Monday 20 October 2008

Bligh in Mossman

From the fire to the frying pan, Premier Bligh will attend a public meeting at Mossman while the State Parliament sits in Cairns this Sunday.

Anna Bligh will be convening the meeting on Sunday 26th October at the Mossman Shire Hall, in Mill Street at 1pm. A full notice will appear in this week's Gazette.

The State government will get the weight of public anger when they hold their Parliamentary sitting in Cairns.

In what many will call another crazy idea, Bligh will bring her full government team to Cairns, just days after they've cleared the last remaining historic building from the waterfront against huge public opposition, on top of the anger from Douglas Shire residents and the large lobby group Residents Against Crime. That's a lot of messages for these blind and deaf politicians to digest.

A large protest is planned for next Tuesday 28th October, at the Cairns Convention Centre. 12:45 – assembling on Grafton Street side of the Convention Centre.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

It will be terrific if the people of Cairns - those who feel as appalled as the residents of the former Douglas Shire by the Bligh Government's arrogant disdain for the basic tenets of democracy- could join with us next Sunday 26 Oct at the Mossman Shire Hall (1pm) to object to the way we are being treated on a range of issues from the destruction of historic buildings to the disastrous amalgamation decision which is tearing the heart out of our community.

WE INVITE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO COME & JOIN WITH US & BE HEARD.

It's a long drive but a beautiful one and maybe the ONLY CHANCE in the forseeable future for such an opportunity.

We have no idea as yet as to why this meeting has been called but given the Premier has stated that "It is my job & the responsibility of Government to listen to the will of the people" (Sunday Mail Page 5 19/10/08) it will be intriguing to say the least to discover whether she appreciates the important difference between "listening" and "hearing".

Anonymous said...

Like a ship of fools under full sail, Captain Anna Bligh and her Bounty has set sail for Douglas, Queensland’s elusive Tahiti.

So come Sunday, will Mossman’s town hall become the new Murder’s Cove where eventually we will stone to death Bligh’s local crew member O’Brien, come the next year’s State election?

Will the handsome (Fletcher Christian) Douglas be the only community gutsy enough to force Bligh into the lifeboat and onto the backbench?

Anna, your electoral chances are teetering as it is, so given hind sight, would you still forcibly amalgamate Douglas, if it was the one seat you needed to avoid oblivion?

Whilst Beattie was the master of the apologetic back flip, is Bligh to be remembered as the unbending Premier who incited the mutiny?

Will we get more of the absurd Monty Python-esque pretence that amalgamation is all fine, from Black Knights Pitt and O’Brien, squirting blood from their arm sockets, defending amalgamation’s complete and utter failure muttering words like, ‘it’s just a flesh wound’.

Threatening to force your crew into drinking toxic fluorosilicic acid, and you wonder why you can hear swords being sharpened below decks?

We the mutineers of Douglas welcome you to our warn tropical waters, and it will be here, Premier Bligh, that your fate could well be determined.

We trust you are a good swimmer.

Anonymous said...

Yay the comments above. Let's hope the minions from the Tablelands Shire (bigger than Tasmania) also join in the fray. It's JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH THEY DON'T LISTEN. It will be interesting to see what Boyle, Wettenall, O'Brien & Pitt come up with. Not Good Enough Pollie Folks.

I've been almost a lifetime Labor voter (only other alternative was Greens) all my life, & now I'm facing a life only looking at independents. I'm very over the party-politicking, very over it... both sides.

I'm also informed by the "ComPost" that three container-loads of government-related objects have been shipped up to Cairns for this State Government love-fest, to decorate their goverment space. Whilst I do love historical stuff, see next paragraph below. All the Parliamentarians, plus 100 staff are coming - a fair hotel bill, I should think.

And yet, I recall personally asking Steve Wettenhall not three months ago, whether we could buy the 'Imagine' land at Yorkeys Knob for a public park (price about $18 million on the open market) & he said "the State Government is totally skint", nothing to spend, sorry".

