Tuesday 9 June 2009

General Debate

Here's your General Debate, where you can talk about any subject you wish.

Just like being on Mackenzie, without the guard dog!

Usual Posting Comments Policy rules apply, just good rigorous debate.

Be nice out there.

27 comments:

Constance LLoyd said...

Mike

Just a suggestion for an improvement to your blog.

Dennis over at Northern Watch proved to be our family's saviour this evening with his delicious seafood recipie.

I can assure you, dear readers, that his own creation of Ginger seared scallops and stir fried vegetables in black bean sauce, is actually very, very tasty.

So Mike, have you considered a similar column so that you not only whet the intellectual appetites of Cairns residents, but also sate their inner hunger?

Perhaps your dish could be an traditional bush dish of Snake, cooked in its own juices, simmering in a pot for a few weeks and then served with a healthy portion of humble pie.

Hmmmm! Tasty - do you do home deliveries?

macca wacker said...

Here constance a recipe for joy!

baileys
1 can condensed milk,300ml cream,half teaspoon of coconut essence,3 eggs,2 tablespoons of choc syrup,1 and a half cups of bourbon/whiskey, blendmilk,cream,essence eggs, then add choc syrup and bourbon.keeps up to a month in the fridge

Fiona Tulip said...

At today's Planning and Environment Committee meeting at Council, a very controversial Development Application comes before Council, for an extension of currency period.

In 2005, the developer, Trinity Projects got approval under the old superceded planning scheme to build a block of units on a narrow block along Arlington Esplanade, and a block of 109 units behind this block with Deadman's Creek in the middle. The two sites would be linked with a high pedestrian footbridge. Hence, creating a pseudo resort with beachfront access.

At the time, over 209 properly made submissions were put in against this proposal on many grounds by Clifton residents. However, council approved it with Cllrs Cochrane and Bonneau against the motion.

Today, the developer, wants the currency period extended under the Old Plan, despite the fact that he has had 4 years in which to build.

The Planning Scheme has moved on by two since 2005, and "Use it or lose it" principle should apply. The developer should be made to reapply under the current planning scheme.

If approved for the second time, this allows the developer to put the 5th bridge or pedestrian crossing over Deadman's Creek in a area of less than 2 klm. Because of interference by a developer upstream in the riparian corridor and waterway of the same creek, Clifton Beach residents, particlulary along Arlington Esplanade and Clifton Road, in the last two years have experienced unprecedented inundation of their porperties and homes during moderate rainfall in the wet season.

Will Council make the same mistake again?????

Council's total disregard for the natural enviroment has never been more highlighted in the approval of inappropriate unit developements along this significant coatal waterway and wildlife corridor. Tomes of State governemnt policy has also failed to protect these coastal systems.

Watch this space.......

KitchenSlut said...

The Quick recipes include coconut and pumpkin soup? Sounds like a Tropical Irish recession recipe mismatch cross to me although there may be a soup kitchen market for this amongst displaced ex-council employees!

As for the accolades for the black bean scallops, mate any recipe that abuses quality seafood like that is a crime! Only use black bean stir fry on seafood that comes from asian aqualture projects with chicken wire and associated fowl to feed the battery products beneath, and then only if necessarey for essential sustainence. Otherwise, what an obscene abuse of a decent scallop!

If you wanna try the best scallops in town just now get down to the small lovely very french Cafe Lumiere in front of Harbour Lights and try the plump Coquille St Jacque .... brilliant!

P.S. And if you go let us know if Briggsy is there splashing his payout cheque or if he has instead resorted to the Quickie tropical pumpkin soup kitchen!

Noj Nedlaw said...

Fiona Tulip - I see that the application for an extension did not go through

REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF CURRENCY PERIOD - ACCESS EASEMENT & MULTIPLE DWELLINGS 3 STOREYS – 113 ARLINGTON ESPLANADE & 6-18 YULE AVENUE – DIVISION 1076
J Elphinstone : 8/30/58 : #2053695v2

LEU / PYNE


That Council decline the request for an extension of currency period, combined application - access easement & multiple dwellings 3 storeys - 113 Arlington Esplanade and 6-18 Yule Avenue, Clifton Beach - Division 10

Reasons
Environmental impact on Deadmans Creek which is a Category 3 Creek system and wildlife corridor.
There were 209 properly made submissions to original application and was verycontroversial when first approved in September 2005.

I have visited the site and and met with many of the original submitters.

carried with Councillors Schier, Bonneau, Cochrane, Blake & Gregory voting against the motion




Not sure I understand the voting block here - Mayor Val siding with the so-called "gang of four"?

