Steve, It's really not as bad as you think....
Think of it this way. The Government wants nothing to do but to manage what they think they do best..that is to govern.
The gun grab got a lot of unused weapons out of the community. If you want to mess with firearms you can. Just join a club, learn to shoot, and they will leave you alone. If you have a rural property and you want to shoot vermin, you can, just apply with that reason and go buy your firearm.
As to our cars. You are right, it is the idiot behind the wheel. no argument. But isn't it better to know that the idiot doing burnouts in shopping center car parks is at least driving a vehicle with brakes that work, and a suspension thats bolted in with proper grade bolts etc. We maybe cant control the idiot behind the wheel but we attempt to make sure he has good machinery under him when he's doing it.
I would dearly love the combined cobra clubs to set the standards. In doing so we can address all manner of things we have no control over currently. Like engine size, induction systems, etc, just like the hot rod community have in Australia.
In fact, I would not be offended if allowable engine size was related to the drivers experience. ie. If you just have a normal drivers licence and have not attended and passed an advanced driving test, then you get restricted to X Horsepower. Obtain a competition licence by attending approved instruction and you can have X plus horsepower.
We expect our emergency vehicles( police, fire, ambulances) are driven by properly trained drivers. Why not the same for a powerful sports car driver?.
If the local police/EPA/transport inspectors knew all cobras were being driven by advanced trained drivers they would mostly turn a blind eye to most except blatent flaunting of road laws.
Offended?....not on your life. Australia is, as you described, a great place. One of the safest and best living standards in the world. But, like in the military, we have all to look after each other and set laws to ensure that that happens.
Come on over and we'll show you what swashbuckling is all about. We invented swashbuckling
. We'll even let you sample some of our local ales. You'll then wish there were stronger laws about poisoning tourists.
No offence taken lovehamr. It's just not what it appears.