Biased media????? or not!
Sue Brooks December 6th, 2008
Contrary to newspaper headlines I have an excellent grasp on the issues surrounding the flying school because I have been continually briefed as to the progress of negotiations as have my fellow Councillors. I am sad to say that while journalists often do totally understand my point of view and, I am sure, write their stories with every intention of providing an accurate and balanced analysis of facts, they are at the mercy of sub editors and editors. Editors often sensationalise and selectively alter stories to create the headlines that ’sell the paper’.
This was the Council initiated process outlined here as per a unanimous Council decision -
Minutes of the FCRC Ordinary Meeting No. 8 held on Wednesday 6 August 2008 Page 21
#843588
ORD 15 CONFIDENTIAL
ORD 15.4 Flight Training Queensland
RESOLUTION ( Dalgleish / MucKan )
That:
1. the Chief Executive Officer be delegated power to commence negotiations on lease terms with Flight Training Queensland for the provision of an Airline Pilot Training Facility at the Maryborough Airport.
The negotiations will not be completed until satisfactory resolution of the following matters –
a) obtaining the relevant exemption pursuant to section 492(1) of the Local Government Act 1993, in relation to the lease to Flight Training Queensland from the Minister for Local Government, Planning & Sport;
b) the applicant (Flight Training Queensland) obtaining all relevant development approvals for the project; and
c) the lease terms including commercial lease payments.
2. the Chief Executive Officer be authorised to engage a relevant company to undertake a Risk Assessment and develop a Risk Management Strategy for the project to ensure that Council takes all appropriate steps to either mitigate, reduce and/or manage the likelihood of identified risks for Council consideration.
3. Regular status reports be provided to Council on the progress of the negotiations and resolution of actions 1(a) to 1(c) and 2 above.
4. Prior to finalisation of the lease negotiations a report be brought back to Council for consideration and approval within three months.
Carried Unanimously
Councillors were awaiting the report to come to Council which would have occurred prior to Christmas. The report would have outlines the pros and cons and contained advice to Councillors in the form of a recommendation on how best to proceed.
No Councillor has stood up within the Council Chamber and formally asked for this process to be changed which is what one does when one isn’t happy!
Now that the development application has been withdrawn I look forward to the details of the negotiations prior to amalgamation and post amalgamation being made available.
- Council related issues
- Comments(10)
Sue,
Come on!! What about all the jobs, the $20 million per year, the oh so quiet planes (you wouldn’t even know they were there).
All the fun our tourists will get being buzzed on the beaches. All our local youth who will miss out on the $100K training to be
pilots. All the money the pubs will miss out on as the student skip classes to have a beer, bugger the $100k fee, I’d rather have
a beer.
Come on Sue, look at the benefits for the region, I don’t want to drink in Maryborough, let’s all hire a taxi and drive to Toogoom.
No better still, let’s go to Woocoo for lunch, that way the whole region will get a benefit.
sadman
Sadman,
It is hard to tell if you are being serious. But if you are, you are a fool.
Do you know anything about the proposal? $20 million? Most of that is for fuel. Do you see any rigs off of our coast? Are you able to quantify the benefit of fuel being used locally (which you are directly refering to)- I wouldn’t bother. Under the proposal it is entirely probable that none of the students would be locals. None. The business plan is/was for overseas students for major airlines.
Keep up the great work Sue, and dont lose too much sleep over what the local rag prints.
ratty
Sue – I think sadman was being sarcastic but yes the majority of students would be oversees students predominantly Asian. In Asia they don’t have the air space to train from what I can gather.
Sue, biased media or not, the public has heard precious little from council or anyone regarding the project and only a few days ago you bemoaned the fact no one had asked your opinion.
Now you have been asked by the Chronicle for a response you tell us they’ve printed the wrong thing?
