Tuesday 19 February 2008

Vote Unity!

Just stumbled across We The People of Cairns website, representing a group of concerned residents.

It's nice to know that CairnsBlog isn't alone in cyberland questioning those power heads in Spence Street!

Set up by Trinity Park resident, John O'Grady, he says they're a "non-political group of concerned citizens that want to see fairness by Council."

We The People was born out of frustration from Council's "unwillingness to be accountable to ordinary people," and they decided it was time to turn things around.

O'Grady, who shares his time between Cairns and Noosa, wanted to give "the little person a voice so their natural rights are not trampled on by the bureaucrats. It's an unfortunate fact that all levels of government can loose touch with the people they are there to represent and along the way they can become misguided, unhelpful, self absorbed in their own positions and generally forget why they are there and that they must abide by the 'Code of Conduct' they have sworn to uphold," they say.

"We are here to remind Council why they are here, rate their performance and publish the results for all to see," John O'Grady says. "We are here to remind Council why they are here, rate their performance and publish the results for all to see."

"Kevin Byrne seems to be the only one going on about Iconic Legislation for some of Queensland's most special places," says O'Grady.

"His [Mayor] claim that we simply do not need this is met with great scepticism."

O'Grady says that another layer of protection is certainly needed to take full control in such unique areas out of the hands Council.

"At present the big end of town - Council and developers - not the community, get the majority of say in the future shaping of large scale development. However, when it comes to special places such as Port Douglas and Noosa, with cultural and natural iconic distinction, it is just not good enough to risk the overturning of town planning and possibly end up with another Gold Coast in our backyard," says John O'Grady.

Out of town developers coming to Noosa in past instances have been known to throw millions of dollars into town planning challenges to try and have their way and make big bucks in areas they know they will maximise their profits at, O'Grady says.

Mayor of Noosa, Bob Abbot is not seen dining in restaurants and hotels with developers, he is truly there for the people of his community and the benefit of the local environment.

"Kevin Byrne could only dream of the amount of support that Bob Abbot enjoys from his residents and ratepayers, which is around 92% on the issue of such iconic legislation," says John O'Grady.

Here's one of the latests posts on his website...
  • Think long and hard about the kind of Cairns you want for the future. It will soon be time to cast a vote for representation of Local Authority in the forthcoming Council elections.
  • Do you want a Council that is not doing enough to protect our environment?
  • Do you want a Council that allows development at the expense and loss of lifestyle of ordinary people?
  • Do you want a Council that would like total control of big development decisions and give little opportunity for ordinary people to have a say?
  • Do you want a Council that is seen as arrogant and self absorbed in its own perceived existence?
  • Vote Unity!

John O'Grady leaves readers with a final question: How does a Local Authority create opposition and discontent? Two words: Disregard and Disrespect.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was going to write a "To the Editor" response to Kevin Byrne's appalling letter in the Cairns Post on Tuesday, 19th re: Icon legislation. But why bother! How can Kevin Byrne claim to know how anyone in Division 10, or anywhere else for that matter, feels about Iconic legislation, amalgamation or town planning when, by his own admission, he does not listen to "minority interest groups"?

As it would appear that the only "groups" he, and his Unity Team, listens to are the big end of town developers, I can safely exclude environmental groups, tourism groups, agricultural groups and heritage groups. In the Douglas Shire all of these "minority interest groups" came together to support the intent of the Icon legislation. All of these groups came together to oppose forced amalgamation. Individually these sorts of groups may represent minority interest but Kevin Byrne needs to be aware that together they represent the vast majority of public opinion in the current Douglas Shire (and I'm sure the rest of the region as a whole)

Kevin Byrne's arrogant disregard for these groups that make up our total electorate will be the reason for his and the Unity Teams downfall on March 15th.

Anonymous said...

Hi Teresa ...
I have had a few occasions to visit the council officers at their Douglas Shire Office at Mossman in recent times and I cannot find one person, or Councillor for that matter, that supports Berwick's Iconic view.
This Iconic legislation is merely a sop from the Labor dogs in Brisbane to placate Noosa's greenie voters.
Douglas Shire's inclusion was an afterthought, tacked on because of intense lobbying from the local labor dog, Desley Boyle.
As Kevin Byrne so wisely points out, there is sufficient power under the LGA for the State to intervene on every matter that Council's decide on.
It's just another layer of useless State bureaucracy that will add delays and cost to the ratepayer.

Anonymous said...

I've been folowing the "WeThePeopleofCairns" website for a couple of months and I have to say, I know this will sound like snobbery but, the bloggers on that site come across as generally lacking in intelligence as opposed to this site where the majority at least, certainly not all, seem to have applied some intellect to their comments.

Anonymous said...

John O'Grady, bought the cheapest "block in the lot" on Riverside Parade.
It was inexpensive because there was lack of footpaths, kerbing and sealed road.
It also was adjacent to a corner of the estuary that naturally collects rubbish.

Ever since he bought and started building his home with its 3 car garage, he has complained and complained about the lack of such things.

He constantly demands Council, at your expense, (read ratepayer), put all other works aside and get on with carrying out these improvements next to his property.

