Out Loud is the Cairns gay and lesbian choir, or LGBT as they call it. Similar to a BLT but less fat and more beef.
The happy chaps and chapesses are raising funds for new musical equipment and are holding a garage sale this Saturday. This will be held at the Resource Centre, 290 Draper Street.
It's the old Pizza Hut restaurant, on the corner of Mulgrave Road. Head down from 9am to grab a bargain, or someones cute arse, if you dare. You may even catch a rare glimpse of Molly, the infamous Door Bitch.
If you have any unwanted items (excluding mother in laws or former city Councillors) that you'd like to donate for the sale, you can drop them off at the centre on Friday or Saturday morning. Telephone Cliff 0432 401 188 or call 4041 5451 if you want something picked up.
If you go down to the woods today, near Mansfield Street, high above Earlville, you might get a big surprise.
This story all started a few years ago, but heated up two weeks back. It could well become a battle between David Vs Goliath.
The father of Cairns construction, CEC's Roy Lavis, is up to some clever propaganda. Roy says he wants to cut his large hillside block in two just to "have a go". This is largely because he couldn't get his five lot subdivision approved 3 years ago on the same chunk of land.
Lavis bought the land at the top of Mansfield Street in 1994, and then built a large house on the Cairns-facing side the spur line, then in 2001, he tried to sell the entire block. In 2005 when he began applications to subdivide the land into five lots, which was withdrawn the following year, apparently because of conditions put on him by various environmental agencies.
Last July, Lavis again applied to subdivide, but this time into two lots, with the stated intention to put a house on the second lot. He also applied to have the zoning code changed for the small area of land that the house would occupy.
At this time he has also applied for a road to allow access to the lots independently. Although this was never approved as confirmed by Council's town planner Peter Tabulo, aerial photos clearly show a road has been constructed (see photo below). However, Roy's the most recent application [note: 6mb] to Cairns Regional Council, shows a photo taken some years ago before the road was constructed, that is being sought for approval (see plan far below).
So Roy is now doing it one division at a time - knowing one division is hard to argue against and that once one is done, it gets easier to get the next one. Get the idea?
The land is zoned 'Impact Assessable', which means that it can be subdivided but only with Council approval and only with the opportunity for the public to object.
Lavis also admits he's a developer and that he is in it to buy, develop and sell land. Hello! Such declarations makes it blindingly obvious what his plan is.
Robert Hanan, who heads the anti-amalgamation lobby group, Friends of Douglas Shire, is on the new Douglas Advisory Board to feed locals' concerns to Cairns Regional Council.
Councillor Julia Leu, who confronted the Premier when she visited Mossman last month, and has been a consistent fighter to air the residents' concerns from the former Douglas Shire, says that the board has a great range of skills and expertise. "It is well placed to advise Council on issues impacting the community,” she says.
Michael Bolt will chair the group which will meet every three months. Linda Jackson, Hazel Douglas, Robert Hanan, Ken Dobbs, Gerard Puglisi, Sonja Pritchard and Anne-Marie Clarke, are also on the new group.
Hanan and Friends of Douglas Shire, has led a large number of Division 10 residents around Port Douglas and Mossman to with-hold part or all of their rates over recent months, in protest at the lack of consultation from the new Council structure and rating regime that was forced on them.
The next ordinary council meeting of the Cairns Regional Council will be held next Thursday 27th November, and the meeting agenda will be available online from today. Friends of Douglas Shire will present to this meeting about their objection to increased rates and charges. You can contact Robert Hanan on 4098 8280 or Michael Gabour on 4099 3667, for more information about this meeting.
What teeth this new advisory body has, if any, is yet to be seen.
The Smart State, Dumb Government slogan is catching on around Cairns.
In the last week I've received two photos emailed from CairnsBlog readers.
Former Premier Beattie's 'Smart State' slogan is now being used against a government that has lost touch with the people.
When the slogan was introduced as an option on vehicle registration plates seven years ago, only 14% of motorists chose to have their car sport the arrogant proclamation. However 5% of the 'Smart State' lines are on government-owned vehicles, whereas a whopping 86% opted for the 'Sunshine State' rego plates.
When Beattie decided to abolish the 'Sunshine State' wording for his 'Smart State', there was such a outcry it was overturned.
Now people are sporting the 'Smart State, Dumb Government' stickers all across the far north of Queensland.
You can now click the logo above and print out your own!
I hardly want to promote a right wing organ like Quick's CairnsWatch, but my morbid fascination extends to following his latest online poll.
Quickie asks the question "What would Village Val like for Christmas?" Why he calls our learned leader 'Village Val' is beyond even my puerile mind, but that's another story.
So far the responses are... - A majority of vascillating [sic] vassals on Council? 13% (6 votes) - A night on the town with Gavin King? 2% (1 vote) - I reckon King clicked that one. - The autographed original of a certain cartoon that seems to have gone missing? 33% (15 votes) - It's not missing Dennis, it's still online and will remain so. All you CircusMousephiles can view the archives here. - Lunch at Villa Romana with Kevin Byrne and Dennis Quick? 35% (16 votes) - Christmas Dinner with Bryan Law and Michael Moore? 17% (8 votes)
As for the last vote, and I can't speak for Bryan, but I doubt I'll even get a Christmas Card from Val this year, after doing more than my bit to get her over the line in March.
Politics keeps strange bedfellows they say. At least we didn't have a smoke afterwards.
On Friday one of our community's largest assets and income earners, the Cairns airport, tender sale closed. Three tenders were rumoured to be in the final running for the sell out price of a mere $650m. This will hardly pay for a few hip operations at the over-crowed and inadequate Cairns Base Hospital that Premier Bligh is going to donate any remaining airport profit to.
