoming.
If we ask a question of Wannon Water, any response has to be vetted by the minister's department. If we ask a question of South West Healthcare, yep, you guessed it, the response has to be run by the department.
Public bodies funded by public money ought to respond to their constituents in meaningful ways. Imagine if the transport department revealed it was concerned about safety on the Princes Highway and was considering a range of measures, what's the worst that could happen? We might even have some other, potentially better ideas, and then the community would feel part of the process. And most importantly, we would get a good outcome. Something needs to change.
