Archive for June, 2010

Rulers and Their Rules.

June 26th, 2010

Mr Peter Chapman, editor of our local Chronicle makes some interesting observations today. He is concerned about a possible demonstration outside the Chronicle offices. I thought a demonstration was simply one way that members of our community could express a point of view and I remember well the wonderful feeling that I experienced when joining with peaceful but caring residents on several occasions, to protest against the decision to dam our great Mary River. I hope that Mr Chapman can welcome such public demonstrations and not see them as a threat. If there are members of our community unhappy with stories, or possibly a lack of stories, within our daily paper surely they have the right to express their point of view?

 The issue that has caused the fuss is the proposed coal mine at Aldershot and Mr Chapman states very clearly that the Chronicle supports ‘any project that brings jobs and money into this economy’. He clarifies his statement by stating that ‘all businesses must follow the rules and regulations so that our precious environment is maintained along with our quality of life”. I commend Mr Chapman on stating his position so clearly but could I possibly pose some questions?

What does the community do when the rules and regulations don’t result in the protection of our precious environment and our quality of life? Could it be that the people vested with the responsibility of making the rules and regulations don’t make good ones that do protect our environment and quality of life or when they do make the rules they don’t bother to enforce them? Could these same people be the ones who most benefit financially from the resulting rules and regulations that they design?

Could it be that economic return trumps anything and everything time and time again? I’m adult enough to understand that none of us could lead the quality of life we do without a robust and healthy economy, after all I am a small business owner myself, but I’m more and more worried when I observe economic returns dominating every aspect of our lives. I believe that an economy built on perpetual growth is dooming our children’s children to a bleak future. There is only so much room for us to grow plants to feed us all, to dig big holes in the ground to feed our hunger for finite resources and to suck water from our rivers and streams. We can already see the dangers that come from plundering the deeper ocean beds in our insatiable thirst for that very valuable ‘liquid black gold’.

I believe we are facing a great challenge. Now is the time to decide how to balance economic prosperity with a true understanding and appreciation of the natural systems that produce our clean air, fresh water and healthy foods.

Party politics at work

June 24th, 2010

We start today with a new PM elect. While there is much talk about the fact that Julia Gillard will be our first female PM I can’t help but think how fickle is the world of the politician. Do we all feel cheated that Kevin won’t be judged again by the Australian people? Will it really hit home that we vote for a party and not for a person when we vote for a member of any political party at election time?

I am becoming more and more jaded by the whole entire process and even more worried and concerned that our country is actually run by many, many people that we don’t actually elect. The spheres of influence run deep and I believe it is many many people, other than the politicians themselves, that actually influence the decisions that we all have to abide by. I personally experience this at the local level so I hate to think what occurs at the higher levels of government.

The media also plays a huge part by directly influencing public opinion. The personal beliefs and allegiances of our media owners and the business and corporate CEO’s and their board members as well as Union reps are all very powerful and pull many strings.  I worry that the general public are fed the stories that support the interests of everyone other than the general public.

So will the change in Labor leadership help the Labor Party to continue to lead our country? I doubt it. I think the change will make us all feel less secure about the political system itself. The challenge for all of us is how do we help to make our system of government more open and transparent and more representative of the majority of the people. Do the majority of the people properly understand how the country is run? I’m not sure I have an answer I’m sad to say.

Budget time and who does care about our future….

June 21st, 2010

How on earth we can bring down a budget that won’t cause people grief? Personally speaking it is a challenge that I struggle with each and every year. Council is more or less in a no win position as no matter what we decide we will receive criticism. I believe the budget that we voted unanimously for today is a sensible one. Council has cut programmes and reduced spending where ever it can to reduce the burden on our rate payers but the challenge is to keep staff employed and deliver on the committments that are part and parcel of local government. It seems that the community wants more for less which is an unrealistic or unattainable goal, so while I am sure that this budget will be met with some criticism I hope that the community can look at it with an eye for fairness and objectivity and a belief that this Council is delivering the best outcome it can in an environment of restraint.

I personally have made public comment that I do not believe a $25 per property Environmental Levy, that doesn’t actually quarantine an amount for land acquisition, is not of my liking. I believe this levy is a cost shifting exercise that sees council keep general rates at a reasonable level of percentage increase while offsetting these costs via the increased environmental levy. At the end of the day everyone has to pay both a levy and the general rate and other charges so the reduced general rate increase is countered by an increased Environment Levy.