Under the creative, but aptly named Airport Assets (Restructuring and Disposal) Bill, the Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser, who is also flogging off MacKay's airport, and a 12.4% stake in Brisbane's airport, is hoping to prop up the bankrupt Queensland State Government's coffers. Their debt now stands at around $59 billion, that's about $10m a day in interest alone. When we finally kick this spending crazy mob out of office in a year's time, the incoming coalition will have a right mess to clean up. And who says they'll be any better?
Cairns Mayor Val Schier who avoids talking about her Labor connections publicly, is however clearly under the thumb of the Labor hierarchy. She's been acting like a lapdog on heat around Desley and Anna since coming to office on her so-called 'green' and 'environmental' ticket. By all accounts, she has lost a large number of those that supported her second run to take over the 3rd floor of 119 Spence Street. We that supported a change in Council's right wing and go hard development policy, are feeling somewhat pissed off. And rightly so.
This is a great shame, as the mood was rife for a dramatic change of direction and the people handled Val and the new Council a mandate. Not one of the old Byrne guard survived the March take over the only KB loyalists remaining being Councillors Gregory and Bonneau. Like Obama, Schier has only the first term to shine and make a grand impression. Her first 100 days have been littered with confusing signals and lost media opportunities. Most of those that strategically supported her in the Cairns 1st campaign have either deserted her or been shunned. They certainly have not been consulted, and Val is replying on internal paid Council hacks to advise and counsel her.
Val said prior to being elected to Council, she has "strongly supported diverse groups as being the foundation of a healthy society", however this rhetoric has not been realised in her first eight months in office. The mainstream four estate media are still against our new mayor, yet the were ready for a change and would have supported her if they'd been taken along and been respected. Too many times have they turned up to media ops and the mayor has not appeared yet sent her CEO along to spill the beans and hide in her office, or at least that is what it seems like. Perception breeds reality in politics.
As Labor will be roundly defeated at the next election on a State level, Val has been blinding aligning herself with Bligh's sinking ship. For a first-term politician, she's allowing herself to get so quickly consumed by a government that have shown they're out of touch with the people, and all we wanted was a change in this region! I think if the Council election were held today, Councillor Pyne, Leu or Forsyth would romp in as our new Mayor. They've all shown how they can stand up (besides Robert of course) for the community, and truly represent what their constituents are telling them. That is the minimum we ask of our elected representatives.
Minister Fraser has said he didn't release the shortlist of potential airport buyers, because he was hoping to enhance 'competitive tension'. Well, the entire rationale to sell off our airport was a flawed reason. Cairns Airport, one of the busiest in the country, is a cash cow for our region and the community was not even consulted. Everyone from the chief of our tourism group TTNQ to the despised Cairns Port Authority, were is shock at the April 15th announcement.
When Joel Harrop, the local Cairns LNP candidate kicks the proven incompetent Desley Boyle off her Cairns perch, he'll have a lot of bridge-building to undertake. It will be a huge embarrassment for Boyle, as Labor has held this seat for 104 years. She started off as a true representative of the community when she took office 10 years ago, to now not engaging the people or responding to their wishes. Why is she there if she can't represent?
Like the invisible Councillor Sno Bonneau, both Labor and Liberal insiders wonder why Boyle has so decisively lost the plot. It's strongly believed she will not run again. Labor's only chance at retaining any credibility or hope of holding Cairns will be to run someone of the likes of Yacht Club roof protester and card-carrying Labour union supporter, Councillor Dianne Forsyth. Dianne has the connection with the people and the likability factor.
Listen to Joel's sermon in his latest Vblog. He's sounding fresh and invigorated and untouched by party corruption. I hope they don't get to him:
Even though it has not been raining much over the last few weeks, another tree has collapsed on the steep False Cape site, at East Trinity.
Although only a small tree, this is significant in that it displays movement and instability of the land.
False Cape has been subject to rigorous public scrutiny over the last two year. A strong environmental campaign was orchestrated by the Save False Cape group. They took aim at the former Cairns City Council and the Queensland State Government, both of whom failed to take action.
Following election of the new Cairns Regional Council in March this year, they presented a delegation to the Environment and Planning Committee, to seek support for a closure of the development.
It appears that Cairns construction giant CEC, who have been contracted to spend the $109,000 allocated by the Cairns Regional Council for remedial action, have already cleaned up the mile-long scarred hillslope. The False Cape development site was left abandoned eight months ago by dodgy developer John Ewens. Recently the Federal Environment Minister made a 13th hour intervention to stop anymore excavation on the land, and ordered a clean up. The Council did not access the much talked about $650,000 bond that is meant to be held for such purpose, instead voting to levy the land holder on his rate bill.
Last Thursday Hydromulch was sprayed across the property, and the remaining machinery moved off the False Cape site yesterday.
Arh, the return of the infamous CairnsBlogCaption Contest, you've all been waiting for!
This pic was stolen from Dennis-quick-to-leave-Kev's-office-Quick CairnsWatch blog. It shows Quickie and our former Mayor in waiting, KB, at their favourite haunt, Villa Romana. That's the one with the 53 sq meters courtesy of Kevin's old Council.
So, what were they saying? What plans were they scheming? Why were they wearing those silly hard hats?
Here's your chance to put words in their mouths. There's a free Chocolate fish in it for the best entries. For the record, that's KB on the right, as always.
"Hurry up and take that photo, I'm due on board the Dumbskin for the 2pm charter."
"Us ex-Army buddies love a good long vino lunch we can charge to some account code."
"Does green go with blue? I dunno, but we're both available at the right price."
"If George was here, we would be sitting on the footpath."
"Don't worry, we'll break Val after another few months. She'll be one of us."
"These dark sunglasses allow me to keep an eye out for those bloody Blog cameras."
Jasse from the Knob reminded me last week that the good Minister Garrett, who's portfolio encompasses environment and heritage (you know the guy that failed to intervene to save our historic Cairns Yacht Club building) is now dishing out cash for 'preserving our historic heritage'
Oh the irony, Peter. What do you take us for mate?
