Do they have the nerve?

We’ve been thinking about all the stories going around - council debts slowly rising to the surface, infighting among staff and worse still councillors who openly mouth off to all in ear shot about their fellow councilors.

Makes us really wonder how much egg is on the faces of Ms Bates and others who lauded the “safe hands” around the last election.   Come on, lets be serious - the only council without underlying money woes was Woocoo and that was only because they simply had to throw a grader over the odd road occasionally.

David Dalgleish was quoted last week as being overwhelmed by Maryborough’s infrastructure problems - hang on Dave, what about all the white elephants Hervey Bay Council presided over? Then we look out to Tiaro and from what we can tell, they had a plan in place to catch up on their neglected infrastructure but amalgamation ensured that all went out the window.

The state government has just indicated they are prepared to admit they stuffed up calculating the cost of amalgamation.  The purse strings haven’t been closed on assistance yet our fearless CEO comes out yesterday saying he won’t hold his breath and they won’t cover this or that.  What a load of nonsense Andrew.  Swallow your pride son and hold your cap right under the minister’s nose and don’t take it away until you have your share and half that of the next guy.

The money is on the table - if we don’t grab every cent we can, other councils will.  What happened to the rivalry between the Bay and Bundy?  Its gone - look at their council doing every damned bit they can to make the most of what the government is offering!  We will miss out if bury our heads in the sand.

From the Mayor and CEO down, it is time the elected representatives and senior management of the Fraser Coast Regional council all got off their proverbial backsides and started making things happen.  Projects are stalling left right and centre because council has thrown up their hands and guys like Cr Dalgleish are running about telling anyone who will listen how hard the situation is - if it is too hard get out and let us vote in someone who is prepared to make things happen!

We’re none too pleased and once we’ve digested the first budget no doubt the anger will rise even more.  We’ve put up with poor governance for too long.  We must expect better and we must demand our elected representatives stop warming seats and make things happen again.. this region has massive potential but it that potential can’t eventuate on its own.

Stripped of our freedoms

     Nancy Says.
 
“Business of individuals, not governments”,Nancy Says
and she is very right. It appears Nancy and I have some
thing in common! We both drink fermented brews. But
Nancy’s article is not about alcohol, it’s about personal
freedom. Over the last twenty or thirty years we have
been stripped of our freedom of choice and freedom of
association. This has been done by successive governments
under the guise of Safety, Health, Terrorism or Political
correctness!!!
I find it amazing that since the day our ancestors crawled
out of the slim, stood up and took the first step on dry
land. Our personal Safety, Health and Thoughts were ours
and ours alone. Now educated, living in the SMART state
and shooting for the stars, we have to be told what is
good or bad for us!!!!! We are told what to say, what to
think and worse, not to argue.
Nancy and I might, just might, have two things in common.
Our loss of personal FREEDOM.
 
John A Neve

Peak Panic

Here he goes again, last week Andy Pandy enthralled parliament with his latest ravings on oil supply.  We don’t doubt that all things must come to an end but we can still recall his predictions of $2 a litre fuel by Christmas.. which Christmas Andrew?  We might also point out that a quick google of the term Peak Oil will not only give you the version AP reads from but also the flip side which clearly indicates there is sufficient oil in diverse locations and forms to supply the planet for many years to come.

If Mr McNamara so passionately believes we will reach the point where fuel is rationed and we are forced to drastically change our lifestyles for the worse to suit, why doesn’t he start giving us some answers? 

Here’s a suggestion - instead of wasting millions on dams that won’t fill, lets open a world leading research centre into alternate transportation technologies. water production & processing technology and other planet-friendly technologies right here on the Fraser Coast.

–o–

    Nancy Says Vol: 20

 

Nancy Says “A change in direction is needed now” and how right

she is. I am pleased to admit Nancy’s 99% correct, Australia’s

history and social/political system should be a mandatory part of

our education curriculum.

 

The only part of Nancy’s editorial I disagree with, is learning

Butchulla, as a child forced to learn Latin, I see no point in

learning a dead language. Chinese, Japanese, Russian etc

yes, yes, yes, any language that helps our trade and political

aspirations. But Butchulla and Latin, no way.

