Voice of the people

The controversial Ansons Road development project proposal is back on the Agenda.
Dundowran and Craignish residents who protested against the proposed development last year thought the issue was dead in the water. Not so, says Tanya Sanders who has organised a public meeting next Saturday, April 5, 4pm at the Dundowran Hall on Dundowran Road.
Tanya said the previous proposal was never submitted for decision but the developer, Braith Vidler, was asked to provide more information. She said Mr Vidler took 12 months to provide that information for council and now residents have until April 16 to lodge objections.
The original plan included 600 sq metre housing blocks, town houses, shops, a tavern and sporting facilities on a site with no sewerage connection and one access road. Land adjacent to the proposed development in Ansons Road and Sempfs Road is zoned Garden Residential, minimum 2000 sq metre blocks, which cannot be subdivided because there is no sewerage connection. The land proposed for development is currently zoned Emerging Community.
Tanya said Mr Vidler had submitted three alternative proposals for sewerage. The first was a piped connection to the Nikenbah Treatment Plant, the second to provide a large trap on site to collect sewerage and pump it daily into trucks for transport to the treatment plant, the third was to set aside an area of planted land and install a much larger system, similar to the systems now used in the area by individual householders.
Residents worried by the proposal were urged to attend the meeting. Tanya said it was probably the last opportunity the community would have to discuss the issues and lodge objections.
For more information Tanya can be contacted on 0401 356 878.

– The Usual Suspects –

 John Neve on his favourite editor:

Nancy Says “We have the canvas to promote arts”, what arts?
The art of selective reporting, the art of looking the other way,
maybe the art of self promotion. Now the election is over, an
election where nearly a third of enrolled voters failed to do so!
Added to which many of those that voted, voted blind due to a
lack of comprehensive reporting.
 
What is a newspaper about? I thought it was about providing a
balanced insight in to what is going on around us. Not our daily,
it tells us what it thinks we need to know. But now the election is
over, the lid is being lifted. “Staff owed $4.5 million”, “sewerage
plant will have to be replaced in the next few years at an estimated
cost of $20 million”.
 
None of these issues just appeared, the vandalism, graffiti, budget
deficits, airport upgrades etc. To those who take an interest in
their community, they have been with us for years. But unseen by
our Daily, unreported by our council reporter and ignored by those
“safe hands” Nancy Says will guide us “to discover and share in
building a grand region”.

The Usual Suspects 30/03/08

John Neve writes:

Nancy Says “Long overdue is the clearing of the air on Wide Bay
Water by Tourism, Regional Development and Industry Minister
Desley Boyle”! Nowhere have I read or heard Ms Boyle comment
on the issues debated in this city regarding Wide Bay Water and
the old Hervey Bay City Council. Maybe I missed something?
 
Nancy Says “The corporate option should be explored by the
Fraser Coast Regional Council in relation to other units”! Why?
Corporatization is only one step away from privatization, is this
the step you want to go down?
 
I believe ALL public utilities should be owned by the people.
Water, electricity, sewerage, gas, roads, rail, health, none
of these should ever have been privatized. You tell me one
area in which privatization of public utilities has reduced costs,
improved service or increased quality?
 
However, as an ex board member? I can see where Nancy is
coming from.

The Usual Suspects 29/03/08

Inside Trader writes:

Loved catching up on reading on your site. [and others]
There are 2 issues I have noted of interest, maybe also to your readers.
1. The full page ad in the Hervey Bay Independent (28/03/0 about the Waterpark. Something really smelt funny about that ad. It looked like a typical political ad in many ways. Whether Wide Bay Water and/or Andrew McNamara were involved behind the scenes is yet to be seen. But there was some scary non-factual info in the ad. Apart from the usual Andy Pandy supporters saying how wonderful it will be the ad also said things like $5million from the state government but won’t cost the tax payers a cent.

 Where do the authors of the ad think the $5million comes from? How much will it also cost the ratepayers of the Fraser Coast? If it will all be free except for a wave rider machine as stated in the ad, who is going to pay the ongoing wages, costs, maintenance and refurbishment? One can only assume the ratepayers, now including the ratepayers of Maryborough, Tiaro etc.

Even if Wide Bay Water magnanimously agree to pay those costs, it is still the ratepayer who ultimately pays. It does not come out of the pocket of the CEO of WBW. What part of our foreshore will be lost to the waterpark? If it is the Seafront oval area where do we then put those festivals etc? Will the ratepayers then be up for the costs, possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars, of developing a new facility for festivals?

