Column: The Vibe

摘要

In the classic Australian comedy movie The Castle, which I watched during my first visit to Australia, in 1997, an incompetent small-town lawyer argues in court - surprisingly successfully - that the government has no right to seize the land on which his client's family home stands in order to extend the runways of Sydney Airport. While the government's compulsory purchase of the land breaks no laws, the lawyer argues that it offends the Australian nation's prevailing "Vibe" - the sense of fairness to others on which Australians pride themselves, and the awareness that in our dealings with others there is always a "right thing to do" and a "wrong thing to do".