He wants his property to have the same quality infrastructure surrounding it as do the homes in Blue-water Cairns nearby. And of course he didn't want to pay the million dollar land tag that these properties have.

So it's whinge whinge whinge until it's done, then he will probably sell it, (at a huge profit thanks to the ratepayers).

I wonder what the folks in Mirriwinni, Aloomba, Babinda, Machans etc etc that also lack footpaths and kerbs, would think.

John, you can fool the readers of your "wearethepeople" blog, but you can't fool Factman.

Anonymous said...

As anonymous said earlier...the majority at least, certainly not all...

Anonymous said...

Factman, can't you see that this is the reason why there is such disdain for you and the Unity Team.

The snide way you talk about John O'Grady is a perfect example of showing the 'disregard and disrespect' that the wethepeople site refers to.

A decent council would listen to John O'Gradys' concerns, then even if they couldn't adhere to his request they would at least explain to him in a respectful manner as to why not.

Unlike yourself, who's likes to paint him very negatively as you say, all he does is 'whinge whinge whinge until its done'.

This has been the attitude of Byrne and Unity for the past 8 years. You're so much up your own arses that you believe yourself better then the rest. Cairns has had enough of it. Can't wait for March 15.

Anonymous said...

hear hear, "captain cairns". Whatever happened to civility?
"factman" sounds more and more like an odious toad.

Anonymous said...

Captain sir ...

... so it's OK to start a blog site, find some local issues within 50 metres of your property and rubbish the efforts of the Council and it's workforce when you don't get your way.

Mr O'Grady has had numerous replies to his constant "squeaky wheel" letters.

He works on the basis that if he keeps on and on, he will get his way.
He even puts deadlines on his threats.

Factman is trying to bring some balance to this constant "over the top" criticism heaped on Council continually on his site.

He will not publish letters from Factman, instead preferring to ignore any criticism of himself.

An example ... he blames Council officers for allowing car hoons on the sand at Trinity Beach. The fact that these hoons enter the beach via private property is completely ignored by him.

Thank god Factman knows the FACTS.

Anonymous said...

Good boy factman!

Still "taking one for the team"

now, go fetch... roll over.... play dead...

Anonymous said...

factman, there are no such things as facts, facts are just opinions in a context and u r sooo proverbially contexted.

Anonymous said...

Hi factman,

2 questions:

1. do you refer to the intent of the icon legislation or;
2. the actually Bill before parliament?

I challenge you to name those to whom you refer!

You are supposed to be "factman"...prove it!

Anonymous said...

Oh Teresa ... you want me to spill the beans ...

you know that's not on.

I'm not devulging.

You must believe what I say ...

Factman says "the FACTS"

I know the "other side" to all these stories.

And I mean, stories.

So when Factman says it is, it is.

Anonymous said...

Its time to let this one go. A FACT is the small bubble of gas let off by a frog at the bottom of a pond when he farts. The bubble rises to the top of the pond leaving the frog able to stay at the bottom. Now THAT'S a fact.

Anonymous said...

I have followed with interest over the last few months, and have had comments directed to me from Factman, and put some challenges out to Factman.
Here are a few things that I have noticed about Factman. Maybe we should see Mike about starting up a Factman thread.

# We really dont know exactly who Factman is.
# He obviously is one of KB's little minions.
# He has his head so far up KB's butt that he hasnt seen the light of day for many many years.
# He has no respect for the state Labour government. I can go along with that, but, as someone talking on behalf of the local council, calling Anna Bligh and the rest "dogs", does not show any class in any way.
# He resents the fact that people out there may have an opinion that goes against that of KB.
# He shows so little respect for the locals that pay rates, and ultimately pay his and KB's wages.
# I could repeat that previous statement 100 times and still not get close to the disrespect the KB, Factman and the current council show for the people they are supposed to represent.

What Factman and KB need to understand is that they are the people elected to represent the people of Cairns. I admit that there are some things that people expect their council to be able to control and do, that are outside their jurisdiction. But, to call them dogs, scum, wellfare bludgers etc, is not the way to win friends and influence people.
Maybe, if Factman and KB, sat and listened to what people have to say, and worked with the people of Cairns, then, they would probably find that Bloggs like this one wouldnt exist. I know it is impossible to please everyone all the time, but it is possible to let people down with dignity. Which is one thing that KB, Factman and the Unity team have not done in the past 8 years.
One thing I have learnt over the last 40 years of my life Factman is "What you give, is what you get in return". You show disrespect, you get disrespected. KB will get what he deserves.

Anonymous said...

If Factman has had cause to visit the Douglas Shire Council office in recent times and if, as he claims, knows how all the councillors and staff feel on the issue of Iconic legislation, then one can only assume he must be an employee of the Cairns City Council. Perhaps Factman is the interim CEO of the Cairns Regional Council and Transition committee. That would make sense as he has had little regard for the staff of the DSC or their opinions according to some recent media reports. If Factman isn't the interim CEO but another member of staff from the Cairns City, in either case the matter should be reported to the CMC as staff involvement in the election activities of candidates is clearly inappropriate and may constitute misconduct.