So, good that they've got all this money to send up a couple of hundred people, containers' worth of government artifacts, airline flights, & so on & so on. Personally, I would have preferred a few million dollars in Imagine Land.

Maybe they think they're going to have a couple of jolly days in Cairns Reef & Rainforest experience etc. Think again, Ms. Bligh. There are very unhappy campers up here, & many more in the State of Qld.

We are sick of being downgraded as second-class Queensland citizens. Sick of health issues [literally, & metaphorically]. Sick of not being listened to by our locally elected representatives. Yet - I remember the rule by the former Liberal/National government in Qld & they weren't anything to write home about. But I think there is a point where governments just get too comfy with their role/profile, & forget to really listen.

Anyway - I think Ms. Bligh & Co. might have a bit to listen to in the coming days.

Pity they didn't think a few of us want to go to Yungaburra this weekend. But then again, we can be back for Monday/Tuesday protests. And congrats to those who forego Yungaburra to stay and protest.

And I thought I moved to Cairns years ago for a quieter lifetyle - I realise, well, it is quieter & the people are less stressful, but I didn't realise I'd get so connected to the communities.

Democracy is indeed a concept to protect.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect Gail, if amalgamation is tearing the heart out of the Mossman and Port Douglas communities there will be nobody there on Sunday. I expect we will see a very healthy and strong community.

Rod - you can't act like a right royal dick for four years and not expect any consequences.

Anonymous said...

Jason O'Brien sez: "Rod - you can't act like a right royal dick for four years and not expect any consequences."

Hey Jason - NEITHER CAN YOU!

You're about the most useless member of a government that is the most useless in Australia.

Your consequences are coming from the electorate soon, Jason. Start thinking about getting a real job for the first time in your life.

Gail Shaw said...

You can always bet that when someone says "with all due respect" they are not going to extend it. It's phony politesse - about as genuine as a decoy duck.

But Jason, the people of the Douglas Shire, as you’re no doubt aware, gave up being respectful towards you after your speech to the Douglas Shire anti-amalgamation rally. You had the opportunity then to be conciliatory and to put forward your viewpoint in a rational and anti-inflammatory way. Instead you chose to pour fuel on the flames in much the same way as Minister Pitt did when he called the Douglas Shire residents "delusional".

And I'm sorry to tell you that while you might secretly hope that nobody will be there on Sunday, the word up here is that there will be a huge turnout to meet the Premier. If only for one of those free 500 steaks that have been ordered for the barbie!

Sunday will give us the chance to put our viewpoint to the Premier face to face. In a calm, and respectful manner. It’s called quiet diplomacy and it’s a technique that has stood the test of time when it comes to conflict resolution. “With all due respect” Jason, maybe that’s where you continue to miss the point.


Gail Shaw

Anonymous said...

From Cairns Blog ex Jason... “Rod - you can't act like a right royal dick for four years and not expect any consequences.”

To Dear Jason,

Ya right Jase...winning the planning award on Daintree and Climate Change was waste.

Reforming the rates to a well loved Robin Hood mode was a waste.

Keeping the State from wrecking the waterfront was pointless, right?

Running AAA budgets was useless.

Working to values that your god forsaken party once aspired to is something some of us practiced and you prostituted.... you may have trained as boat sparkie but you show preference for white shoes, and the rampant money money development greed that got us in the shit society faces now? For a party whos main funding is, or was, from developers, its no wonder teh ALP is as it is...a prostituted mess, addicted to gambling income.



The bottom line is your mob lied to us about amalgamation, as Howard did with Unions, through Spearriit and Fraser, you purposefully undid what Kellar and Boyle had done in settling the Melchert fiasco, but of course creating mayhem, where it was then my hapless work pulling together the warring parties over 22 points: the bandage for your evil mate Fraser’s sly wounds.

I really like you as a guy, but as a pollie you are a sell out, a weak party obedient, and with the Islands shitty, all your new Mareeba voters One Nation, and Douglas wanting you drawn and quartered, I reckon you should be more apologetic and kindly, as basically, your career in State Politics looks very much in doubt...and if anyone deserves to be dumped by the people who you dumped on...its the guys who serves the party ahead of the people.