 

On the down side, yes there is a down side. If only Nancy felt

this way at a local government level. After all, for the electorate

to make good, sound, political decisions, they need the facts,

warts and all.  (Author: John Neve)

Strewthisback writes:

John we had a chuckle also when the learn Butchella idea was first floated however, the history of the region extends back before white fella ever set foot on the banks of the Mary.  The concept is novel and yes it does not have any real life application as such but our region’s history is important too. 

–o–

Also today we’ve had correspondence from Cy d’Oliveira - the following is a letter he presented to council this week - we’ll remind readers that these views are that of Mr d’Oliveira and we would be very happy to present the response of Council to provide you with a balanced view should they choose to do so.

Dear Mayor & Councillors, 

It has come to my attention that in the recent past, Biosolids [********** ***** ********] harvested from sewerage, has been used by local farmers as fertilizer. This material has apparently been supplied to them free of any charge! More importantly the users were not informed of the materials nature and the potential for it to be toxic!

 Will council investigate this matter? If found to be correct, will council stop the use of such material being put on local farmland?

 I wish to draw council’s attention to Biotech Laboratories (NATA approved), report No. 652214 dated 27^th November 2007. This report clearly shows the presence of

Arsenic, Cyanide, Lead and Mercury amongst other chemicals in the biosolid being used as fertilizer.

 As this material is being made, supplied and used within the Fraser Coast Regional Council’s area of control. I believe the onus is on you, to put the public’s mind at rest.

 Yours sincerely,

Cy d’Oliveira

Strewthisback writes: previous advertising by WBW claimed biosolids were safe for use on crops and further reports indicating that they have full EPA Approvals to use said biosolids in this manner.  Mr d’Oliveira’s claims are very serious and we welcome anyone involved who can provide factual data proving his claims or otherwise to get in touch.

 

A different view point

Well it had to happen, resident council watcher and sceptic John Neve wonders if we are being told the full story on the REST saga.  One would guess we aren’t but from all reports we are hearing, the organisation does make a good contribution to the community in supporting many varied causes.  There is always two sides to the story and as is the case with many volunteer run groups, it isn’t always plain sailing and sometimes unforeseen circumstances (in this case amalgamation) arise that they do not have an strategy to overcome.

Heres what John had to say:

I have read much about REST over the past few weeks,
and I was present when their CEO addressed council about
renewing their lease. Let’s not allow emotion or sympathy
to cloud what should be a business decision. What our
new council must decide, is what is in the interest of the
region as a whole.
 
REST is reported to make $500,000 from their recycling
efforts. Is this their only source of income?
Who benefits from the $500,000 and is it all spent in
Maryborough?
REST claims all the work is done on a voluntary basis, is this
correct?
REST states they had no prior knowledge of what is taking
place, is this true?
Did REST not go through the same process/situation a few
years back?
Most importantly, are we the public getting the whole story
regarding REST and it’s recycling contract?
 
Let’s not condemn our council based on emotive newspaper
reporting.

That goodness its Friday!

Well things have been quiet on the home front.  A tiny snippet in the daily today points out that there will be no Tourism Levy from Fraser Coast Regional Council.  It is also great to see Cr O’Connell standing up and telling the nosy minister to keep out of local affairs.

We’ve removed a post today at the request of a certain King & Company Solicitors of Brisbane.  It was old news anyway.  Here at Bringbackstrewth we’re aiming at keeping the public informed and give you a space to share your thoughts on current issues.  We will continue to do that but as always, we’ll try to stick to the facts and steer clear from gossip.. we’ll leave that to someone else.

And back on deck is this latest comment from John Neve..

Nancy Says (18th Edition)

 
“Why aren’t they at school?” Nancy Says and it’s a good question.
She is of course talking about truancy and it’s causes, one of the
causes given is bullying!  Little changes in our world, there was both
bullying and truancy when I went to school. Although I believe the
reasons were different. Based on memory, in my day (quill pens
were still in use), boredom and scrumping were the main reasons.
Today it appears rebellion and fear are the reason given.
 
While an interesting topic, that is not why I’m writing. It’s Nancy
change of heart that has me intrigued. Her paper is quoting from
an “anonymous blog”!! Based on the wording, the quotes appear
to have been written by adults and are obviously selective
(violence is highlighted). Little if anything, seems to come from the
students! I would have thought a constructive article would have
started with the school children, but what would they know?
 