Perhaps you should have issued a written statement to the reporter stating your views on the matter? (yes, I know.. they’d still stuff it up)
I can’t say too much for fear of jeapordising another project however I would suggest that it might be pertinent for someone to ask the question as to why FTG really pulled the pin and if indeed it relates to them feeling “stuffed around” by council, then perhaps we need to ask why they felt that way and how we can prevent other investors getting the same feeling in the future?
Sue – The journalists ring you and you speak over the phone. They ask you questions and selectively pick and choose a sentence or two to print. What is selected may be totally out of context. It annoys me greatly that they then take one comment and spin it out of all proportion. My comments were reported accurately but I don’t agree with the focus being placed on one comment made by one Councillor being blown out of all proportion. If I don’t respond due to my concerns about being reported accurately than the public accuse me of being ‘quiet’. How can I ever win? At least here on this site, what I write is my very own….
Councillors are bound by ‘commercial in confidence’ legislation. This is a fact and not something we can just dismiss but now that the application has been withdrawn I cannot see why we can’t make information public, and I hope to do so. I refuse to declare a position on an issue until I can back my decision with supporting facts…. A Freedom of Information application is always an option although such an application does cost money. The cost is mainly to cover the processing time of staff and to copy relevant documents.
Nancy Bates and her so called ‘newspaper’ is a disgrace to journalism. Every idea of fair coverage and balance has been thrown aside on the issue of this flight training school, by someone who can not feign ignorance of what is right. I’m not alone in asking.. ‘what’s in it for her?’
I am told that this editor has already been sanctioned by the Australian Press Council for her bias at least once (Adjudication #1230 dated March 2004) and am surprised that an institution like APN (owner of the Chronicle) allows her to use the paper for what appears to be her own ends.
“Now that the development application has been withdrawn I look forward to the details of the negotiations prior to amalgamation and post amalgamation being made available.”
As do I! As a resident I request that you as councillor, make all haste to make this material public. I’ll be waiting to see how the chronicle mob try to put spin on that like it isn’t a good idea. It’ll look piss weak and even more readers will begin to desert the tabloid… and maybe… maybe start thinking….
Hi Sue,
Me sarcastic!!! You hurt me deeply.
Prior to comment, may I suggest people read everything on your site regarding the FTG proposal.
Much has been covered already.
Sadman
Hi Sue,
Me sarcastic!! You’ve hurt me deeply.
But to all those showing an interest in this issue, it’s worth reading all the posts
on Flight Training 1,2,3 & 4. Much of these topics have been covered already, but
the pressure must be kept up. The Son’s of Squatters have our local in it’s pocket.
Sadman
Its just so sad that a newspaper with a centruy old history has somehow found itself in its current state. Its painfully short on real journalism, the bias is constant and outragous and the more you are aware of the actual facts behind the stories the more you recognise the blatant and complete innacuracies.
[...] Afternoon Edition We’ve copped an ear bashing or three over our coverage of the Flight School debate.. we’ve had Sue Brooks asking us if we failed to read her blog.. we did Sue.. after we’d made our comments – for Sue’s perspective have a read of her site: http://suebrooks.com.au/2008/biased-media-or-not/ [...]
Who needs foreign investment here in Australia anyway. We all know foreign business ventures come and go as they please. Take Square D, Ingersol Rand, and Corning that came and went amongst many over the years. We need to look after ourselves and not let us be led into strife by foreign companies. The current global crisis was born where? OVERSEAS! If Australians had invested more than they have already overseas, we would be in a much more serious financial state than we are currently, besides, government is for people.
A flight school in Maryborough would destroy the peace and livability of the region.
Well said Matty,
If our federal and state governments are going to use taxpayers money to assist
private enterprise. Please let’s make sure it is Australian owned. So many
Australian jobs, companies and inventions have gone offshore it’s not funny. In
a time of fuel efficiency, one of our foremost sola experts and a sola panel
manufactorer have left our shores. Both claiming a lack of government
support!! But we can give $millions to foreign companies!!!
Sadman