Comments on CairnsBlog.net: Labor MPs in lockdown over Yacht building plan

I am enjoying the input of Tellus very much!My old...

2008-09-23T20:05:00.000+10:00

I am enjoying the input of Tellus very much!

My old mining mate Brad Geatches was the previous CEO of the Port Authority when the dirty deals were done! Dear old Bradley .... what an interesting character with close Union connections ..... last time I saw him was in the bar at the RSL with his old mining mates from the CFMEU .... shoulder to shoulder with recalcitrant communist Johnny Maitland, comrade!

I wonder what Johnny Maitland, let alone Jack Mundy, would have thought of his actions as CEO at the Port Authority?

To our state government politicians, you may celeb...

2008-09-23T16:43:00.000+10:00

To our state government politicians, you may celebrate your triumph but it is a hollow victory. Everyone of you should hang your heads in shame because not one of you had the courage or personal integrity to stand up for the community you supposedly represent and acknowledge that what was done in relation to the Cairns Yacht Club was not only morally and ethically wrong, but breached your own government’s policies and laws. It was all about State/Labor interest, never about community interest.

Not only is the Cairns Yacht Club along with the Wharf precinct, still a designated “area of state significance (cultural heritage)”, but it was listed on the Queensland Heritage List because it satisfied the required cultural heritage significance criteria. That your government through the Port Authority used its power and resources to negate this listing and ensure that no one could re-apply to list the CYC on the Heritage List again until 2009, speaks volumes. Boundary uncertainties were predictably not a problem when it came to Cityport and Precinct 7, the area the CYC building sits on. That our former Council under Mayor Kevin Byrne aided and abetted these actions is equally as damning. Some of the councillors during that period are still in Council – Cochrane, Gregory, Blake, and Bonneau. Of these four councillors, Cochrane to her credit, was the only one to support the recent motion to retain and preserve the CYC on its current site.

To those ordinary decent folk who never gave up and who tried so hard for so many years to save what little cultural heritage remains in this city, you never knew what you were up against but you should feel immensely proud, not only of your efforts on behalf of the community, but in the fact that the State government had to resort to the methods it used, to defeat your endeavours and further their own shameful agenda.

To those same politicians, continue to tell yourself that it was just an “old tin shed” and that you acted in the public’s best interest. That’s your justification for doing nothing. In that you are not alone. The silence and inaction from the tourism industry and the business sector is deafening. It says much about their commitment to the community, the people who support their very existence. Cultural heritage has long been acknowledged nationally and internationally as an important component of tourism, but not in Cairns it seems. It’s in the public’s best interest to have private development to a maximum of 6 storeys on that part of our waterfront but not to retain an important cultural heritage resource that could easily be integrated into future development and serve many purposes, all consistent with Precinct 7’s intended land use. The price of cultural heritage in this city- its very history, has been reduced to a boardwalk, extensions to the Hilton and other private development.

Nothing in this whole process has been honest, transparent, democratic or carried out in the best interests of the public - the Cairns community, the people you represent. Like the Ancient Mariner, that’s your personal albatross and although as far as you’re all concerned, this issue is “dead in the water,” it is I hope the harbinger of your own political demise. Some measure of justice, but will it ever be enough? Never.

Typical example of greed and apathy by developers ...

2008-09-23T13:03:00.000+10:00

Typical example of greed and apathy by developers and the council

I attended the Q2 forum last night and I was surpr...

2008-09-23T07:58:00.000+10:00

I attended the Q2 forum last night and I was surprised to Desley front up!

I was even more surprised to see that she had her arm in a sling.

At the sight of this, I smiled to myself and said,"OK has she done this for the sympathy vote as she was too scared to come otherwise" OR "did someone take her out the back of the yacht club and give her a punch up."

I am hoping for the latter.....

I think that Jason, Warren, Steven and Desley shou...

2008-09-22T21:28:00.000+10:00

I think that Jason, Warren, Steven and Desley should all get together and see if they can get a package tour to somewhere, as come twelve months time they will be going on one long holiday. I will personally do my damndest to remind the people of Cairns what disregard they had for the people over The Cairns Yacht Club. Lest we forget.

Kerry Riella.

Ray Taylor Says:What ever the outcome of the issue...

2008-09-22T19:57:00.000+10:00

Ray Taylor Says:
What ever the outcome of the issue of the Cairns Yacht Club, Wendy Richardson has shown a sustained level of honest support on this matter and a capacity to listen to the community, unlike the current brace of turkeys that masquarade as our representatives.
We need more like her.

I am so bloody angry over this. There has been a d...

2008-09-22T19:37:00.000+10:00

I am so bloody angry over this. There has been a deal done for this site, the pieces of silver having probably already been paid. That is how much our local Labor pollies have taken us for granted.
I've been labor to my boot-heels all my life, but this a one-time vote changer. I'll punish them for this.