At least it’s a step in the right direction, our Daily drawing it’s
information from an “anonymous blog”.
 

Yes Minister

Well, well, what have we ‘ere then aye?  Tourism Minister Des Boyle jumped into action this week and bunged out a reply to all those ‘orrible letters to the estemed ed rejecting calls for a Tourism Levy.  Not ‘ere dessy luv.. we aint don’t want it n we aint don’t need it. 

Darl, get with it.. the guvmint gave us amalgamations and told us its for our own better good.  It’ll save money thay told us.  Save on duplications you will.  Ok, sounds great but within a month of it all going down what do we have?  Increased tips fees within seconds and then hints of this new levy.. with a bit longer until budget time what else will they try and sneak on us? 

The message we send is clear.  We don’t want it!  Feedback both in the print media and online blogosphere has been unanimous.. make them use the funds they already have.  Cum on guvna give us a break aye?

Note: Strewthisback is taking a few days break but Standinman is here.. we’ve had technical difficulties accessing emails as well as an overload of spam which may have seen some legitimate comments wiped out.. 

From AAP sources the following article was released today:

One of Telstra’s US chiefs has taken aim at Australia, saying its democracy is sick, its politicians too powerful, its taxes too high and its “she’ll be right” attitude is mere complacency.

Telstra’s outspoken group managing director of public policy and communications, Phil Burgess, also put Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on notice, saying the telco will not hesitate to start more public stoushes with the government if it feels the need.

Dr Burgess said Australia’s civic order - businesses, the media, religious organisations, think tanks, service clubs, peak industry organisations - are tepid, timid and beholden to government.  Instead of trying to spark and influence public debate, Australia’s civic institutions try only to influence Canberra, usually behind closed doors.

“If we do a health check on Australian democracy, the economic organs are doing really well. The political organs are dominated by government and the civic organs are in atrophy,” Dr Burgess told AAP after the lecture.

“To have a healthy democracy, especially when you’re going through rapid change like we are … we need to have everybody involved.”  He also complained about the “enormous power” of government ministers in Australia, saying it limits the “give and take” that make for good policy-making.

Dr Burgess, who has lived in Australia now for almost three years, said civic institutions were also suffering because they struggled to find independent, non-government funding.  “I would say the biggest problem is taxes are so high here the government gets all the money,” he said.

Dr Burgess said the lack of public debate helped nurture a ‘She’ll be right’ attitude which, he said, was one element of the Australia’s ethos he rejected.  “You can do the ‘She’ll be right’ all you want, but there’s a problem,” he said.  “There’s a problem when complacency is so high that people say ‘Hey, what’s wrong? Everything’s fine, why worry about it?’”

Another day

Such protests simply hurt the athletes” Nancy Says and she
may be right. She is also right when she says political leaders
are insincere when using sport to promote their points of view.
 
However, what she fails to acknowledge, is that she and most
other editors assist and condone the actions of our political
leaders. In the interest of keeping their jobs and making a quid,
they go with the flow. Bond was a hero, then he was a dog!
Skase was a hero, then he was a dog! It was right to invade
Iraq, wasn’t it? 
There are two types of editors, those that pursue the truth and
those that pursue a quid. I leave it to you to decide who’s, who.
 
John A Neve

Blind Bias

Inside Trader added his thoughts on the issue of apparent bias by certain print media in this region towards WBW.  We’ll just add that it would be interesting to know how many tens of thousands of dollars WBW spends advertising with APN and how this stacks up compared to similar advertising from the Fraser Coast Council or its former components. 

 

Blind Bias 2

The WBW story in the ChronicllyIll on the 8th made for interesting reading. I wonder why this was the first story I have seen on the Chronic’s website that gave more than a few brief words? In fact I believe the whole story got posted on their website. WOW! Another first for the Chronicle. Surely the editor of the Chronicle would not be playing favourites? Again?

No, there must be another reason…….  

Perhaps Nancy Bates could elaborate with a short note on this site? 