What is it with these current Labor people? They get into power and lose their balls - women included. Even Mayor Val.
As Jasse reminded me, ladies do have balls too. "It's just they're nicely tucked inside, so not as obvious!"
Well, like a dodgy builder's labourer, we need to see them.
High above the city fringe suburb of Earlville is a house higher than all the others. It's perched on a ridge, over-looking the city and the sea.
The house at 109-105 Mansfield Street, Earlville, belongs to Cairns' top businessman, CEC's boss Roy Lavis, and his wife Alma.
Roy wants the Cairns Regional Council to allow him to subdivide his land in to two lots.
The land is tropical rainforest and includes the hill slopes above Balaclava Road, Bauhina Avenue, up to Kurrajong Street, borders the Wet Tropics classified area of Lake Morris Road and encompasses the elevated catchment area of Chinaman Creek and others.
Lavis has lodged a 'material change of use' application, as this is a Category 2 hillslopes zone and conservation designation. Both designations prohibit development like sub-division.
He wants to build another house on a higher ridge, however should this application be knocked back by Council, which is likely, Roy will no doubt take this off to the Planning and Environment Court. The Larvis and CEC empire weird enormous power around the Council planning table, and the potential for this development to further erode the visual amenity of our hillslopes is very high.
A large community group has formed to oppose Roy's plans to sud-divide and build, as they say, will open up the floodgates for further building, way above the legal allowed hillslope line.
Ivan Whitehead and John Martin, both residents of Mansfield Street, are leading the charge and last week took a flight above the land to get a first had view of the Larvis land, comprising 30 ha of hillslopes above Earlville.
The main concerns being raised are:
- Destruction of wet tropic and complex rainforest - Removal of cassowaries habitat - Reduction of local bio-diversity - Further threat to rare and endangered flora and fauna including rare frog habitats - Water quality of catchment areas - Nature of soil and substrate - Likely run off of sewage treatment plant during monsoonal rains - Impact of vista and view from town reducing the local and tourist appeal of Cairns - Consistency with town planning and legislation of category 2 listed land - Reduction of the quite enjoyment of lifestyle for surrounding neighbourhood.
This area is currently zoned 'conservation status' as it is the habitat of rare frogs, cassowaries and tree species of interest, however we know that this current Council have a habit, like the last one, to ignore such designations. material Change of Use applications have become teh norma under the previous Cairns City Council and has been the case at Hedley's Paradise Palms golf course recently.
Lavis wants to subdivide and create an road easement and also rezone this area as urban. He claims he only wants to build one house on the 23 ha of rainforest directly on the higher ridge above his current property that can be seen from Mulgrave Road.
This ridge is directly above catchment areas that feed into rare frog habitats abounding in a variety of species, this should be of concern for everybody in this time of climate change and declining frog numbers. Also, the sewage treatment plant proposed to be installed there is of major concern as when the torrential rain during the wet occur the run off will end up in Chinaman Creek not to mention the eroded soil and chemicals left over from the development.
However, the biggest concern is if the Cairns Regional Council approve this 'one dwelling' on 23 ha there will be nothing to stop further sub-divisions and development of this land, not to mention the precedence of this approval will have on other developers seeking approvals for further areas of our hills.
How can our Council even consider such zoning changes when there is legislation in place to stop the destruction of our slopes? The application should have been thrown out when he asked it to be considers. Full stop. Objectors have until the 27th of November to do their bit to save our ranges from greedy influential developers.
There is a lot more to reveal on this story, along with a series of damming photographs. If your name is Roy, I'd stay tuned and awake.
Milburn ……………....Capital of Victoria Peck……………….…..to fill a suitcase Pisssed aside ….…........chemical which kills insects Pigs ……………….…..for hanging out washing with Pug ………………….. large pink animal with curly tail Nin Tin dough …….....computer game Munner stroney ……...soup Min ………………...….male of the species Mess kara ………..…...eye makeup McKennock …………..person who fixes cars Mere …………………..Mayor Leather ……………….foam produced from soap Lift ……………………departed Kiri Pecker …………...famous Australian businessman Kittle crusps ……….....potato crisps Ken’s ……………..….. Cairns Jungle bells ……..…....Christmas carol Inner me ……….…......enemy Guess ……………........vapour Fush ………………….marine creatures Fitter cheney ………...type of pasta Ever cardeau …….….avocado Fear hear …………….blonde Ear …………………...mix of nitrogen and oxygen Ear roebucks ………..exercise at the gym Duffy cult ……………not easy Amejen ………………visualise Chuck ………………..very young poultry Bug hut ………………popular recording Bun button …………...been bitten by insect Beard ………………....a place to sleep Sucks Peck …………...half a dozen beers Ear New Zulland ….…an extinct airline Beers ………………….large savage animals found in US forests Veerjun ……………….mythical New Zealand maiden One Doze ……………...well known computer program Brudge ………………...structure spanning a stream Sex ……………………..one less than sivven Tin ………………...…...one more than nine Iggs Ecktly …………….precisely Cuds ………………...…children Pits ………………...…...domestic animals Cuttin ……………..…....baby cat Earplane ……………… large flying machine Sivven Sucks Sivven …...Large Boeing aircraft Sivven Four Sivven ……Larger Boeing aircraft Beggage Chuckken ……place to leave your suitcase at the earport
Relative newcomer and millionaire investment business banker, John Key of the centre right National Party, will form a coalition government of the unwilling, following an overnight victory, defeating 9 years of Helen Clark's Labour-led government.
Helen contested her Auckland, Mt Albert seat for the tenth time, and the fifth time as leader of her party, on three successful campaigns.
She delivered a shock announcement that almost no insiders were aware of, saying that she will step down immediately as leader of Labour. "If I couldn't lead the party to victory then it was time to go," she told her supporters at 10:33pm Saturday night.