I wonder why we target the environment? Why not an economic development levy or a tourism levy or a roads levy? So personally speaking the environment seems to become a scapegoat for finding a way to retain income by shifting programmes, both operational and capital based, to this ‘new’ levy. Why is this so? Why isn’t the ‘environment’ treated just the same as every other aspect of Council activity? This new levy now pays for or funds many activities that were previously funded via the Capital Works budget funded via General Rates. I disagree with the increase in the Environmental Levy and also with the focus of the levy which is now not primarily for the purchase of land.

Today I also received an email from the State Government acknowledging my comment to the Open Space policy that they are developing… 

“Dear Sue,

Thank you for your submission on the Draft Queensland Greenspace Strategy. Strong interest was shown in the Draft Strategy and your submission was one of 244 received. Feedback from all responses are currently being assessed to inform the final Queensland Greenspace Strategy. The reference number of your submission is Greenspace Submission # 62. If you have any questions regarding your submission, or progress of the Strategy please contact Mr John Rush on (07) 3235 4560″.

I found it disapointing that out of all the residents in Queensland only 244 submissions were received on this important issue. It really becomes apparent that without a voice we are all governed by a very small percentage of politicians making decisions based on a very small number of people who bother to have a say.

But on a happier note. I returned from Melb last night after visiting family. A few days away makes one appreciate just how lucky we are to be living in such a beautiful and climatically friendly part of the world. It is great to get away but ever so pleasing to arrive back home again. Thank goodness we can live in such a beautiful (and not too cold) part of this great wide brown (and green) land!

Driving dangers and the Council meeting

June 11th, 2010

It seems that every time there is an accident on our roads or an unwelcome health diagnosis involving family or friends or someone we are simply acquainted to, we take an extra interest in driving carefully or leading a more healthy lifestyle… for a while. The car accident this week resulting in serious injuries to Cr Anne Nioa and the extremely sad loss of a well loved and treasured father and husband really brings home how fragile our existence truly is. Life can literally change in an instant.

The saying about living for today as if there is possibly no tomorrow rings loudly. Evey time I hop into my car I honestly don’t think this drive will be my last ever, but the reality is that driving is a dangerous activity because a small loss of attention or a wrong decision can have such tragic consequences. My heart goes out to the family and friends of everyone touched by the trauma’s of road accidents and I wish Anne a very speedy recovery.

This week at Council we approved a 4 storey building on the Esplanade at Pialba near the Sapphire development. We rejected two shovel ready applications and approved several others and also approved a reconfiguration or amalgamation of some blocks in the Maryborough CBD to better provide access to adjacent businesses and car parking.

I asked a question about amending the current Hervey Bay Planning Scheme in relation to the Pialba CBD. I am concerned that the area needs better zoning to accomodate the eventual sized CBD precinct that our city will require. The current scheme focuses development around the Main St/Torquay Rd area and the Boat Harbour Dve area is treated differently. I would also like Council to consider opportunities for commercial/retail development alongside Main St to the South of BHD. Do we really want housing alongside a 4 lane section of road that will be one of the busiest in the city? Council officers will prepare a response and Council can then consider what it would like to do in relation to this issue.

Pialpa Place have lodged an application for a further extension which would see the joining up under roof of the two sections. This seems to be the expected and logical progression for that shopping centre but it is very disappointing that Centro is not looking like commencing construction on their approved extensions any time soon. I have waited for nearly 10 years now, to see the access to Centro directly via Main St become a reality and am still waiting. Don’t forget you can view applications via PD Online found via the Council home page.

Lastly a plea to our residents. All the retailers that I speak to throughout our region, are struggling. Retailers are locked into leases and have costs they simply can’t reduce when times get tough like they are right now. Please consider shopping locally if you can possibly afford to. Just a few dollars spent here and there will assist our local small businesses to survive.

Whale tails, circuses and culture

June 6th, 2010

Yesterday was a fantastic day. Once again Vicki Neville and her hard working volunteers ably assisted by Larry Burch from Aqua Vue, hosted an absolutely wonderful tribute to our whales. I’m not sure of the numbers but lots and lots of us paddled out into the beautiful waters of Hervey Bay and formed a wiggly circle in the water. We laid over 500 flowers in the water to signify the number of whales killed last year. The feeling out on the water was one of dedication to the future of our whales and also the simple but heartfelt joy that we all felt because we get to live in and enjoy such a pristine and beautiful patch of planet earth.

