Monday 24 December 2007

Captain Cairns says...


This comment was posted earlier by a regular on CairnsBlog "Captain Cairns".
I felt it deserves top billing!


  • A real mayor?

    Wouldn't that be great for Cairns? Someone that is 'in touch' with the community and gets in on a grassroots level. I've seen Ray Byrnes, mayor of Eacham shire with whipper-snipper in hand helping out at a community fundraiser. (Can anyone imagine KB doing that? Ha ha, yeah right.)

    A great mayor would be a popular mayor, someone who is friendly and approachable, someone people look up to. Tom Pyne had these qualities. Always seemed to have a smile on his face, and was no doubt popular, they way he annihilated Kevin Byrne in the amalgamation election of 1995.

    Byrne may have won the last 2 elections, but both were only by very small margins, and that was from his dominant developer funded election campaign, where he had 8 times as many ads as Val Schier, and still he only got 52% of the vote.

    A good, a real mayor would stand tall for their community, like Kieth Goodwin back in the late 80's. He was down there on the Esplanade, loudspeaker in hand, working up the crowd to say "NO!" to the proposed Trinity Point project.

    Imagine how different, and better, Cairns would look today if he was still mayor?

    A good Cairns mayor would promote the distict far northern lifestyle, not try and turn us into a commercial, money-hungry, tie-wearing, air-conditioner loving, corporate zombies.

    Back to Keith Goodwin again. He had signs put up at the airport back in the late 80's, early 90's saying 'Cairns is a tie-free zone, please remove your ties'. Remember the photo from a few months ago for the latest amalgamation committee, bringing together Cairns and Douglas Shire.

    There was Mike Berwick is his smart casual attire, and there was Byrne and Terry James with their business shirts and ties on.

    A real mayor is someone who deeply cares for his town. Not someone who is is just in the job for the power and stature. Cairns needs to be reminded that when KB was booted out in 95, he left town very quickly, only to return when he heard his nemisis Tom Pyne was retiring. He has even remarked since, that he would do it again if he were ever to lose office.

    Is that someone who truly cares for Cairns?, or just someone looking after their own self-interest.

    It is painstakingly obvious, Byrne does not deserve to be our mayor.

    We have a chance coming up in March to change things for the better around here. It is long overdue.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can we also have "real Councillors" as well. You know, the ones that are truly interested in looking after the ratepayers and ones that don't have to continually leave council meetings because they have an "interest" in a development application. In the last Council Meeting, 2 councillors had to leave while their "interests" were dealt with. Councillors who don't endorse Developements by writing glowing testimonials for glossy sales suppliments in the weekend newspaper.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Cairns Blog, it's contributors, and readers and I for one am delighted to have Cairns Blog as an alternative to post my views on issues.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jude J Troublemaker.
Will Paul Matthews give up his Veterinary practice? I see he has opened a second practice t Redlynch.
Will Mark Buttrose give up being "manager of a major architectural practice" ... sounds like Cr Terry James but in a different company.
Will Richie Bates give up his job with Queensland Rail?
And what will Kirsten Lesina do when she has qualified as a lawyer?

It's all very well baggin' the present Councillors but the Schier alternatives have got some serious thinkin' to do if they want to be "full time" Councillors.

Anonymous said...

If someone decides to run for Council, then one assumes that they have thought long and hard about what they will be doing about their current "day jobs". My wish list is for councillors to not have their fingers in so many "Development Pies". Too many councillor's leave meetings because there may be a "conflict of interest" with the Development Approval before council. In the last meeting Councillor Ford left because of MCU Multi Unit Apartments and Councillor James MCU Multi Unit Apartments and Business Facilities. I have lost count as to how many times Councillor Freebody leaves the Meeting Room.
If Paul Mathews or any of the other candidates named in "Factmans" comment left because they had an interest in a development that required a MCU, I would have the same view.

Anonymous said...

In answer to your question factman, if I am elected to represent the residents of Division 4, I will take my responsibilities seriously by being a full-time Councillor. This means that I have no intention of practicing law whilst I am a Councillor.

Anonymous said...

Most of the comments from bloggers
appear to suggest that Val will have a good chance of beating K.Byrne in the forthcoming Council
election.I do not agree with this view,whilst I would be pleased to see Byrne outed,I do not think Val
can do it,for a number of reasons.
My view is supported by the bookmakers odds on the result of the election.
Unfortunately no one of substance
has put their hand up to take on this important job.Berwick is the only person who would stand a good chance of getting rid of Byrne,and he has stated he is not going to stand.If only he could be coerced
to change his mind I feel he could send Byrne packing to China.

Anonymous said...

Hey Kirsten, you have to actually HAVE a job before giving it up. Can we count on you being paid "junior rates" if your electorate is stupid enough to elect an inexperienced child to represent them?

Anonymous said...

Don't worry Anonymous ... if Val gets in then I believe Mike Berwick will be right there in the background advising against this development and advising against that new project.
In fact I believe Berwick's influence will cause a recession in Cairns as the driving economic factors sell up and leave town.
This will create more unemployment and a downward spiral will have been established.
We have to keep the wheels turning and keep the momentum going, otherwise it's back to depressed Cairns in the late 90's under Pyne and co.

Anonymous said...