To give some credit to some of the previous Hervey Bay councillors, they asked similar questions but I am not aware of any answers they received. Maybe Sue Brooks could advise?

2) Fraser Coast Freeclarion had an interesting article on Council and councilor decision making. It is always easy for councilors to make the easy/give money decisions. But can the current crop of councilors make the hard take money/cut jobs decisions that are really in the best interests of the ratepayers?  You’ll find that article here:

http://frasercoastfreeclarion.blogspot.com/2008/03/hard-work-begins.html

The Usual Suspects

Our regional soothsayer has changed her tack, her target
being “Children of streets”. Rather than making some constructive
and concrete suggestions, she does a Pontius Pilate and blames
our politicians!
 
When will our soothsayer and those like her accept that in a
democracy, the people are the government (aren’t we?), we
elect the politicians.
 
Violence on our streets, dole cheats, drug addiction and the
other items covered by Nancy Says, are our problem. Blaming
others is not the answer, even though it goes down well with her
readers.
 
John Neve writes again… (Part 4 we think)…

“Streets in third world countries are safer than ours” Nancy Says.
I thought that prophets could foretell the future and so guide the
people on the path to righteousness? Seems our prophet has failed us?
 
The Maryborough Central railway station has been graffitied and in
a state of disrepair for many years. One has to wonder at the
sudden clearing of our prophets eyes!
 
I walk Hervey Bay’s esplanade in the early hours of every morning
and have never seen our prophet! Often I walk it at night,save for
a few drunks or druggies, it’s a great place to walk. One has to
wonder about the “third world countries” our prophet frequents?
 
One more cynical than me, might feel Nancy Says these things to
distract us from her past meanderings, regarding her anointed ones.
Our leaders of her “brave new world”, but then, I’m not cynical, am I?
 
John A Neve

Strewthisback adds the following:

Who else is growing tired of Nancy’s neverending preaching and dicatator style editorials?  Once bearable reading, her views were often sensible and regularly hit the mark but recently the quality has vanished. 

 Does Bringbackstrewth fall into her category of “malicious websites run by anonymous cowards with sly agendas”?  Rest assured, we’ll continue to dig in against Madam Editor until she starts bringing credibility back to her beloved paper and stop trying to manipulate the community to her own desires. 

There are no hidden agendas here at Bringbackstrewth, just a desire to give the community somewhere to voice their opinions, become better informed on important issues and  encouraged to become involved in our community.

We’re not going away, we will get bigger, renew aquaintances with old contributors and we will develop a bigger network with the power of the people.  But, most of all we’ll keep telling it like it is.  Cheers!

As the dust settles

NOW comes the hard part - getting the new Fraser Coast Regional council structure to work more efficiently than the four it replaces.

The voting is done and, regardless of any lingering ill-feelings from some towards the amalgamation process, (or the divisions or no divisions arguments - thanks Sue!) the biggest restructuring of local government in the Queensland’s history is now well and truly a fact of life.

The recent election was just the beginning.  As soon as our new councilors have been appointed they need to hit the ground running.  The mayor might have his ideas but it will be up to the remaining ten councilors to help steer the good ship Fraser on her maiden voyage.

The job involves much more than just sorting out the nuts and bolts. It also means trying to improve on what was already there, a task that will involve the State Government as much as council and its councillors.  Our chosen representatives need to chase the funds to build on the past and to secure new opportunities that will make our region stand out above others, a driving force in the state with a careful balance of sustainable development and environmental sensibility. 

Our council needs to nurture the Tourism and Manufacturing industries in the region that provide the jobs.  Council also needs to look at harnessing the energies of the region’s youth to build a brighter future.  They need to work to ensure a unified community with improved sharing of resources, improved transportation links as well as consolidation of council business units.  Water should be brought in house again as an early priority to save significantly on duplication just as the 4 councils administrations have been brought together.. there is only one Fraser Coast Regional Council and water is still the responsibility of local government.

Development for development’s sake should not be embraced as it has previously, the new council needs to follow the State Government’s blueprint for sustainable growth and promote in-fill over new subdivisions.  Above all, we need leadership and that is where we hope they will surprise us all.

Today’s Thought

Controversial NSW Premier, Jack Lang, cautioned all politicians to “never complain, never explain and never resign!”

Seems our local newspaper editor comes from a similar mould. A fortnight ago she was labelling anyone caught using the internet to be a misinformer or a defamer or a political cannibal or, at least, an enabler of such dastardly tactics; and therefore only fit to be assigned to the nearest political gutter.

