CONSULTATION? Who do CaRT think they are kidding? Asks John Coxon.
Just remember the last time CaRT did an exercise like this they told they had held a vote to ask boaters, among other things, if the licence fee for continuous cruisers should be increased over that of other boaters.
Falsified the result
They said that the vote was in favour of this, only for it to subsequently be discovered that they had falsified the result in the report given out (see Falsification of boat licence review here: https://narrowboatworld.com/15823-falsification-of-boat-licence-review?highlight=WyJsaWNlbmNlIiwic3VydmV5Il0= )
They still went ahead with the increase anyway, even though their ruse had been found out. Proving, as far as I'm concerned, that it was just a stunt to try and make it look genuine.
This falsification proved to all of us that the vote was just a scam and that, as far as CaRT are concerned, the views of boaters didn't, and probably still don't, matter at all.
Do they think we have such short memories?
Already been decided
I think the outcome of this consultation, just like the last one, has already been decided and this 'publicity stunt' of asking boaters for their views so they can be incorporated is just blatantly insulting to intelligent members of the general public and the boating community in particular.
I for one, will take no part in any of CaRT's stunts that are disguised as consultations or surveys etc. until it is proved that they are held by an organisation outside of CaRT with no connection to CaRT and are fully transparent in both their workings and outcomes. Also CaRT will have to publish them in full and implement all the findings without modification no matter what the outcome.
Will that happen? On past experience—not a chance!