Next time you find yourself idly ruminating on the benefits of democracy, I suggest you spend an evening at a local “community forum”, discussing the future of “development”.

There, up close with your fellow man, you will start to fantasise about non-compulsory voting and eventually a totalitarian dictatorship, preferably with yourself in charge.

Although, to be fair to the 60-odd mainly elderly voters who turned out to the Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club last Wednesday night, it wasn’t completely their fault. They had been led astray by the pamphlet advertising the event, featuring the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Bennelong, John Alexander.

The pamphlet says that JA is fighting for:

Planning to be given back to our community so we can make better decisions that support our growing population

Upgrades to local roads including Epping and Victoria roads

Improved services at Ryde Hospital

Improved public transport including the NW Rail Link and the completing the Chatswood to Parramatta rail link and more commuter parking

A say on social housing projects

Listen up, Bennelong residents  — JA is never going to build you a new train line because railways are a state issue — as are planning, Ryde Hospital, Epping Road and social housing.  If we were all going to spend 2½ hours losing brain cells at a community meeting, why didn’t you ask him about the economy, or Afghanistan or climate change? You know, something RELEVANT?

Of course, the evening was hijacked by the members of RAID (Residents Against Inappropriate Development), which is conducting a vicious campaign against the erection of new social housing, including holding a noisy public demonstration at the site of one on the day it opened.

The RAID arguments are specious; most of the proposed new dwellings are two-storey and 80% of them are earmarked for old-aged pensioners, who, as far as I know, don’t organise themselves into gangs and break into your car. But one of the questioners said that he thought the proposed residents would be “stigmatised” by being forced to live in social housing. As opposed to what, the glorious anonymity of the gutter?

They have several different arguments, but they are just euphemisms for the unsayable — I don’t want to live next to poor people because it may affect my property values. My own suburb of Balmain is full of social housing and generally speaking, everyone gets on pretty well. The real conflict takes place on Louisa Road, where everyone is taking each other to the Land and Environment Court. Compared to that, my “houso” neighbours are a dream.

One sensible person did ask a question about human rights in China, thus allowing JA to tell a long anecdote about being one of the first outsiders to play tennis in China. The Liberal candidate, a former champion, does love a sporting analogy, and we were later regaled with a lengthy story about playing in South Africa with Arthur Ashe.

All up, JA spoke and conducted the meeting well, but it would have helped to hear him answer some proper questions. Perhaps a public debate with the local member, Maxine McKew?

The Labor MP, meanwhile, last week accompanied education minister Simon Crean to Macquarie University for Diversity Week, where “diversity” now appears to mean that students can join about 50 different Christian clubs. Eventually, I found a lonely member of the Atheists’ Union, jammed up next to a group of cheerful Baptists.

“Someone had a sense of humour,” he said, rolling his eyes.

In among all this clean living, it was gratifying to discover the “Students for Sensible Drug Policy”, which is part of an international network of students dedicated to ending the destructive “war on drugs”.  Due to a large police presence, they didn’t actually offer me anything, but I’d like to think that their happy equanimity wasn’t entirely natural.

Best of all were the law students, who were trying to get students to sign up for the Law Revue, which had a political theme. “One third of politicians suffer from electoral problems”, the posters said, leading to an epidemic of “Electoral Dysfunction”.

They is very relevant to Bennelong, where a “Melbourne Cup” field of 11 candidates have nominated to run, including, thank goodness, someone from the S-x Party.  Top spot on the ballot paper will go to the One Nation candidate Victor Waterson, who told a local reporter that “our current immigration levels are unsustainable”.

“The Liberal and Labor parties are now both using One Nation policies,” he said.

On this, Victor, you are not wrong.