Monday 17 March 2008

Gutted Byrne concedes no plans for future

Peter Michael writes in the Courier Mail that Cairns voters were put off by a "pro-development stance and backed a rank outsider to a stunning upset amid claims of lesbianism, secret slush funds and high-rise hotels on the Daintree. "

He reports that Byrne, "once touted as a possible Liberal contender for the Federal seat of Leichhardt, the outspoken former army officer paid the price for a radical mood for change in the north."

"I am totally gutted, nobody I know saw this coming. I have no plans for the future," Byrne told the Courier Mail.

Mention was made about Byrne's threatened legal action at CairnsBlog over "wild allegations his wife was a lesbian and he was a stooge of developers". I discussed this when this silly comment about the mayor's wife was also highlighted in the Weekend Australian. As most pundits will know, this subject was not even mentioned throughout the local campaign. Some Murdoch journos seem so lazy, they simply reprint from their sister newspaper.

The Mail also suggested that as the Advance Cairns CEO's role is vacant (the former mayor's brainchild) "[Byrne] is not likely to be out of a job for long."

This is a stunning revelation to claim. Val Schier stated clearly at the Cairns International Mayoral debate just three weeks ago, that this is one organisation that needs reviewing in terms of funding and purpose. Furthermore, to think that there was even a remote possibility that Byrne would even apply as the new CEO of this questionable quango, is preposterous, to say the least.

I doubt anyone in Cairns and Douglas could imagine Byrne running Advance Cairns, jaunting off to China every year, whilst Val stayed at home doing the knitting. It's just not going to happen.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

way to go cairnsblog, using homophobia to help get Val elected!

Anonymous said...

I am very interested that the Mayor did not see this coming.

Those whingers, ratbags and troublemakers out on the Northern Beaches could certainly have enlighteded him or Councillor Bonneau or even John McKenzie if anyone of them had asked, attended any community meetings when invited or asked to give a radio interview. The electorates where Val secured the most mosts were those ones that have been overdeveloped. It seemed everyone out here knew,its been on the blog for months and months that there are serious problems in these areas and residents were not happy.

KB did not see it, cos KB did not want to see it. He thought his developer friends and 1,000s of their employees, the big end of towners along with the support of that biased rag called the Cairns Post, would see him right.

Well The Ratbags have had the final say, "Ratbags Rule"

You are a very silly man Kev - a little personal communication with residents on the northern beaches may have produced very different results, but YOU chose to denigrate us, fob us off and ignore our issues for too long.

Anonymous said...

The swing in the Northern Beaches against Kevin, could have something to do with the fact we have all been called Troublemakers, whingers etc etc instead of actually listening to what the Residents Concerns were. I believe that our previous Councillor also has a lot to answer for. 300 plus residents who signed a petition re the unlawful ripping up of Upulu Esplanade, the rock wall without any Public Consultation, dispensation on Units so they are too close to waterways and over height limits, losing golf courses to housing, inappropriate development which impacts on residents amenity. There's a few reasonss to start with.

Anonymous said...

News Limited stories I have noticed first appear in the Australian then a day or two later in the Courier Mail, they then couple of days later trickle north to our own Murdoch yellow press

Anonymous said...

Perhaps when Kevin gets over feeling so gutted, he may wish to turn his smoldering anger towards those who have been responsible for his downfall, and yet have survived to be Councillors.

Particularly, a Northern Beaches Councillor.

One angry Ex- Army Man and Ex -Mayor might now be looking for revenge....watch this space......

Anonymous said...

way to go CairnsBlog for using homophobia to help get Schier elected!

Anonymous said...

Yep, there isn't any doubt Sno didn't report back truthfully to the boss. Yet, would his boss have listened? And wasn't his boss the type to shoot the messenger anyway?

Anonymous said...

O hahahaha, Byrne just referred to "cairnsblog" as a "filthy, dirty site" and "somebody ought to do something about the owner of that site" on the John McKenzie program this morning at 10.00am!
Oh dear, and he said "Goodbye" in a teary voice.

Anonymous said...

Just heard KB crying saying his goodbyes on the Macka show.
He blamed everything including the weather, but not himself,for his demise in Division 8,9 and 10.

Still arrogant till the last....

Have a good life in China Kev!

Anonymous said...

Here's a heads up for John McKenzie who just suggested that Sno Bonneau might be a good experienced Deputy Mayor.

Sno Bonneau would be the last person alive that Val Schier would ever have as Deputy Mayor. She would choose anyone but......

Anonymous said...

Was it just coincidence that the Advance Cairns top job was advertised this weekend, THREE MONTHS after the previous head honcho was "terminated"?

Anonymous said...

Well gee Johnny Ferrari it IS his Blog. Why don't you go and play somewhere else?