See you Sunday.

Thanks for the invite, albeit your mob ain’t listening, and so and ALP neo PR scam won’t do anymore that embarrass ya boss and ya’self infront of the press..

It was very kind of you to a have Parliament session in Cairns, which will be a PR disaster for a party headed the way of the NSW bi-elections last week, the ACT ALP demise last week, the loss of WA last month, the collapse in the ALP vote in Darwin the month before that....the writing on the wall sure does not say anything more straight forward than bye bye sell-out Qld ALP.

Apart from that, have a fun day and all the best,

Rod

Anonymous said...

Yeah the problem with laborites is that they always tow the political line, and in the case of Jason, instead of listening to his constituents and sticking up for them at the crucial times before the amalgamation came into effect, he chose to sit with his party.

You reap what you sew Jason!

A good politician is someone who truly represents the people who voted them in. Its a shame more pollies don't remember that.

Val, also needs to learn that lesson and quickly. Many many people are disillusioned so far in her performance, especially, over her obvious lack of will shown saving the Yacht Club. Again, Labor party politics intervened and she towed the pary line.

Anonymous said...

Hi Gail
Yes, I should have spoken better at the rally but if I was so offensive why did you allow me into your house, give me cups of tea and show me where your art studio is going?

I don't want or expect a small crowd today at ther rally but the point is that the community up there is strong and I expect nothing will change that not even us dreaded and evil Cairns people administering your garbage disposal.

Anonymous said...

We live in an area blessed by two globally-significant endangered ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef, in particular, is a planetary treasure.

I haven't followed national and State 'reef politics' in any detail, but I did notice Anna Bligh, last Friday, express determination to use 'sticks' - as well as 'carrots' - to bring runoff onto the reef under control.

Unless we do that, much of the inner reef is clearly doomed - climate change or no climate change. As always, the mainstream (chemical) farming lobby began bleating and crying foul without taking a breathe.

It's the first time I've ever seen a Queensland Premier acknowledge that the days of 'voluntary agreements' only to protect the reef are over. A 'voluntary approach' has been tried, tried and tried again - but the mainstream agricultural industry is clearly not capable of effective self-regulation.

Kudos to Anna Bligh!

Those who rip into her over local-level FNQ issues might remember she has only been Premier for a relatively short period and inherited her team. On local issues, she's highly reliant on advice from local members.

I think her Premiership needs to be given a fair chance. If we really care about progressive policies on big issues, we should at least give credit when credit is due.

No-one accuses me of being a Labor apologist. But the rather personal nature of some of the attacks posted here suggest from time to time suggest to me that partisan interests underlie them. Either that - or they betray naivete about how decisions are made in a large politicial entity such as the Queensland Government.

Those who oppose progressive policies are rarely shy about epressing their point of view. Those of us who support them need to speak out a little more often in support of politciians when they move in our direction.

The overarching challenge for this generation in our region, IMHO, is to develop a high quality of life for all while conserving the environmental values that make our regional habitat so special.

We need to keep our eyes on the prize.

Gail Shaw said...

Dear Jason
It's never, never been been personal. We like you. We handed out leaflets for you. We staffed your sausage sizzles when others were less than enthusiastic. We invited you to our home to try and keep the dialogue between us going - to somehow get across to you how important it was to preserve the ideals and vision of the Douglas Shire in the overall scheme of things. We don't see you as the "dreaded and evil Cairns people administering our garbage disposal". That's a mischievous and erroneous claim on your part. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like the people of Cairns we expect the democratic process to be able to deliver us representatives who truly respond and support the people who vote for them. We are just a community intent upon trying to salvage the best we can of a calamitous decision by the former premier and his ambitious minister Andrew Fraser to amalgamate Douglas with Cairns. We are full of admiration for the diplomatic and sincere way the Premier dealt with the various and diverse points of view presented to her at today's meeting. We hope you learned something from her handling of the vocal and passionate gathering she encountered. It's called graciousness under pressure and she was terrific. Stay tuned for more admonishments.