Comments on CairnsBlog.net: Beside the seaside, beside the sea

What you say is right, Ben, but again, I will tota...

2008-02-19T15:30:00.000+10:00

What you say is right, Ben, but again, I will totally and unashamedly point the finger at Bligh.

The planning laws passed late last year following council amalgamations. So, this time around, with less sway on the development front, it shall certainly be interesting to take note whether the developers are still as interested.

I've no doubt in my mind that council has some sort of impact.

Yet, the rights of QLD Councils, of our grass roots representatives and essentially our right to have local representation, have been stripped away.

As I said previously, State Govts were, and still are, becoming quickly obsolete. Bligh and Beattie saw this and they have made the move (regardless of right or wrong, a very clever move) to shift the redundancy to Local Councils.

You must remember Beattie pledging to sack whole councils if they were to support local plebiscites?

I'll leave it here, before I chatter on too much.

The base of what you're saying is true and correct indeed, Ben, but just take a peek behind at the tactics employed by Bligh and her cronies to make this happen..

Repeat after me;

Bad Planning and Corruptio...

2008-02-19T14:54:00.000+10:00

Repeat after me;

Bad Planning and Corruption,
Bad Planning and Corruption,
Bad Planning and Corruption,

Now you’re getting the hang of it,

Second verse,

Poor Leadership and Corruption,
Poor Leadership and Corruption,
Poor Leadership and Corruption,

Third verse,

Factman and Corruption,
Factman and Corruption,
Factman and Corruption,

Final verse

Corrupt Councilors belong in Jail,
Corrupt Councilors belong in Jail,
Corrupt Councilors belong in Jail,

This is No laughing matter, accountability is shared equally between Council and Queensland State Government. The State because they have factored into ALL areas of development an “Acceptable Risk.” To the residents of Cairns and surrounds this means your life! Should you be killed in a flood event or landslide you will be deemed, depending on the number of deaths as within range and an acceptable risk! Hell of a way to justify things.
Council because they flout their own planning instrument by offering exemptions to developer far beyond even the State’s acceptable risk limits. Knowing full well that by the time their term is completed, they can no longer be held accountable for their actions.
You could fill volumes on political accountability and the total lack there of but we’ll save that for another day.

Do you feel save in the knowledge that this, a corrupt council has the ability to play god with so many lives, your life?

I apologize Tyson for grouping you in with the cur...

2008-02-19T12:39:00.000+10:00

I apologize Tyson for grouping you in with the current council, but no one can tell me, that this local council has zero controll over what happens in this region.
These people are our locally elected representatives, supposedly concerned about the direction that this town is going. If the local authorities do not have any control over how the town is run, maybe we should dispose of all local councils completely.
I do know that a lot of the approval process has been directed to the state government, but, as our local councillors, if it is not the direction that the people and rate payers of Cairns wish to be heading, then why arent they fighting the state government to get what we want????? ...
It amazes me that the Unity team get so many donations from the big developers towards their re-election campains. If as they and you say, have so little to do with the developement and construction approval process, then why, at the last election, did CEC donate $15000 to the unity team? .. There must have been something in it for them for them to donate so much money when the average donation was only about $1000. I find it hard to believe that there was nothing in it for them to get Byrne back in control.
It all boils down to our local councillors striving to move the town in the direction that the people of Cairns want it to go in.

Oh Ben.

No, I don't work for council, in an...

2008-02-19T11:02:00.000+10:00

Oh Ben.

No, I don't work for council, in any capacity whatsoever, I'm just a casual observer who actually takes note of legislation passing in our state parliament.

Now as for your theory of advocating for local areas.. where has that got Noosa? Port Douglas? The other councils that tried to gain some rights through the amalgamation process? Overwhelmingly voted against, Council Amalgamations were forced on us nonetheless.

Followed shortly thereafter by removing all planning and development from local councils.

As for blaming State and Fed Govts... who, and how, else is the Council going to advocate to for the people of Cairns? The blame must be put somewhere for the attention of the fight to be lain there.

You'll also note that at no point was I overtly advocating support for the current council in my previous comment. I was responding to attempt to help justify the blame on the State.

Councillors are advocating for local areas with less and less jurisdiction being left to them.

Blame Bligh.

Obviously Tyson works alongside Factman with the a...

2008-02-19T09:11:00.000+10:00

Obviously Tyson works alongside Factman with the almighty KB.
Actually Factman, I do notlive in "Qld Govt State rental house on taxpayer subsidised rent without any idea what paying rates is all about." I run a business here in Cairns and pay quite a considerable amount of rates. The last increase for me was $3000 a year. If my increase was $3000, you can sort of figure out how much I actually pay.
Flood proofing Cairns is everyones problem, not just the local or state governments.
Mackay City council did the same things that Cairns has done, and look at the condition of Mackay.
My point is, If the council, and I dont care who is in council at the time, took more notice of what was going on around the city, things wouldnt be as bad as it is. To say that Council has no control as to what is being built is a crock. If that was the case, why are we paying councillors $88k a year. KB and Factman blame the state and federal governments for every thing that people of Cairns dont like. And now does Tyson. You dont even have to be an environmentalist to see what is going to happen around here when we get a decent wet season.
Even if all the decisions where made in Brisbane or Canberra, council, as our local representitaves are there to fight for what Cairns and its people want. Not just sit back and receive all the kickbacks from developers, and blame everything on everyone else.
As for the insult by presuming that I live in taxayer funded rent, that just goes to show that the current council has no respect for the people who voted them in, and pay their wages. It is this view of themselves that people despise around here. Everyone I talk to in Cairns thinks that KB and his minions are the rudest, most arrogent pig headed pricks to ever walk the town. Factmans comment to me just goes to prove that the people of Cairns are right.

Is Byrne finally (just days before an election) ad...

2008-02-18T22:59:00.000+10:00

Is Byrne finally (just days before an election) admitting that GLOBAL WARMING IS HERE!! He should have listened to the academics years ago, and started planning for changing weather. His lack of foresight could cost us citizens our lives.

Well, Ben, welcome to the mind of Andrew Fraser.
2008-02-18T22:10:00.000+10:00
Well, Ben, welcome to the mind of Andrew Fraser.

The communists of the Beattie and Bligh Govts have centralised all power they can to themselves.

Amalgamations are exhibit 1.

Did you know that all planning and development for Cairns and every other council in QLD is now done in Brisbane, thanks to Bligh legislation?

They've seen State Governments becoming obsolete and they've moved to make Councils obsolete instead.

We should be bringing it all back to the local level, and doing away with State Govt altogether.

And I've been saying that regardless of who has been in.

Well Ben ... if you want the RATEPAYER and not Fed...

2008-02-18T20:59:00.000+10:00

Well Ben ... if you want the RATEPAYER and not Fed/State Govt to make Cairns fully flood proof, be prepared to dig real deep into your pockets.

But you wont will you, because you probably live in a Qld Govt State rental house on taxpayer subsidised rent without any idea what paying rates is all about.

I can tell you that Qld Govt State housing renters are the biggest whingers that Council have to put up with.

And they all vote for that Labor dog, O'Brien.

I thought it was the State Government him and fact...

2008-02-18T19:39:00.000+10:00

I thought it was the State Government him and factman where blaming for everything that happens in Cairns. With factmans blame everything on the State Government period, I was starting to wonder what we had local council for.

Mayor Byrne is creating a blame diversion. If any...

2008-02-18T13:30:00.000+10:00

Mayor Byrne is creating a blame diversion. If anything does happen, then he will create a personal wind tunnel in fingering the Federal Government for "all blame".