Besides I wonder how many people have been driven to tears because of Byrne's arrogant attacks on members of our community?

Anonymous said...

Kevin Byrne has given more than 10 years of his life to serve the people of Cairns and he did a bloody good job.

The City has never look so good.

Byrne's team turned around a massive debt left by Tom Pyne, and even up too the last weeks Kevin was still battling with decisions made by that council.

It is lost that was always going to happen, no one can stay in the job for ever. Why don't you all stop the Byrne bashing a focus on the new job at hand.

Val has some big shoes to fill and for the sake of the new Cairns Regional Council, and for Cairns I hope Val is as successful as Kevin Byrne.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Val has some big shoes to fill. But not as big as the pants.

Anonymous said...

Wow that last post must of made you feel really good about your self.

I for one don't find the epidemic of obesity that seams to have hit Australia that funny.

Anonymous said...

to F*khead, you admit your are a f*khead, lol!
Also 2 wrongs don't make a right

Anonymous said...

Kevin, you need to take a well earned break and work on your resume for the Corporate World. Maybe you and your wife and daughter can scam ANOTHER holiday to Bali with Bob Simkin. This time make sure you keep all the receipts in case the CMC need to see them. Bob Simkin has all of them from the last trip if you need them.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc1sgCT7X2c&feature=related

Anonymous said...

these anons that keep attacking KB and his family are the lowest of the low. The dude is out of the game leave him alone, or give him the head-job you wish to (in a freudian way)
Val Schier is now The Man, and is now fair game for this anarchist!

Mervyn Glymph said...

Kevin gutted? .. Well that's a shitload of guts Fellow Citizens .. Oh, one more thing .. If Kev has petty cash left over from the campaign slush fund,
the very least he could do for the obsequious John
Mackenzies' years of servitude would be to shout the prick a new toupe .. ay? .. I reckon Johns' been wearing that same tired old hunk of badly fitting flokati for about 10 years now.

Anonymous said...

Val and her Team will be selecting a Deputy Mayor shortly.I do hope they select Margaret Cochrane.This lady was always willing to stand up to Byrne,Margaret appears to be one of the hardest working candidates on the Council.Gregory would be a fizzer,he was always a de-facto member of the Unity Team.

Anonymous said...

Kevin, I have no doubt you’re shattered by your loss but your comment “that you didn’t see it coming” rather proves the point so many have tried to make over the years, namely that you lost touch with the community and ceased to listen.

You blame your demise on residents of the Northern Beaches and Port Douglas but neglect to mention that many of the issues and concerns raised were legitimate. The planning scheme has been manipulated or disregarded at will as have development approval conditions. Waterways, riparian vegetation and wildlife corridors have been destroyed or interfered with; protected vegetation removed and despite the concerns of residents has continued unabated. The truth is, developers have done what they like and have continued to do so, because they can. The flooding and drainage problems associated with new developments and the current issues with Clifton Views and Clifton Cottages are prime examples, the latter two, long standing matters. There has been little or no community consultation on important issues that affect the lives of residents and ratepayers and there comes a point when people have had enough. Instead of trying to discover what the issues or concerns were or how they might be addressed you simply attacked the messengers. They were ratbags or whingers or a minority with an “anti-development” mentality trying to protect their own little patch. If that didn’t do the trick they were obviously “Labor party” people or the “well to do” selfishly denying the less fortunate a place to live. Nothing was further from the truth and you knew it.

People matter and local issues matter and that’s what you never understood and I’m not sure you understand now because you blame the weather, “false perceptions” of yourself and Division 10 residents instead of reflecting on where you might have gone wrong or what you could have done differently to rectify the situation. Consider for a moment a community not only let down but deserted by its representative thereby avoiding any accountability. That’s what I call unfair.

Anonymous said...

To the last anon, you summed it up perfectly. If KB were to come out now and publicly admit that he failed residents in all the issues you raised, he would at least go out with some respect.

But no.

He is still the same old ignorant fool living in his own ignorant world, oblivious to the real concerns of residents. I'm afraid KB, your exit has been less than graceful, and until you admit that your election loss was essentially your fault, you will forever be remembered in Cairns as an arrogant, ignorant fool who had no respect for residents.

Anonymous said...

Hear Hear last Anonymous. You speak for us all.

Anonymous said...

Those votes from Divisions 8, 9 and 10 say it all. I agree with comments above, Margaret Cochrane would make an excellent Deputy Mayor.

Anonymous said...

Gee Johnny Ferrari, you are such an intellectual genius. I give up. There is no way I could compete with such a witty mental giant such as yourself. My humble apologies for submitting a comment against your learned opinion.