Yes the traffic on the Esplanade was banked up and we had to park a bit further away than one would normally do, but for a couple of hours of a very small inconvenience to some Esplanade travellers the outcome, in my mind, was very well worth it. Thank you Vicki for making sure that whaling is kept well and truly in the spotlight. I can’t support an industry that kills animals for nothing more than traditional or cultural or mere profit motives. Surely we are mature enough to realise that some natural ecosystems are sacrosant and our large harmless elephants of the sea should be protected. No one is actually going to starve to death because they can’t hunt whale!

Council has decided to await for another report on circus animals before making a final decision. While we will ask the LGAQ to lobby at the State level for a consistent approach state wide, some Councillors expressed concerns about the definition of the word exotic and also about what would happen to animals currently used in circuses if they had no where left to perform. I put a motion to Council to ask for another report that better defines the types of animals we could ban from performing in the Fraser Coast region and this was seconded by Cr McNeven. The vote was not unanimous with myself, Cr’s McNeven, Hawes, Nioa, O’Connell, Arthur and Hovard voting in favour of the further report and Crs Kruger, Dalgleish, Muckan and Harris voting against.

I also notice that a considerable number of residents are concerned about a 6 storey planned development adjacent the Beach Rd - Esplanade roundabout at Pialba. If you would like to submit and voice your opinion (for or against)about this proposed development let me know and I can put you in touch with the residents who are concerned.

Friday was a busy day. In the afternoon I attended the Mangrove Watch workshop where many of our river keepers listened to a presentation about how the data that they are collecting will be used to better understand our mangroves. I then travelled to Urangan for the announcement of and presentation to the winners of the FCRC Mayoral Environment awards. A wonderful ceremony with many worthy nominees in attendance. I do want to thank all the sponsors and all the nominators as without you these awards that recognise the hard work of volunteers would not happen. Congratulations to all the winners and to Marilyn Connell who was awarded the environmentalist of the year for her work in protecting the Mary River Turtle. Marilyn has raised awareness of this special turtle on the International stage!

After the awards it was off to Z Pac to see the wonderful Dad’s Army production. A very entertaining evening and it is hard to pick out a stand out performer from the large cast. I highly recommend a night at our local theatre. Once again Z Pac shows how the contribution of people who simply roll up their sleeves and get on with doing something enriches our community. Do go along and see this show before it closes in a couple of weeks.

Lastly the announcement that we will receive just over $5million dollars from the Federal Government towards our Community Centre and Library extension project is exceptionally good news. Both these projects have been in the pipeline for over 10 years now and are very badly needed. When I worked in the Hervey Bay Library (5 years ago now) the staff were continually riding a roller coaster. Yes we will expand… no we can’t… yes we can.. no we can’t! At long, long last this much needed project should come to reality and Hervey Bay will gain a Library service that provides the space needed to properly cater for a growing population of both community and University members. Our Library has one of the biggest percentage of members per head of population in the country and has not expanded in the 15 years plus since it was built while the population of Hervey bay has grown by tens of thousands. Our oft spoken about missing built ‘heart’ in Hervey Bay may finally begin beating!

The project involves a new Gallery being built across the road on the corner of Old Maryborough Rd and behind Main St and the USQ will take up the space of the current Gallery providing a seamless service to all Library users. The Community Centre will be constructed on the corner Charles St and the Torquay Rd extension on the same parcel of land.

Circus Animals and other topics

June 1st, 2010

Tomorrow Council will consider several options in relation to allowing Circuses that use exotic animals, to perform here. Many other Councils have put a stop to circuses that use animals such as lions and elephants etc and I personally believe this is a good thing. I don’t think animals should be kept in cages and travelled around the countryside purely as entertainment for humans and I like to think our society is developing a much more humane attitude to the treatment of all animals. But tomorrow is decision day so feel free to peruse the report on the Council agenda and let me know what you think. http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/web/guest/ordinary-meetings

The other important item for discussion tomorrow is our Draft Sustainability Charter. This is an important document as it sets out our aspirations and implementation strategies in relation to developing a more sustainable Fraser Coast. Comment on this document is also encouraged.

Other items include minutes from the Economic Development Advisory Committee, an admin building at the Showgrounds and delegations for the new Development and Community Services Committee.

Lastly it was great to see the Hervey Bay Pier featured on Sunrise this morning. So good to see our whales and our wonderful Fraser Coast weather so very well presented. Cheers, Sue