Now with no hint of where exactly on the road to Hervey Bay, she had her Damascus experience, this morning, she has given her editorial blessing to our new councillors using the internet; provided “they know the difference” between fair and unfair debate. Too bad that a fortnight ago she did not manage to differentiate between candidates who were being fair and reasonable on the net and any who were not. I guess it is hard to remember such subtleties when you are busy laying out photographs on a page to optimise the guilt by association.

Anyway, let’s not dwell on the bad old days. Let’s hope that like most good babyboomers, she is ready to take yet another cultural change in her stride and factor the internet into our other modes of community discussion; after all, a collection of websites sure beats giving candidates one whole minute to introduce their policies at a public meeting. I believe it is possible to achieve a productive symbiosis between the grassroots chaos of the internet and the professional journalism of the newspaper. The result could be an interesting column called “from the blogs”, which draws together particular themes by referencing various posts which can be read on the net. Hopefully, the topics we discuss will evolve beyond the “mine is better than yours” type of argie-bargie and we will tackle some interesting projects of real benefit to our region. For instance, Cy’s concern about polution seems to be stalling because of our collective lack of scientific knowledge.

I would be very interested to learn how our local scientists are managing any potentially negative side effects of their interventions into our environment. Do we have base level readings of the pollutants to which Cy has referred? Are there any longitudinal studies of the impact of spreading treated waste on our soils. These are things with which, as citizens, we should be routinely familiar, so that we can avoid simpistic debates like “it’s either green or technological.” If we stop accusing them, without any fair trial, of cover up and scientific fraud, perhaps these scientists will contribute something to our shared understanding of the issue.

Brian Canute

Tittletat corner:
 
Before the dust on the Fraser Coast Regional Council elections
has had time to settle. The regions self appointed king maker is
issuing decrees!  Thou shalt not be “taking part in, and giving
credibility to, malicious websites” and so she goes on. Her anointed
one has “promised a code of ethics”! This I assume is to take the
place of “The Code of Conduct” constantly ignored by recently
passed councils?
 
She goes on, thou shalt not “curry favour and assist re-election
chances”. Who’s I wonder?
 
At the start of a brave new era for the Fraser Coast, one can only
hope our newly elected read Nancy Says and do as they are told.
 
John A Neve.. who came back for another beaut swipe today (26/03)…

I must admit to finding it hard at times to follow the logic of our
local prophet, today was one such time. We are told of the “heavy
costs” due to “childish parochialism”. Of councillors “digging into
their bunkers ever deeper” and having an “imperious disregard for
compatibility” with other councils. Are these the same councillors
who with “experience” and a “safe pair of hands” are going to guide
our new $100 million plus council into the future?
 
But worry not, our Mayor/King “I’ll make us best”, will bring down
the gavel on those who pursue the old ways.

Self interest Vs The Common Good

John Neve writes: 

I believe any objective review of our Representative form of Democracy, would have to admit it has been eroded over time. As a direct result, many people have lost faith in their ability to influence the direction of their lives. 

Successive federal and state governments have introduced laws that restrict the ability of the ordinary Australian to participate. Very few people have the money or resources to stand for any level of government. Unless backed by a political party, church organisation or business group.  

There are a number of ways we could endeavour to restore faith in our political system. Some of these are as follows; cap the money spent by or on behalf of any candidate, do away with blanket voting for the Senate by removing the LINE on the ballot paper. The voter would then have to mark every box. Scrap compulsory voting and introduce fixed terms, thus removing opportunistic snap elections. Giving the electorate the time to truly assess a government’s performance. Most importantly, insist on equal electronic media coverage and limit lead times prior to an election. 

Better still, we could move to a Direct Democracy system. With a population of little more than 20 million, it would be easy to introduce a system similar to California or Switzerland.  We could hold referendums quarterly, with the added ability for citizen initiated referendums, if 10% of the population so desired. 

There are probably many other options, which would enable the people to have a greater say in how our country is run. But I believe some thing must be done, no one could deny the increasing loss of the citizens rights and privileges over the last 20 or 30 years. Those we choose to elect no longer listen to us, they now tell us what is good for us! Sad to say they often have gotten it wrong. 
 

John A Neve 

Brian Canute writes:

In WA, local government voting is not compulsory.

They also respect local government for what it is; local.

Between Perth and Fremantle, on the north shore of the Swan River,a distance of approximately 20 km, there are 8 local government areas.  They talk periodically of amalgamation, but prefer to cooperate by outsourcing their various services.  Meanwhile, the different councils are able to pursue their own philosophies, on matters such as debt level and entrepreneurial activity.

In Claremont, one of these LGA’s, the mayor used to wander around the shopping centre every Saturday, just chatting to people.

