ONE of the principal objections raised as the Island moved towards a new system of government was that ministers would enjoy too much power.

A recent decision by Transport Minister Guy de Faye has substantiated this objection, although subsequent events have at least shown that ministerial over-enthusiasm can be curbed by the States Assembly.

The case in point is Deputy de Faye’s controversial, impetuous and ill-judged decision to change the law so that developers could lay drains on land without the owner’s consent.

Fortunately, the change in the law, which was imposed by ministerial order, was overturned in the States yesterday when, by a majority of 40 to 5, Members agreed with Senator Ben Shenton that the Island had witnessed a ‘heavy-handed abuse of the minister’s public powers’.

It is to Senator Shenton’s credit that he brought matters to a head by lodging a proposition and forcing a debate on such a contentious issue. A matter that had such obvious potential to infringe the basic rights of landowners should always have been subject to consideration of the House as a whole.

Given the furore that Deputy de Faye’s drainage decision was bound to cause, it is difficult to understand why he chose to act in such a manner. That his departmental officers counselled against the unilateral approach throws further doubt on the Deputy’s judgment – not to mention his understanding of what constitutes acceptable conduct in a modern democracy.

It has to be said that this latest debacle, together with the fiasco of the road development at Bel Royal, makes Deputy de Faye’s retention of ministerial office after the end-of-year elections look like a very long shot.

Meanwhile, the words of one of the residents of the Mont Arthur area where the drains decision was to have taken effect, former States Senator Bernard Binnington (and how his presence in the Chamber will have evoked rueful memories for many of common sense and capability in the senior politicians of an earlier era), are likely to resonate for a long time to come and, ideally, should spur a refinement of the present rules governing ministerial activity. ‘It is quite frightening how much power one person can have’ hits the nail on the head perfectly.