"I believe on our watch we elevated the inclusion of all Kiwis to new levels, irrespective of ethnicity, faith, gender, gender orientation, we're all in it together," Helen Clark said.
The other big change in the make up of the new Parliament was the departure of New Zealand First's Winston Peters after 30 years in political life. His party failed to reach the 5% vote threshold to get himself or his list MPs into Parliament. He also did not retain his Tauranga seat, which he had held for 24 years.
Under New Zealand's Mixed-Member Proportional voting system, National will gain 59 seats. ACT will gain five seats, along with and United Future's Peter Dunne, to form a coalition with 65 of the 122 seats in Parliament. Labour will probably hold around 43 seats.
Clark's parting shot was that she had one fear. "I hope all that we had worked to put in place doesn't go up in flames on a bomb fire created by the right wing of politics."
Daylight Savings "It is a geographical issue, personally in Cairns it would be absurd, South East Queensland may one day dictate a hybrid system but should it be suggested for Cairns I would fight tooth & nail to stop it"
Recycled Water; "It shouldn't be pumped into drinking water, it should only be for industrial and grey water use".
Prisoners in work camps; "There is scope to make prisoners into more productive members of society"
Abortion; "There is no policy at the moment"
Privatising schools; "Private schools do take the pressure of funding off government, however every child should be able to obtain a quality public education".
ABC Rescue package; "It is not the place of government to bail out organisations that have not been economically well managed".
Reducing cost of land for first home buyers; "Assistance packages can feed inflation however the cost of housing is a problem, it is out of control. This is a policy area we are working on"
Would he be prepared to have an independent Speaker (of the Parliament); "Yes, I have absolutely no problem with that I would be very comfortable with an independent speaker".
Stance on Heritage; "If you go to Europe and walk down one of the streets there are buildings everywhere hundreds of years old, the Yacht Club was a terrible shame where was the benefit to the public? If it was something to benefit the community I could understand but all that happened was some rich guy got richer".
Plans to deal with farm run off to the Great Barrier Reef; "Environmental policy is still being firmed up".
My mate David at KiwiBlog, has done a good summary of the US election results:
The final electoral college counts looks to be 364 for Obama and 174 for McCain. North Carolina and Missouri are not final but look to go to Obama and McCain respectively. That is around the scale of Clinton in 1996 who won by 379 to 159.
On the popular vote Obama has 63,687,862 to 56,283,891 for McCain - 53% to 46%. Obama got around 1,600,000 more votes that Bush did in 2004.
The states Obama picked up from Bush are Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
In the Senate the Democrats did quite well but well back on their target of. They started with 51 seats (including two Independents) and now have 56 - picking up North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Colorado. Sadly they did not defeat Ted Stevens in Alaska.
In the House they picked up 19 seats and the balance is now 254 to 174 with 7 undecided.
The exit poll results are quite interesting also:
Obama vs McCain was 49% to 48% amongst men and 56% to 43% amongst women
White men went McCain 57% to 41% and white women 53% to 46%
Blacks went 95% for Obama
Latinos around 67% for Obama
McCain won over 65s 53% to 45% while Obama won under 30s by 66% to 32%
Obama won amongst the 6% earning over $200K by 52% to 46%
14% of white Democrats voted for McCain while 8% of white Republicans voted for Obama
20% of Conservatives voted Obama
11% were first time voters and they went Obama 69% to 30%
And then there were state ballots:
Arizona voted to bay gay marriage and hiring illegal immigrants
Arkansas banned gay couples adopting children
California also voted to ban gay marriage but against for parental notification of teenage abortions
Colorado voted to end against ending affirmative action and not to ban abortion by defining human life as beginning at conception
Florida voted to ban gay marriage
Maryland voted to allow a video lottery
Massachusetts voted not to repeal state income tax
Michigan voted to allow medical marijuana and stem cell research
Nebraska voted to end affirmative action
South Dakota voted not to ban abortion except for mother’s health, incest or rape
Washington voted to allow doctor-assisted suicide
Many of the state polls will be found to be unconstitutional and never put into effect incidentally.
Finally, Obama's speech yesterday was truly inspirational and historic for a President-elect...
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
Till now you and I have enjoyed a casual kind of political relationship.
We’re kind of on the same side. We both like to think of ourselves as being progressive, caring kind of men who put effort into building a better and more sustainable society. We run into each other at political events, or we participate in the same campaigns. We sometimes say hello to each other and have a yarn.
Alongside 15 others, we sat around the People Against Demolishing the Yacht Club (PADYC) table at Wendy Richardson’s place over some three months trying to produce a decent result around issues of Cairns heritage and development. Towards the end of that cause you came to witness, and play a supporting role, in some of the nonviolent direct action (NVDA) that I helped organise in September and October this year.
In early October you agreed with the PADYC consensus that Cairns mayor Val Schier was less forthcoming, and less effective on the Yacht Club issue, than we would like. You told me that the Cairns 1st team had plans to help Val become more effective as Mayor.
When the successfully elected Councillor Di Forsyth climbed up onto the Yacht Club roof, you, Janine Aitken and Mark Buttrose (all unelected candidates for Cairns 1st in March 2008) were there to support her. You all rejoiced in her success, and you all celebrated the ongoing commitment of Cairns 1st to sustainable development and democracy in Cairns. We got a glimpse of what people power in Cairns could look like.
Then you wrote on this blog on Friday 31 October.. “don't you mob think Val's job is hard enough without your constant badgering. The Cairns Post, "little" John and this blog seems to derive great satisfaction from pillorying the mayor.”
I was a bit shocked, and I wondered why you were going for Michael Moore so bitterly. Along with related events that week your comments made me want to ask “What’s going on with Cairns 1st?” “Why do Cairns 1st seem to find it so hard delivering on their promises?” “Where’s the community alliance we need?”