Interstingly, just to the north of these councils lies WA’s largest LGA, Stirling (250k).  During the WA Inc era, around 1990, guess where all the brown paper bags full of cash were found; yep, Stirling City Council, dominated by the large political parties and remote from the voters.

Unfortunately, Nancy and the state government do not get it.  The thing that makes a community prosperous is the linkages between the people; it works for bushfires and works for economic development. Hopefully these blogs will achieve what Nancy’s Newsletter (unless you own a horse) and amalgamation are trying to frustrate.  These blogs have a huge potential to be the mechanism by which we share problems, dreams and ideas.  And that can make us very prosperous.

Here’s a thought

Audrey Robb writes:

Well, I see that the people have spoken and re-elected mostly a bunch of proven failures to the amalgamated council.

I set out below some comments by Polly Watch on 24/4/06 printed in the Tasmanian Times website:

“Will Hodgman’s press release re public service bullying is simplistic in the extreme and suggests either gullibility or stupidity on his part - or a belief that members of the public are either stupid or gullible.

“Does he really believe that governments, at all three levels, will eradicate bullying when the following processes are a feature of governments Australia-wide, including those in Tasmania?  The three levels are known for the following examples of sick culture:

1.  Non-accountability to the public at even the most basic level because governments can’t be sacked (they are just regurgitated every two to four years or so);

2.  Top officials tell lies on a daily basis and employ professional liars, otherwise known as advisors or spin professionals at great expense to the public, to cover their rear ends;

3.  Elected representatives represent their own interests immediately they are elected and refuse to acknowledge public concerns - until the next election period when there is a media fest of more lies that benefits the party that the media (and its rich advertisers) are supporting;

4.  Elected representatives are so busy in the trough that they don’t know what their paid officers are doing, and don’t care;

5.  Various levels turn a blind eye to the conduct of other levels, provided their own rorting/power games are not exposed;

6.  Practically any behaviour is possible because there are no publicly-reported monitoring or auditing processes in place and reporting mechanisms in existence are deficient and are designed to be too cumbersome to be of any use;

7.  Public money is wasted every year use to end-of-year financial year spending sprees because of deficient accounting processes;

8.  Meetings are not recorded for the public record (local government) and generally the representatives are of poor intelligence and the paid personnel are uncontrolled and belligerent;

9.  The public are shut out of the democratic process and therefore become cynical and because they feel powerless, like lab rats, they stop caring and display childish dependency on officials, which adds to the sick cycle of governance;

10.  Public servants speaking out about the sickness of all levels of government and the lack of accountability are hounded out of the service and into ill health and permanent unemployment.

“If you’re serious about effective change, Will step up to the plate and lobby for citizens initiated referendum - as Neil Robson (of Robson rotation fame) did in his time in government.

“If you’re not serious - stop writing b……. and give up posturing.”

Sound familiar?

Another milestone

We well and truly crashed through the 20,000 hits today and judging by the new contributors having their say the word is starting to get ou there!

One webwatcher sent us the following link from our friends over at frasercoastfreeclarion: http://frasercoastfreeclarion.blogspot.com/2008/03/election-coverage-broke-three-codes.html  Very interesting reading indeed!

Just another warning:  We have had several impostors on this site already.. someone calling himself Stuart has been using the email address and website of Stuart from Hervey Bay Gossip.  The real Stuart advises by email he has never contributed to Bringbackstrewth or the original Strewth!  When you post, your IP address is recorded, we keep a note of IP addys and if your try to use someone else’s email address to post we will find out!  If it continues we will remove the comments link and all contributions will need to be sent via email..  Also, should you be pretending to be someone you are not you might find the person you imitate prosecutes you.

Hazard or not?

John Neve writes:

 I followed closely the debate on this site, between Cy d’Oliveira and others, regarding the Biotech Laboratories report on samples submitted to them. Not being a chemist it is not possible for me to do other than read said report. As to the reports ramifications, your guess is a good as mine. However, in the interests of health, tourism and the fishing industry, this matter must not be allowed to become lost!
 
The people of the Fraser Coast Region need answers. What are our new council, Wide Bay Water and the EPA going to do about the report? If it’s wrong we need to know, if it’s correct, what action will be taken to address the health issues?
 
Where government at any level is involved, there seems to be a tendency to hope it will all blow over. Out of site, out of mind, this is potentially to serious a matter for the people of the Fraser Coast to allow it to die.
 
I can only hope Cy and others pursue this issue and keep us informed, after all, if there is a risk, however small, it needs fixing.
 
John A Neve