 

An interesting misprint in that article, surely not intentional, was the quote “Ms Dickinson, executive director of the Californian Urban Water Conservation Council before setting up the federal body seven months ago, said she had been impressed by WBW’s annual report, showing a $4 million profit in selling its expertise.” $4MILLION PROFIT selling its expertise? Actually if we quote the annual report it says on page 7 “the Corporation’s proactive Business Development Division contributed $4 million of revenue”.  That’s right, REVENUE! 

 

School grade 9 students can tell you that revenue DOES NOT equal profit. In fact, WBW could have had $5million expenses associated with that revenue giving a net loss to the ratepayers of Hervey Bay. Of course, creative accounting could always be used to show a profit for that section of WBW, and there are many ways of loading costs to other sections of a business, but however it is done, $4million revenue can NEVER equal $4million profit.

 

This whole article reeked of the usual creative PR of WBW and the editor of the Chronicle. One wonders how many of the glowing words were really Ms Dickinson’s, how many were the Chronicle’s, and how many were courtesy of the WBW PR machine?

 

To be fair, one suggestion has it that prior to amalgamation WBW did a summary that did show a profit for that section of WBW, possibly as much as $500,000. How much of that was creative accounting is unknown but at least it is more believable than Net Profit = 100% Gross Revenue!

Blind Bias 1

An article from the Maryborough Herald (27/2/08), has belatedly
been brought to my attention. While some weeks old now, the
article by a Mr Alan Betteridge deserves, I believe, a response.
 
Titled “Election fever brings out the distorted truth”, having read
Alan’s comments, I feel he is right, he has distorted the truth.
His comments relate to an AECgroup report into Wide Bay
Water commissioned by the Hervey Bay City council. Their
charter was to review the financial implications of WBW for the
HBCC. The article suggests on more than one occasion that
the report has been discredited! I would have to ask when and
by whom? He goes on to question the report “the accuracy of
which has now been brought into doubt by the respected
financial analysts Pricewaterhouse-Coopers”! I am surprised,
as any one reading the financial reviews would know
Pricewaterhouse-Coopers have themselves of recent times,
been the subject of critical comments.
 
Mr Betteridge finishes his comments by quoting the following
“Beware of the person who will do anything to become a
councillor just because they want to be someone in the city
rather than do something for the city” and he is so right. That
is why someone obviously thought the report, after being
hidden from the public gaze for so long, it needed to see the
light of day.
 
I wonder if, prior to making his comments, Mr Betteridge had
read both reports? Because having done so, I believe they
were looking at two different sets of criteria. I suggest everyone
interested read them for themselves.
 
John A Neve

To catch and store.

I don’t know why Brian Canute questions the obvious. We all
know how “to catch and store energy”, we just won’t do it.
 
You catch and store energy by building quality, not crap. The
biggest and most well known example is the Great Pyramid in
Egypt. I have no idea what it cost in time and money, but three
thousand years later it’s still standing and making money for it’s
owners. To a lesser extent the same applies to quality cars, an
old Mercedes-Benz, Roll-Royce or Bentley not only still run,
but fetch more at sale than they cost!! In contrast todays
clothes,houses, cars etc are worn out before they are paid for!
 
If we reduced the speed of our production lines, took longer
and made a better quality product. We would have pride in
what we produced, would use less energy and less raw
materials. This in turn would reduce the impact on the worlds
environment. It is sad to think what we make or build today is
landfill tomorrow. In fact we are running out of holes to fill!!
 
Just think, a table, chair, building in fact any thing that lasts, is
in fact, storing energy.
 
John A Neve
 
Ps. I would love to know how many pairs of cheap runners are
      now landfill? Just think of the energy that went into making
      them.

Nancy Says Volume 11

I was astounded when I read what Nancy Says today.
“Information controls far too tight”, she goes on to talk about
“oppressive controls” and “secret society nonsense”, I ended
up wondering is this the same Nancy?
 
Our one and only Daily has fed us a diet of sanitized and
selective local government news for years. The “open and
transparent” council we have been promised, election upon
election, have never come to pass and in large part, I blame
Nancy.
 
The failings of past councils, be they factual of perceived are
embedded in the very fabric of our NEW Fraser Coast Regional
Council. We still only have one Daily paper and the same editor,
so what’s changed?
 
As I have written before, girth up your loins, it’s going to be a
rough ride.
 
John A Neve