Hey Factman, What are the "driving economic factors". Appropriate development will continue under a new Mayor and Councillors, however, it would be good to have a Council who sticks to the Cairns Plan. No more Material Change of use to suit developers, no more delegated authority so councillor's can negotiate deals that benefit the developer and disadvantage the residents. Thousands of units being built for whom? What employment is there for these new residents? How many shops importing goods from Bali can Cairns support?. Residents are told by Council to check the Cairns Plan before purchasing a property so they aren't surprised when a development notice appears. Then the council allow a MCU with the only notification to residents (if they are lucky) a notice giving them 14 days to make a submission. Before making a submission they have to obtain from Council the details of the development, put on CD at a cost of $10. Then, Factman, when we exercise our democratic right to make a submission, or speak out about the inappropriateness of a development, raising concerns, we are treated with contempt, called troublemakers and in my case, have our local Councillor go on radio and refer to me as being tiresome. I believe the councillors we have at present would benefit from re-reading the local Government Act which lays down the obligations of a Councillor.

Anonymous said...

To factman
The fear type tactics have all been used up.Cairns is already on a downward spiral because of what it has become by way of this council.Blaming airlines etc. is a cowardly way of running a city.
Tourists can go anywhere and be in a better concrete jungle than cairns and cheaper,and this is what a lot of them tell me.
You live in a vacuum factman if you want us to believe that berwick will be cause of a recession next year, most of us realise that the past fed gov and future world economics would be the main cause.
Whoever becomes mayor of cairns will have their work cut out to bring cairns back into a decent place, for local community and tourists.
The local business's who support this current council regime may as well leave this area at the same time as byrne and factman after the election, as there will be no room for this type of hype in our community. After all most of them are the Joh national party dregs.
Val Schier, with the help of this community and anybody else inc Mike Berwick can bring cairns back to the great area that tourists local & o'seas want to experience.
Not the destruction that is rife now.
The Douglas council is financily well, more than you can say for cairns, so who would be the one to influence a recession?

Anonymous said...

Captain Cairns writes very well.

He/she could play a useful role working on Val Shier's election campaign.

Perhaps he/she already does?

Anonymous said...

Factman paints a very alarming picture. I had no idea until I read his post that Mike Berwick deliberately engineers economic recessions and social catastrophe.

That's where knowing the 'facts' come in handy, I guess.

This is what Mr Factman wrote:

...if Val gets in then I believe Mike Berwick will be right there in the background advising against this development and advising against that new project.

In fact I believe Berwick's influence will cause a recession in Cairns as the driving economic factors sell up and leave town.

This will create more unemployment and a downward spiral will have been established.


But what if Kevin Byrne does lose the election? Is there any escape from the vortex of doom?

Perhaps, Factman, FNQ needs a second line of defence against this seditious force in our midst?

What about immediate Control Orders on Berwick and all his supporters, requiring them to report to the Cairns Chamber of Commerce twice daily?

Anonymous said...

Hahaha ... "Berwick and co report to the Chamber of Commerce twice daily".
Good one Sid.
Now let's be serious here.
Cairns is facing extreme pressure from the unprecedented population migration from down south.
Tom Hedley and Udo Jattke are doing their best trying to meet the demand for housing.
Our Council are that this population growth is properly catered for.
Don't forget, the Cairns Plan (our blueprint) was sent to Brisbane twice for approval during its formation.
The challenge of taking on the basket-case Douglas Shire requires firm and dedicated leadership that only Kevin Byrne and his Unity team can provide.
They would not allow this Council to get into the ridiculous situation that the Daintree ferry cost, and they don't build toilets on EPA sensitive ground.
Cairns is growing on itself at the moment. There is a careful economic balance required to ensure all the new businesses are sustainable.
Our children can get employment in Cairns. They no longer need to relocate to Brisbane to find work.
All this can be undone very quickly by some dumb policy decisions that will ruin the economic viability of Cairns.
When you choose to vote next year. be very careful ...

Anonymous said...

Yes, choose very carefully. Do we want sustainable, careful growth or GROWTH FOR GROWTH'S SAKE?

Anonymous said...

Factman, Udo Jattke is doing his best to destroy Clifton Beach with his ugly apartments on both sides of Clifton Road. They are not to accomodate locals, they are built for him to market down south and to the Miners in the West. There is no altruism there or with Mr Hedley, who found he could buy up all the Caravan Parks to build his monoliths on. I have spoken to many people from south of Cairns who have bought in the expectation of large returns from rentals for the tourist industry and also from the local rental market. However, the rent on these properties are $350 plus per week and therefore the "real" rental shortage, ie cheap accomodatin is not being met. The Hedley Apartments in Clifton Beach are still being advertised for rent, so if there is such a shortage here why haven't they been snapped up.

Anonymous said...

G'day all. Thanks for the replies on my post, and thanks to Mike Moore for making my comments a headline article. Been on holidays, hence the delay in responding here. To Sid Walker, no I am not at all in any way part of Val Schiers campaign team. I am merely a very concerned fair-dinkum long term local who is sick to death of the way Byrne and co. have treated the population. It is no doubt 'my election campaign funding developers can do whatever they like' in the Byrne camp, and they try their best to put down and ridicule anyone who dares publicly speak against them. All Australia has been booming since they have been in power, but imagin what the city would look like had someone more sutainably minded in charge over the last 8 years. Tropical architecture that we can be proud of. There was even that leading archiects conference at the convention centre a couple of years ago who said, 'Look across the road, those are perfect examples of what NOT to build in Cairns', referring of course to the brick box Hedley built, maximise profits and stuff the rest, apartments. Factman is living in his small Unity box la-la land. World attitudes have changed factman, Howard is gone, BUsh wil be gone soon, the world has become more socially and environmentally concious, and those are issues that Byrne and co. has not only ignored, but ridiculed. And thanks Sid, if I was available to this time around, I would have run as a counciller myself. Many of my friends have urged me to do so, unfortunately my circumstances at present it is not possible, but maybe 2012, depending on who wins this time.
Happy new year to all.