The related events were:
the Wednesday (29/10) meeting I went to with Michael Moore, to talk with Val Schier, where Val dismissed our concerns out of hand, treated us like wayward children, and lied to us;
Thursday morning (30/10) when Di Forsyth snubbed 25 Yacht Club activists (on legal advice) and didn’t even say hello to us on her way into court, even though she’d been party to organising our attendance;
Thursday evening (30/10) when Cairns 1st held a meeting at which Val labelled me as aggressive and threatening because I challenged her at our Wednesday meeting.
This letter is to ask you, “please don’t circle the wagons and treat us like enemies”. We’re not your enemy. Like us or lump us, we’re your friends.
History
I’ve always had concerns about just how good a Mayor Val Schier could be, and my concerns run in two directions. First is the matter of executive experience, and how well equipped is Val to use the Mayor’s executive powers in service to the people of Cairns. Second is the process of responsibility and accountability to the community, via organised community groups, in whose interests the Mayor’s executive powers ought be used.
Events in 2003, when Val was putting together Team ’04 Cairns, made me think that Val wasn’t paying much attention to community accountability. Val was then, and is now, far too dependent on senior ALP politicians like Desley Boyle and Jan McLucas. My concerns led me to run as an independent candidate for Mayor in 2004 so I could put up accountability as an issue, as well as Aboriginal and environmental issues which were being neglected by Team ’04 Cairns (of which you were a member). I gave my preferences to Val, but Kevin Byrne won 51.5% of the Primary vote and was re-elected.
In 2008 I decided to swallow my reservations about Val and her Labor links - and stick to campaigning against Kevin. I reasoned that we could get rid of KB first, and then figure out how to assist Val in becoming a strong and effective Mayor for the various Cairns communities. That task is proving more difficult than I imagined, but I haven’t given up on it.
Wednesday 29 October
That’s why I organised the meeting with Val last Wednesday. So I could discuss with our Mayor a range of opportunities she has to work in effective partnership with the community. So that all together we might bring needed change to the administration of Cairns Regional Council. Administration, not just policy.
I wanted to ask Val why she had so badly failed the Yacht Club campaign.
Anyone who wants to check Val’s election promises around the Yacht Club only has to check out the video put up by Michael Moore on this blog.
Val’s best ally, Councillor for Division 7 Di Forsyth, worked hard to keep this promise. Resolutions were passed TWICE by Cairns Regional Council (so much for not having the numbers) authorising CRC to take action in relation to the Yacht Club. Val had a perfect opportunity to shine, and to make friends and allies out of some 9,000 Cairns residents.
If we count in the time required for Val to be fully briefed and prepared, along with the phone calls she’d need to make to Anna Bligh and Desley Boyle, we were asking Val for a commitment of 40 minutes. 40 minutes.
Now it’s bad enough that Val chose NOT to make the effort. It’s bad enough that in office she characterises the issue as one carried out “in the sand-pit” (I think that’s a reference to childishness). It’s bad enough that she is clearly not listening to either her team members, or to the people who elected her.
But what’s ten times worse is that when Di Forsyth stepped up to the plate for civil disobedience, and took a significant personal and professional risk, Val chose to invest those 40 minutes undermining her friend and colleague, and the Yacht Club campaign, through media spin. On Monday 13 October Val Schier used her million dollar media management team to raise allegations that Di Forsyth was in breach of the Cairns Regional Council “Code of Conduct”.
At our Wednesday 29 October meeting Val claimed the whole thing had been a mistake, and she blamed her staff.
Aftermath
On Thursday 30 October, after Di had appeared for a mention in court, Val repeated the allegations on channel 7 local news. That’s quite some mistake.
It’s clear to me that Val Schier is floundering in her job as Mayor. She appears to have a “John Wayne” vision of leadership where the noble hero calls the shots, and lesser creatures toe the line. If the leader doesn’t know, or can’t do it – then nobody can. Instead of calling upon community leaders and resources to join in the task of government, Val has circled the wagons – relying exclusively on the advice of paid flunkies like Noel Briggs and Peter Tabulo (who didn’t get her elected) instead of on her colleagues like yourself, Mark Buttrose, and Di Forsyth (who did get her elected).
Who knows how these issues could have played out if Val had supported her colleagues instead of undermining them?
“Hi Anna, it’s Val Schier here. I’m ringing to tell you what a huge mistake you’re making about the Cairns Yacht Club. There’s a huge feeling here that we need to come up with a better solution. I’m feeling the pressure all the time and, as a friend, I’m telling you that something has to be done. Tell you what! Can you find a couple of hours to spend at a public meeting in Cairns where you can gauge for yourself the level of community demand. I think we can turn this into a positive, if we can just get Cairns Ports to pay some attention. My mate Mark Buttrose can brief you on the design issues”.
Di Forsyth doesn’t have to climb the roof. Desley and Steve don’t have to fight for their seats. Anna has a better chance of staying Premier. Val makes 9,000 plus friends and supporters. The people of Cairns get a waterfront precinct they like. Win, win, win.
That’s the picture I want to see. That’s the kind of Mayor I want.
That’s the kind of vision I hoped you, Mark, Janine, Di, Kirsten and colleagues would put to Val last Thursday evening. Instead I’m told you avoided all the hard issues and let Val attack and criticise a number of people she ought be forging alliances with. I’m told that Cairns 1st won’t be getting together for six months - while Val continues alone down the blind alleys of executive failure.
Cairns 1st held out the promise of vision and integrity. So far it’s produced spin and mediocrity. C,mon mate, we can do better than that. We’ve got four years.
I’m conducting this conversation in public because my vision of politics is one where community members are able to have free and frank disagreements – that coalesce into better policy and shared commitment. If I didn’t respect you, if I didn’t respect Val, I wouldn’t bother inviting public discussion. As it is I look forward to your considered response.
