Dobbers: heroes or community wreckers?

None of us are perfect. Yet we get it right most of the time. This even applies to water wasters. Most of them are still good people and want us to treat them well because invariably they are the same people that donate to charities, save stray animals, treat others with concern and respect and allow enough road space to enable drivers to merge.

And like most people they resent being held to account for every minor norm violation. Moreover, it is human nature to expect better treatment from those that know us than strangers. While we don’t pick our neighbours this principle extends into the streetscape. A shared geography underlies an intractable interconnectedness and dependence.

It is our neighbours that are best placed to empty our letter box and feed our pets while we are on holidays, they can often do a spot of child minding at a moment’s notice and are the first to hear our house alarm when it is activated.

These bonds of co-operation are diminished when neighbours feel that they don’t accept or understand each other. People act on the basis of reciprocity. A sense that one has not been treated well or betrayed evokes resentment.

Dobbing can erode any sense of loyalty, which is at the core of all relationships and requires an acceptance of people beyond their immediate instrumental benefit to oneself. Sometimes it requires us to overlook the minor mistakes of others. The upside is that it will encourage others to do likewise when we slip up. This acceptance, tolerance and behavourial latitude is at the core of community spirit. In the end, each individual is the winner.

Of course, some acts are so serious that they are beyond neighbourly redemption. Most serious crimes belong in this category. Every community is best off without people who engage in such conduct and it is morally remiss not to report such activities.

Given that domestic water use accounts for only a fraction of overall water consumption, unless your neighbour has sprinklers on day and night, water dobbing is normally an act of community wrecking rather than social heroism.

Moreover, casting neighbourhood blame for water infractions deflects responsibility for the water shortage from the real culprits. State and territory governments across Australia have done nothing to increase water supply over the past decade despite a massive increase in Australia’s population and a foreseeable change in weather patterns. These governments are the only true water cheats in Australia. In relation to them, no amount of finger pointing is enough.