Any thoughts anyone?

Fiona Tulip said...

In response to Noj Nedlaw,

Yes, the request for extension under the old planning scheme was refused by some good moral, intelligent and finally, enviromentally conscious Councillors on this issue, after our hard working Councillor (Julia Leu) put up an alternative amendment. We thank those Councillors who supported our community and affected residents on this issue, very much!! No doubt the developer will re-lodge under the current plan and we will have to fight this battle again for the 3rd time.

As to why Val voted to approve the development under the old scheme?

Your guess is as good as mine....

Perhaps her new acting CEO, Mr Tabulo, who until yesterday held the position of General Manager, Planning and Environment has had a vital role in her decision. After all, Council Officer's recommendation on the original request, was to re-approve under the old scheme. The planners should all be sacked for not using the Coty Principle in this instance! The Coty Principle gives Council the right to put more weight on the current scheme and not to allow these DAs under superceded schemes. This just goes to show you the lack of will to do the right thing and pro-development stance that our Planning department has. I am sure their motto is "don't upset the developers at any cost."

However, we note that this is the third time now that not only has the Mayor voted against our community's wishes, but she has also voted in favour of developers destroying more of our environment on three very controversial sites, which have coastal waterways as features, which we have striven so hard to protect.

It is a shameful record for this Council that started before her time in office, that now every creek system on the Northern Beaches including Deep Creek, Sweet Creek, Delaney' Creek and Deadman's Creek, has been allowed to be significantly interferred with by deverlopers in terms of clearing riparian corridors, widening and creating deep channels, building block walls in creeks, building unit blocks within 5m of creek banks, clearing mangrove areas to build bridges and pedestrian walkways, sometimes within 100m of each other across the same creek (Argentea), and significant sediment runoff from a building site at Paradise Palms that resulted in Hedley being fined over $100,000 by the EPA and the list goes on and on and on.

Oh and let us not forget the new Council policy of handing over public creek systems to Body Corporates of Unit developements and developers for ongoing maintenance and ownership!! I especially like this one.

So much for protecting the Great Barrier Reef, and coming down hard on farmers, when you allow developers a free reign with coastal creeks in this manner!!!The Council's Cleaner Seas Project is a sham which has been very expensive to implement and which we the poor old ratepayer is forking out millions for.....

The Mayor's decison to vote along with Blake, Bonneau, Cochrane and Gregory, has been very disappointing to me personally and I am sure, to the residents most affected by the inapporpritate North proposal.

Will keep everyone posted if and when this issue arises out of the mangrove mud again.......

Apres Barman said...

Has anyone noticed the smoke rising from high in the hills above Palm Cove. Coincidentally it is particularly noticeable on Sundays. Is this an illegal clearing of land with burn off? I would be interested to hear if anyone else has seen it and knows the source. It is not a bush fire.
Thanks

Syd Walker said...

Michael, I hate to snitch on a competitor, but the ABC is cheating. Your feed of local blogs includes ABC Far North, but most of their stories are from Brisbane.

If you are to extend your FNQ blogroll that far, I ask you include Press.tv, in the interests of balance.

Otherwise, get those shysters at the ABC to play fair for a change. :-)

macca attack said...

What has happened to val "the greenies longtime pal"
It nows seems to us , you have jumped on the " cairns developers bus"
It is strange you have chosen to enter the "the on the take "
Of , Bonneau, Cochrane and Gregory,and Blake.

Jan from Kewarra said...

Mike, when are we going to get that "wee treat" you promised?

I so do like to be treated?!

the cat's vomit said...

Yes Mike, like Jan, I am patiently waiting for a "wee treat".

CairnsBlog said...

Everything comes to those who wait (and some who don't!)

Only just got up after a lllooonnnnggg Friday... so will do a cuppa and then pour out my wee treat of a story for your edification.

Thanks for the keeness !

Mike

The Tulip Muncher said...

Quickie, Quickie, where art thou Quickie?

Last time we heard from you, you were very busy telling us what a stable influence Noel Briggs was and you likened him to glue that was binding the Council together?

Thornton On Spence said...

My how time flies. Does anyone remember when Kevin Byrne was so distressed by the misreporting of the Cairns Post, especially during the time of Amanda Byrnes little mistake with Trust Funds at her Resort in Palm Cove, he pulled the Council advertising from the Newspaper which was a substantial sum of money the Cairns Post lost. Amazingly they immediately changed the way they reported on Council and especially Mayor Byrne and instead they had a love affair with him.
Perhaps Val should consider doing something along these lines to make these hack reporters a little more accountable for what they write.

