Thursday 4 June 2009

12 months in a leaky boat

Mr 'Fast Lamborghini' of Cairns isn't a happy chappie.

He wrote to Council complaining about the "current goings-on of councillors" and how it "disgusts" him.

"Each is having their turn at leaking information to the press (and I use this term loosley [sic] in reference to CairnsBlog)," he writes.

I'm the first to agree that some Councillors are far from acting professionally, and in the best interests of the region and their ratepayers. Mr Lamborghini, no doubt a regular reader of this Blog, should take aim at the real problems with this Council, and the serious misguided and divisive actions of the CEO, and some senior Councillors and staff.

They are discrediting the Council in a way that has been some of the most damaging and far reaching consequences, far more than the odd 'leaked' email will ever do.

Like it or not, the so-called 'leaking' of information is part of a democracy. It doesn't show weakness, and rare is it done to "gain a direct or indirect financial advantage, or to harm the local government," as the Councillors' Code of Conduct states. It allows us, as everyday citizens, to see some truth behind the charade presented to us, often treated a blind sheep via the mass media.

With a deconstructed information age we're all enjoying, that our parents never imagined when they were our age, we now have tools at our disposal, to 'keep the bastards honest' more than ever before It irks many, but none more than those who like to hide, that are the most jilted by information getting into the press via unorthodox methods.

One Councillor, I'll call him Councillor Hypocritical, is extremely alarmed and angry that some information appearing on CairnsBlog, is being deliberately passed on by Councillors or Council staff.

"How does this happen? How is this information getting the that Blog and Michael Moore!," he exclaims.

Well, if you live in glasshouses, you really should throw stones. As a lapsed Catholic, I still recall this being drummed into me as a kid: "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone."

When some Councillors fire shots about information being "leaked", then they should also question their own actions, when they deliberately forward information that residents have sent to them and within seconds, on forward it to the developer in question to give advantage. This is a serious breach, and one I've written about extensively in the past.

I get sent a great deal of information. Some appears via email, some by phone, often anonymously, and therefore needs extensive checking before I merit it's use. Some arrives in person, and usually at Alan Blake's favourite Edgehill cafe. It's where a lot of dirt is passed around in this town. Who would have thought?

It's rare for any Councillor to send me information. With 1,000 Council staff, and much disquiet in the ranks, email information does the rounds rapidly, and some smarty pants, don't rely on the email system for communication. I'm hardly always the first to come across private 'conversations' that shed a new light on a story, however I tell a story like few others, and am not constrained by space, commercial conditions, just the pursuit of telling the story that needs to be told.

For the general public to see some tiny pieces of real information, it provides accountability. It shows us that private discussions can and will be scrutinised sometimes. It keeps them on watch.

Oh and by the way, here's Mr Lamborghini's email:-


  • From: Fast Cars [mailto:mylamborghini.fast@gmail.com]
    Sent: Friday, 29 May 2009 9:59 AM
    To: CEO Cairns City Council
    Cc: ~~Councillors
    Subject: Councillors Conduct

    Under the Councillors Model of Conduct adopted by Cairns Regional Council:

    s.250(1): A councillor or person who has been a councillor must not make improper use of information obtained as a councillor to gain a direct or indirect financial advantage, or to harm the local government.

    s.250(2): A councillor or a person who has been a councillor must not release confidential information which was obtained as a councillor.

    The current goings-on of our councillors disgusts me. Each is having their turn at leaking information to the press (and I use this term loosley [sic] in reference to CairnsBlog) to dfiscredit [sic] each other. All this is doing is hurting the council.

    The CRC is being portrayed poorly by the actions of these councillors. There is something to be said for the council being open and disclosing information to the ratepayers, but to discredit council in the process is taking it too far.

    The councillors were elected by the ratepayers to represent them, not to play childish games in the most public way they can find and still obscure their identities.

    The councillors should all stop and think about what they are doing to the reputation of the Council and this beautiful city in which we all live.


PS: If anyone would like a copy of the now infamous Henry QC's report into Council corruption, I'll be popping it up on eBay over the next few days. Otherwise, drop me an email, and I'll do a deal.

I'll be releasing it in sections, to string the whole affair out and to gain maximum impact. The part with the pretty photos in it will of course fetch a higher price. I will not, under any circumstances, release the bit where it decribes in minute detail, Mr Briggs' unquie coffee habits.

1 comment:

the cat's vomit said...

How could you possibly get a copy of the QC's Report? This thing was guarded like Fort Knox, probably arrived into Noel's sweaty soft hands via armed escort.
Twenty security guards from the Bob Jones Academy for Jason Moran's Bodyguards accompanied Noel to the Council bunker where he perused the Report with thumping heart and shaky hands. While ensconced in the bunker with Jason Moran's twenty body guards lined up outside, Noel crossed out any mention of his name from the report. Since his name came up many times, the Report looked a bit thin, so with his quick brown fox thinking, he wrote another one.
This one he left behind in a metal box with double padlock, inside a bigger metal box with triple padlock. But ah haaa!...the best laid plans etc....Noel didn't know...but Mike Moore was in the bunker, carrying a pile of files under his arm......