A very concerning and serious breach of safety occurred on during one of the last protest actions at the old Yacht Club building.
This occurred the morning when Cairns Regional Councillor, Dianne Forsyth made a sit-in protest on the roof, attracting national media attention. This was the sixth successful breach of security, following the Port Authority installation of 24 hour security guards on the property. Seems like they didn't do a very good job.
Cairns Ports Security and Emergency Manager, David Good has acknowledged he's in receipt of a formal complaint, considered to be an unsafe act that occurred just after 7am on Monday 13th October.
For the record, Mr Good called the site 'the former Cairns Yacht Club building removal and demolition site.' They knew what they were doing there, and it wasn't saving the old girl.
The dangerous action carried out by a security guard, as we used a high-rise ladder to get Dianne Forsyth onto the roof.
The action to get the Councillor on the roof, was planned three weeks in advance, with safety for those participating, utmost in our minds. Bryan was the Diversion Team Leader. Mark was the Human Shield Team leader, and I was appointed Safety Team co-ordinator.
STATEMENT TO CAIRNS PORT AUTHORITY
At 7.10 am on Monday 13 October 2008, Cairns Regional Councillor Di Forsyth made an act of nonviolent civil disobedience to stop the demolition of Cairns’ historic Yacht Club building at No 4 Wharf Street, Cairns.
I (Michael Moore) was the designated Safety Co-ordinator for the action. This involved in ensuring that the Councillor maintained a high degree of safety and security during her climb. Councillor Forsyth climbed a ladder onto the north western roof of the Yacht Club building. Councillor Forsyth wore a hard hat, a safety harness, and safety rope, to enable the exercise was carried out with due care for her protection. Our Safety team consisted of three people, whose role it was to secure and raise the ladder alongside the building, and hold it securely in place. I climbed the ladder first, with a seating platform. I was to place this platform on the roof frame, to allow a safe place for Councillor Forsyth to be seated.
As I was climbing the ladder, I felt it move away from the side on the building. I became alarmed, and immediately felt in grave danger. I was some two meters above the concrete laneway (between the Hilton Hotel and the Yacht Club building), on the ladder, when I felt the ladder move. I was surprised that the ladder was moving, when it was being stabilized by two people on the ground level. I looked to see what was causing the ladder to move away from the side of the building.
I saw a Security Guard at the louvered window, close to the top of the ladder. The Security Guard had a hold of the ladder with his right hand, through the louvered windows. He was attempting to push the ladder away from the building, and to my right. The movement of the ladder was such that I felt the ladder was going to topple, and I would fall to the ground and be injured.
At this point, the language from this security guard was foul and offensive, and he continued to move push the ladder away from the side of the building. He used words such as "Fuck off" etc. He was extremely aggressive in his manner, and at the same time, forceful to the point of violence in his actions.
As a result of the security guard's actions, a louver glass window was broken and fell to the ground, adjacent to where a large number of supporters were standing. Immediately after the glass broke, the security guard backed away from the window.
I overcame my fear, and decided I could rely upon the people securing the ladder on the ground, now that it was unhindered. I continued to scale the ladder, holding the seating platform with one hand, to the roof line. I placed the seating platform successfully on the roof frame. I made a second trip up the ladder to secure a safety rope.
Following this, Cr Diane Forsyth successfully climbed ladder and positioned herself safety and securely on the roof of the Cairns Yacht Club building.
Cairns Ports Security and Emergency Manager, David Good has completed his investigation into the incident.
"The report is sitting with the Operations Manager, Michael Barnett as it requires his input before being signed off by the General Manager," David Good said.
Unfortunately Barnett is currently at the Fort Lauderdale boat show representing the Super Yacht Cluster and will be back at work next week.
"It will be at least a week until it gets to the General Manager," David Good said.
We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, keep a lookout for a man in a yellow raincoat with glasses. Approach with caution.
After over a year of political Council and State government wrangling; three years of severe damage to what was a pristine coastline view from Cairns; a Federal Minister's intervention; much Cairns City Council's mis-management and negligence, False Cape is about to get some urgent pre-wet season surgery.
Yesterday, Cairns construction company CEC rolled back onto the work site, that has been abandoned for months.
Never explained properly to the public, the Council have not invoked their $650,000 bond that they should be holding for this use, to spend towards clean up the 2 klm long False Cape site. Instead, as a act of mad local politics, they're paying for it themselves, out of Ratepayer money, and added it to developer John Ewens rate's bill.
CEC moved a large excavator onto the site, presumably to start remedial work. You have to wonder how an excavator will stabilise the now scarred hillslopes.
Over the last two wet seasons, substantial sediment run off was recorded. Save False Cape campaigners have been fighting for action for nearly three years. You can see the damage to False Cape from these amazing photos taken onboard the Buttrose Nowakowski death-defying helicopter ride, that I'm assured will not be an attraction at next year's Cairns Show.
It must be difficult being a Cairns Post photographer (I know a couple of them actually).
I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these three Post photos, from three different stories, all sporting the same style and angle. I wonder if the Sub Ed noticed the similarity, before publication? They all appeared on or about the same day last week.
A lot has been made of my so-called attack of our new Mayor's lack of action over protecting the historic Cairns Yacht Club building.
Val's running mate, Balaclava vet Dr Paul Matthews, whom I actually like, but at times acts like he's been de-sexed, but not micro-chipped. Paul came to the rescue to the online slander. He says what has been happening on this Blog, and other forums, that people are pillorying the new mayor. "It's public derision, ridicule or abuse... me thinx that pretty well sums up what's happening," said Paul Matthews, who ran against now Deputy Mayor Margaret Cochrane.