Noj Nedlaw said...

I noticed as I drove past this afternoon that there are Development Applications on the sugar cane fields between Caravonica School and the Kamerunga Bridge. I drove back later and I see that Pioneer wants to extend their sand extraction activities.


The figure of a 100,000 units per annum is mentioned, tonnes or cubic metres I can’t remember.


Thus it would seem that sand excavation will occur from the Captain Cook to the connector road. My first thought is that once the sand is excavated there will remain a substantial hole in the ground that would make a good marina.


Am I being overly paranoid? Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on this?

Syd Walker said...

This morning I rose early and checked the local (FNQ) web media via the CairnsBlog feeds (Cairns BlogRoll)

C. 6am, the latest story is from the ever wakeful ABC Far North. It's called Incident at Brisbane airport. It's not an FNQ story, but I decide to check it anyway, thinking if it's made it to the Far North this must be important.

It turns out to be written by a man called Greg. He complains that a bunch of drunks at Brisbane airport jumpred the taxi queue.

Thanks heavens our national public broadcaster keeps an eye out for the really big stories of our age.

Thornton On Spence said...

Has anyone noticed how the CBD Warrior goes to ground and becomes silent when the heat is put on them? Recent challenges, criticisms, contempt and ridicule are followed by total silence. You would have to suspect they are following the lead of their hero Alan Blake or could it be??????

Pull Out Alan Pull Out said...

Did you hear Blakey on the Macca show this morning? He was the Council Spokesman for entertaining the USA Navy. He was perfect and offered up his suggestions for all of us to get involved.
I can understand why he was chosen as after all he can point the Sailors in the direction of loose women and frustrated housewives.
Well done Blakey....you are a legend. With this sort of mind and intellect he should be Mayor.

nocturnal congress said...

Why don't they all just run down to the wharf when the ship comes in showing all their forty-six teeth, drooling from a corner of the mouth and rubbing their palms together like they did when the first planeload of Japanese arrived at the International Airport?

macca attack said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Thaddeus said...

Let's all hope the crews of the US ships behave themselves otherwise the roar will go up blaming Val Schier.

Never Trust a Pollie said...

Fiona Tulip has mentioned some very valid points which relate to approvals in her region and the apparent compliance of the current council, and in particular, Val Schier.
Following on from this I would urge Mike Moore to put more effort into giving greater prominence to the another serious decision, and betrayal of trust, by this current Council, to approve the twin towers at the Inlet end of Sheridan Street, 50% higher than the Town Planning guidelines and no planned provision for sufficient on-site carparking!
Open the discussion, because there is a wealth of opinions which could come from this.
Apart from all the reasons why it was wrong to approve this development, there are many other permutations to the problems associated with this decision, which will now affect the city in the future.
Val Schier has decide to pick up the gauntlet from where Kev Byrne left off. Stop apologising for "poor Val". Her shoes have turned white!

Lillian at Yorkeys said...

Hi all - gee, I haven't had a look at this for a while, & lo & behold, quite a few of the 'regulars' - & at present Quickie- & CBD Warrior-free. So far, anyway. Perhaps they're both undergoing another vitriol vitriol transfusion in the Dastardly, Dark, Frankensteinian Cave.
Anyway - re the development application above - yes, I am indeed highly surprised Ms. Val was on the 'yes' vote. I wonder why? She's set up her new website 'valschier.com.au', so I suggest all you little Vegemites log on & make your opinions felt. That's what she's put it up there for, friends.

macca attack said...

Someone called up John MacKenzie's show today, and really took a stick to him. Mackenzie's been kicking the mayor all week for the car washing item on Council's agenda, when in fact he was completely misguided (as usual). Mackenzie finally hung up on the guy who made perfectly legitimate observations about the manipulator that is John Mackenzie.

Hearing Mackenzie stammer and stutter while taking a flogging made my day!

Thornton On Spence said...

Where are you CBD Warrior? We miss you as we really enjoy beating up on you. Are you down the Esplanade talking to your electorate? Sorry to disappoint you CBD but those topless girls are actually backpackers and don't vote. Come on CBD there's a lot of us who enjoy ridiculing you and your alter ego Blake.

the real macca attack said...

the macca attack on the last two postings is not me ,they can spell hhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

nocturnal congress said...

Geez, wish I'd listened into Rugnut's Show then. It's a real pleasure when someone phones up and gets stuck into him.