Anonymous said...

sorry F*kwit, I reckon ur kewl, I love your moniker, kudos 2U!

Anonymous said...

Was anyone out there at the Unity party on the night? Would love to know how it was? What the mood was like? How was KB?

Anonymous said...

The Cairns Post today has the executive staff of Cairns Regional Council bleating about being in fear of the future of their jobs as a consequence of the election results on the weekend.

How the worm turns. Try finding any sympathy from the staff of the former Douglas Shire who were treated with total disrespect and disdain by these very same executive staff during the whole process of planning the transition of the two Council's into one and appointing staff to various positions in the new structure to apply from March 17.

Now you are getting some of your own medicine fellas and oh how sweet it is going to be to watch.

Anonymous said...

i was at Unity's do on Satdee night, It was cool, everyone was really, really friendly and very respectful actually, very classy people. Mood was down of course, though I did sense a bit of tiredness of politicking. Everyone I met were just as cool and outrageous as those at Val's do. KB was very gracious in defeat and very thankful of those who had stood besides him. Unity members hanging on the smoking deck were most naughty :)

Anonymous said...

i was at the Unity do, it was great, KB laid out heaps of coke and meth and everyone got really out of it, orgy afterwards was sick and wicked. Schier's do was lame compared.

Anonymous said...

Talking to a number of people who voted for Kev this week & many of them never knew about trips to China and large donations by developers.
Kev was hoping the majority of voters were the sort of people who pick up a paper, read the front, the comics then the back page.
Unfortunately for Kev, new media, such as this weblog has opened peoples eyes to what is really going on in our neighbourhood.
Well done Mr. Moore.
So glad Kev is gone.

Anonymous said...

Deirdre Ford must think the public are stupid,her public statement that she had always focused on back to basics projects in her time as Councillor,stating I can hold my head up high.What a joke.This lady originally started as an independant,when she was elected,possibly due to a pre arranged deal with Byrne,she changed over to the Unity Team.
Anything she has done whilst in office,could be written on the back of a postage stamp.Then during the last election she was accused of tampering with an opponents election board.I say good riddance to her.

Anonymous said...

Deirdre you are a sad joke! Your bleatings following your demise was typical.....devoid of contrition.

I have spoken to a cross section of your fellow Councillors and even they are happy to see the back of you.

They said that you were, amongst other unprintables, an impostor...claiming to be President of an organisation that you were clearly not, and only concede otherwise when challenged.

Your continual abuse of your trusted position for personal gain was brazen.

The duplicity you showed when dealing with innocent people became stale as you did it so often.

Thankfully the people have finally seen through you. You are so discredited that you have no chance in nominating for the Liberal Senate team as is your ambition.

Imagine how much money you will now save by staying out of those hair dressing salon.

On behalf of your Division 7 residents I say bye bye!

Anonymous said...

Alright, let's stop the personal attacks and catpiss.

Anonymous said...

What and have no fun over these people who have called "themselving hardworking Councillors on behalf of their constituents" for at least the last 4 years. Those same people who have ignored, fobbed off, lied to their contsituent's faces whilst doing done deals with developers, were stooges for BIg Kevs prodevelopment machine that saw the likes of the False Cape disaster get the go ahead. Many ordinary residents have shed buckets of tears over inappropriate development at their backdoors, have lost countless nights sleep with worry, anxiety and frustration at not been able to have a voice and have their story told.

As for stopping having fun at these failed Councillors expense, I rather think not!!! A great pity the likes Peabody and Bonneau didn't join their colleagues in the departure lounge last Saturday, but their time is coming soon!

Anonymous said...

KB has no plans for the future - and the future has no plans for him.

Anonymous said...

Ex Cr Deirdre Ford even in defeat gives the truth the wide berth. She was reported in Cairns Sun as bleating '' I can hold my head high. I won Edge Hill and Whitfield booths and was the popular choice, but preferences overtook me.''

Well wrong again Deirdre. Why don't you tell the truth occasionally. Figures from the Electoral Commission indicate the following:

Edge Hill Forsyth 39.41
Ford 35.47

Whithfield Forsyth 39.39
Ford 36.32

In fact Ford lost all other booths as well except for Declarations and Pre polls votes. Furthermore the preferences from the Independent candidate Lyon are favoring Forsyth as well.

Deirdre Ford has lost convincingly, yet she still wants to give the impression that she has some how won..can you believe it!

Who has won of course are the residents of Division 7.

Three cheers for Cr Diane Forsyth!!

Anonymous said...

KB has no plans for the future - and the future has no plans for him. Good post. Sounds like KB's doing fine then, like he's reached a well-earned point of zen-ness or a kind of tropical Nirvana, beholden to no man or even time itself. Go the KB! All said & done U R a dead-set-legend in my book.