For a start, let me put a couple of things on the record. I supported a change in our local Council prior to March this year. I stand by that. Like Cairns 1st supporter and Yacht Club campaigner, Wendy Davie, I still think we are better off than with the guy who was running this place prior to Val taking over.
However, that doesn't mean when you elect a new mayor, and a bunch of Councillors, you sit idylly back and let them do what they want for four years (or four and a half years actually.. and another half a million in salary). It's the job of those that voted for a change, to keep them honest, and see that they strive to deliver change. I bet a majority of those attacking the State Government at present probably voted for them last time.
I don't buy the old argument that Mayor Val doesn't have the numbers. That's a cop out. Sure it's harder to move a motion around the Council table, but that's only a portion of how Council does business. The Mayor should be a primary proponent of ideas and set direction, and thinking. Promote visions, and instill grand thinking for a community. The Mayor should be bold and innovative. She shouldn't travel all the way to a public meeting in Mossman and say "I'm only here to listen."
I met with Val last Wednesday because I was genuinely disappointed that she decided to not make one public statement after being elected about heritage. When the campaign to save the old Yacht Club building got more and more attention, as the deceitful State Government hurried it's removal prior to it's State sitting of Parliament just two blocks away, Val became more and more confused and nervous about going near the subject. Deep within her heart, I have no doubt she wanted to speak out, but all the time was considering "what would Desley and Anna think?"
It was an embarrassing and appalling situation. Here we had a new 'green' and 'environmentally concerned' mayor at the helm, the first in eight years, and she failed to even put out one press statement or front one interview in support of heritage preservation. And when she did, it was to condemn her fellow Cairns 1st Councillor Di Forsyth for her actions to save the old building. Now there's something very wrong about that, don't you think?
Imagine if Val had gone to battle and carried out the Council minuted mandate to get the Premier before the Community, as was requested. That is all we asked. This wasn't something that would have got her off-side with her Labor hacks. It would have gained her great respect as a negotiator and loyal and strong advocate for the Cairns community.
I've been told that Val did a lot behind the scenes to get a meeting with the Premier, in an attempt to save the old waterfront icon, which now sits in pieces of ruin on an empty University field north of town, and in a wrecker's yard on the northern beaches. Well, that may be well and good, but the Mayor needs to learn to become a better communicator with her residents. A master communicator is the requirement of Mayor. I didn't see one media statement about her efforts to get Bligh before the people. Not one. Zip. Zilch. If her media team are there to make her look good and promote good policies of this Council, then they're failing rather miserable.
Chatting with a senior business leader today, who voted for to get rid of Kevin Byrne, questioned that we haven't got what we voted for. "We may have made a mistake, do you think Michael?" he said.
I guess we simply wanted a louder advocate for the people, for issues that we felt were being ignored or neglected. Heritage and environment were two biggies that Val was strong and loud on before her $158,000 salary kicked in.
I want Val to succeed. I want her to excel. I want her to achieve for this community. It's why we all put in so much effort. Sure, I'll give her a go, but this job is in partnership with the people, not in separation of them. I help fund her and her fellow Councilor's salary and I, like many thousands, contributed to the debate for a change in our community.
Let me take you back a few months. Tell me who said this...
"I want to ensure that our heritage is looked after.
We need to have waterfront that will attract people .. to see how distinctively different this place is... both for the people that live here and the tourists to come here."
It was Val Schier, just a few days before the March election at the Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce mayoral debate luncheon. I even travelled up in the car with Val. Funny that.
Cairns Regional Council workers are repairing a sewer main break in Lake Street near the Cairns Base Hospital.
The break is contained but will take workers most of tomorrow (Tuesday) to locate and repair the trouble spot due to the depth of the main in the area.
A road break has been dug approximately three metres wide and eight metres long in order to reach the pipe work.
As a consequence traffic will be delayed at times tomorrow with half of the road closed in the vicinity of the break.
[Council] will advise when traffic conditions return to normal.
The Americans and Kiwis both go to the polls this week.
Tomorrow, as we are fixated on Melbourne Cup fever, the US election will come to an end after 931 days and $5 billion of campaigning.
Then, on Saturday, Kiwis across the Tasman will decide between incumbent Helen Clark, whose been in power since 1999, is striving for a record fourth term in office. She's pitted against Mr Smooth, National's John Key, and it's not looking good for Helen.
I think the race across the Tasman will be much closer than Barack's battle for the White House, but I'm not a betting man.
This week will all be about winners and losers. And I'm not talking about the Queensland State Government.
Syd Walker strikes a blow for freedom and queries the real agenda behind Steven Conroy's plan to censor the Internet for Australians.
Like Tony Blair a decade earlier in Britain, it’s reasonable to infer that Kevin Rudd cut deals with powerful lobbies before he came to power in 2007.
These presumably helped him – and the ALP - to get elected. They may have helped secure fair treatment from powerful elements within the mainstream media in the run-up to the election. Of course, that such deals took place is speculation. If they were done, they were done behind the scenes. But perhaps on occasion they may be inferred?
A probable example of such a deal, in this author’s opinion, was the bizarre announcement made by Kevin Rudd, pre-election, that in office an ALP Government would seek to prosecute the Iranian President in the International Court of Justice.
At the time, Rudd explained the ‘crimes’ of President Ahmadinejad as he saw them. These included the Iranian President’s alleged statement that Israel should be “wiped off the map“.
This claim was based on a blatant mistranslation of the Ahmadinejad’s words. In fairness to Rudd, the same error is obediently repeated on an almost daily basis by ‘Your’ ABC and the SBS (not to mention the commercial mass media), so in Australia only independently spirited internet users were likely to know that. Such is the bias and conformism of our ‘mainstream media’ - and such is the potentially liberating force of the Internet.
Ahmadinejad’s other major alleged ‘offence’, according to Mr Rudd, was that he has queried aspects of Second World War history. Rudd did not explain why he saw this as an Australian foreign policy priority.
I wrote to Kevin Rudd before the election, seeking clarification and setting out my concerns on this matter in rather more detail. In reply, I received a re-iteration of his previous statements. It was like communicating with an answering machine. Rationality, it seems, did not underpin the policy. It left me to surmise that the policy was a done deal, probably with representatives of Australia’s Zionist Lobby. The last thing his office wanted was to provide a rational justification. There was none. The policy was a politically convenient expression of sectarian bias. Rudd and his advisers knew none of the mass media would ask hard questions about it.
Quite recently, the Rudd Government quietly dropped its bid to prosecute Iran’s President. Presumably wiser heads in the Department of Foreign Affairs prevailed, saving Australia from ridicule in the international arena. Perhaps the wheat export lobby weighed in?
Which brings me, in a round-about way, to the main topic of the day – Internet censorship.
Another quite bizarre policy that Rudd took to the electorate was a promise to restrict Internet access so only ‘safe’ websites are available in Australia (via a compulsory 'Clean Feed').
It has been put about that this remarkable censorship project is (a) largely at the behest of the Christian lobby and (b) targeted at pornography, especially child pornography.
I may be wrong, but I suspect both these claims are deceptions.
Undoubtedly there is anti-pornography sentiment within Australia’s Christian community. But is Christianity really so resurgent in modern Australia that unprecedented restrictions on Internet access – restrictions that go beyond what other western jurisdictions have contemplated – will be a popular measure here? Do prominent Church leaders really see this as a crucial issue? Anyhow, since when did Christian leaders set the moral rules and legal rubric for all Australians?
Where, one may ask, is the evidence that Internet pornography is a damaging phenomenon that does real harm to Australian society – harm that merits significant pubic expenditure (well over $100 million) and potential disruption to the free flow of ideas and communications? Where is the evidence that unprecedented censorship is merited to curb the threat of ‘child pornography’ when there are already strict laws prohibiting the abuse of children and international co-operation to enforce that? In an attempt to find out, I first scanned relevant Government websites, then called the Office of the Federal Communications Minister Steven Conroy, as well as his Department. It took me a long time to get hold of anyone who could give me any answers at all. I finally struck gold – but as don’t want to embarrass the person in question, I won’t name her/him.
One of my questions concerned the Government’s evidentiary basis. In plain English, what research and/or other written material has the government drawn on to formulate its policy? I thought by studying that, I might glean insights into the Government’s thinking.
The answer was surprising (or perhaps not, depending on one’s level of cynicism). The Government is about to tender for consultants to do a literature review of the literature on that subject. Expect an ad any day soon on the relevant government websites…
Commissioning a literature review, in order to formulate policy, is often a good idea. But surely it should precede the formulation of policy? Apparently that’s not Senator Conroy’s style. He prefers to set policy, then spend pubic money finding good reasons to support it.
This strengthened my view that the Government’s scheme to censor the Internet was decided in advance of a serious, rational and inclusive policy discussion. That’s not Rudd’s normal style, methinks. Now Conroy is scrambling not only to find practical ways to put the policy into operation – he even has the audacity to spend our cash to dig up supporting arguments.
I was informed that pilot projects of the Government’s proposed mandatory ‘filter’ will get underway by the end of the year - through just a few ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to start. Which ISPs? Apparently the Government is looking for willing participants at the moment. As one of the side effects of participation is likely to be significant drop in connection speed, I’m surprised any ISPs are willing to stick their hands up. Maybe they won’t?
In fact, a trial was undertaken in Tasmania some time ago, with results that have caused internet buffs a lot of concern, despite attempts to gild the lily in the official report. So why are more trials needed?
It seems that Senator Conroy is trying to get the scheme in operation, however vague, however many loose ends remain to be tidied, however technologically hair-brained. He wants to start with a few ISPs, then expand the scheme.
Is the Rudd Government about to build the Great Australian Firewall, brick by brick, right or wrong? I remarked that many (not all) of my concerns would be allayed if the government gave a cast iron, plain English guarantee that NO sites will be blacklisted and banned on the basis of the political views and intellectual content therein. Genuine independent oversight would also be needed. In effect, it should be illegal to ban a site on spurious grounds combined with considerable transparency in implementation.
No such guarantees exist. I was told that under the government’s proposal, the list of banned sites will be maintained by the Australia Communications and Media Authority. A range of criteria will be used to prepare the list. It will not be publicly accessible.
Rudd needs to pull the government’s horns in on this – and fast.
It’s political disaster in the making.
Here's EFA Chair Dale Clapperton discussing the net filter on TV this week.
We’ve just seen in Australia how a hyped-up moral panic over sex and child safety was used to justify obnoxious, irrational, inappropriate policies in the Northern Territory intervention. That was the Howard Government’s grubby mess, which the new Government inherited. Rudd doesn’t need to taint himself in similar fashion. Does he?
While making calls about this today, I rang local MP Jim Turnour’s office. I thought I might ask him about the policy and voice my concerns directly to my ALP Federal representative.
I’ll have to wait. Jim is in China for a fortnight, checking out their Great (Fire)Wall, perhaps.
Another important new local blog joins the stable of independent commentary.
This one is all about Auzex Resources plans to mine for minerals in the idyllic rainforest suburb of Speewah, close to Kuranda.
They have been given permission to explore in and around World Heritage rain-forest, and they are probably looking for tin, bismuth, silver, molybdenum or gold. We hope there will be some forest left when they have finished.
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Where, one may ask, is the evidence that Internet pornography is a damaging phenomenon that does real harm to Australian society – harm that merits significant pubic expenditure (well over $100 million) and potential disruption to the free flow of ideas and communications? Where is the evidence that unprecedented censorship is merited to curb the threat of ‘child pornography’ when there are already strict laws prohibiting the abuse of children and international co-operation to enforce that?
