Archive for the 'Media comment' Category

Headlines designed to undermine Council?

December 18th, 2008

David King works tirelessly for this Council and I think it is irresponsible to cast him in such a negative light as is done via the front page of our daily. I personally have never felt that ‘my house is under threat’ due to any decision I have ever made during my time as a Councillor and cannot believe that the Chronicle sees fit to publish such stories. David King provides legal advice to Council (not to individual Councillors) as that is his job. It is my experience that if a Councillor requires his or her own personal legal advice then Mr King advises us to seek independant legal advice.

A letter writer also seems to think that staff providing advice to Councillors somehow constitutes poor meeting procedure. Staff are employed to give professional advice to Councillors and thank goodness that this advice is available to us. No Councillor, in my experience, is an expert at every aspect of Council operations. As a Councillor I appreciate the advice given to me. if I disagree with it I can do so. I am not bound to accept the advice provided to me but I hasten to add that in the vast majority of cases I do agree with staff recommendations. This ability to shift through the professional advice given to us and make decisions in the best interest of the community is, in my opinion, the chief role of a Councillor. In other words it is what a Councillor does day in day out.

Lastly I did not ask Cr Nioa to ‘be quiet’ as I recall. When a Councillor is speaking then he/she ‘has the floor’ and should not be interrupted other than by the chairperson or another Councillor calling a ‘point of order’. At the meeting in question neither of these things occurred. I simply asked Cr Nioa if she wanted to contribute as I thought she was making hand gestures out of my line of sight while I was speaking about my reasons to not support the water park development application. My recollection is that Cr Nioa was simply trying to call the attention of the Mayor so that she could speak next. I simply thanked her. I did not ask her ‘to be quiet’ as she had not made any noise! What a ridiculous amount of good newspaper space taken up by such trivial matters. A big fuss out of nothing which does nothing more than undermine the public confidence in this Council.

Spits and spats, I don’t think so.

December 13th, 2008

I think I am nearly immune to sensationalist Chronicle headlines but then I awoke to the front page effort last Thursday. Cr Nioa and I actually exchanged early morning emails to see if we had been at the same meeting! There was no spat. Each of us spoke up about our views on the development application for the water park. I was against it because of the sensative nature of the site and the number of trees destined for the chop. I wanted the park located further East. Cr Nioa spoke for the current proposal. I was the only no vote.

There was no antagonism, no nasty name calling and indeed each Councillor who wanted to speak for or against the motion did so in a clear and articulate manner. I thank Ms R. Skinner who wrote a letter that was published on Friday for also questioning the highly emotive and ridiculous front page headline. Our Council meetings generally run smoothly with an adherence to manners and protocol. If anyone takes the time to read Hansard I can assure you that your local Councillors don’t lower themselves to the spiteful name calling and unnecessary personal attacks that is heard within the halls of our State Government leaders!

I don’t want to even try to guess the motives behind such media reporting so I ask that residents please don’t believe these headlines. There was no spat. These headlines do nothing to promote a sense of community spirit and confidence in our Council. No we are not perfect and yes these times have been turbulent and frequently unsettling but on the whole I think everyone has achieved well under the circumstances.

To use an analogy. When a blended family comes together, for example, two parents and their respective children from previous relationships, there is an adjustment period. Even when two people start living together under the one roof there is an adjustment period which entails learning about each other and deciding on the best way to accomodate each others needs. This is an ongoing process of learning, adjustment and compromise. We have joined 4 Councils together and are going through this very same process. I think we are well on the way to the needed adjustments and compromises and, to quote a song line, ‘times will only get better’.

So I ask our local print media to please provide some accurate and balanced reporting. Our community deserves it and the opposite does nothing to instill pride and confidence and a sense of rolling up our sleeves and working together. Let us be free to express our differing points of view, but at the end of the day, we must compromise, stick to the issues and respect each other. I think we are doing this very well and I am sad that the media does not see the need to assist this process but rather seems focussed on dividing our cities and causing undue hurt to some very good and hard working people.

Dingo forum

December 10th, 2008

Media release.

Councillor Sue Brooks is concerned that Fraser Coast mainland residents want to attend the Dingo forum on FI. She says “The Dingo forum being organised by the RSPCA at Eurong on Monday, is designed so that the RSPCA can hear first hand from Fraser Island residents. The RSPCA is concerned that, despite the public reaction after recent photographs showing a dingo with ribs protruding was published, they have received no specific information from locals which could assist their investigation”.

 Cr Brooks is very concerned that many people she talks to tell her that in years gone by dingos on Fraser Island weren’t ‘skinny’. She says “While I don’t have the personal experience about the dogs on Fraser Island, time after time, people tell me that in the not too distant past no one ever saw a skinny dingo. I want to see an independent enquiry to properly assess the condition of the dingos on FI”.

 Cr Brooks says “The RSPCA do excellent work throughout our community and I am sad that some people are blaming them for not protecting the dingos. The RSPCA is not responsible for this situation and has been working closely with the EPA and QPW to have any welfare concerns addressed. I am very pleased that they continue to listen and investigate the community concerns by conducting this forum’.

 Cr Brooks asks that residents await further information from the RSPCA after the forum. “Please don’t try to get across to the island to attend the forum unless you have first hand experience of the dogs on Fraser Island”. While we all have opinions and believe we know what is best for the dogs the RSPCA is compiling factual details about the condition of the dogs. Let’s support them and provide them with factual information that they can use. You can email the RSPCA at cruelty_complaints@rspcaqld.org.au  or write via RSPCA Qld Inc, PO Box 6177, Fairfield Gardens QLD 4103

 If necessary I will ask for a forum on the mainland but lets wait and see what outcomes we receive from the Monday FI forum.

Facebook etc

July 28th, 2008

Just to set the record straight I spoke to no one last night or yesterday from the media re my Internet site or Facebook account etc. Interesting how I am quoted on the front page of todays local Chronicle. Total surprise to me but yes I like the Internet and enjoy the online world and the way in which it allows us all to interact quickly and accurately with everyone.

Council cars

July 25th, 2008

 This is the Media Release (below) in response to the Courier Mail article today. I now drive a Prius. If I didn’t drive a Council provided car then Council would have to reimburse me for my work related use of my own car. It was explained to me that this would end up costing more than a Council provided car does. I now have to reimburse Council for the private kilometres that I do in the Prius and keep a daily log book.

I am very aware of the attention that our cars are causing and I am concerned about the continued focus on them. The previous HBCC – CEO 4WD was sold for a profit. The deals done by Council (and most other large organisations who operate fleet vehicles) directly with car dealers, means that we purchase vehicles at rates not available to you and I individually. I personally worry about the cost of all of us driving around everywhere as now we are doing many more kilometres than we did previously, but unless someone can offer a solution, I believe our Council is headed down a path of responsible fleet management with an aim of reducing the size and number of vehicles. Council does need some 4WD vehicles as we need to be able to travel on Fraser Island to service our responsibilities there.

There are a number of inaccuracies in the Courier Mail article, 25/07/08, on the vehicle supplied to the Chief Executive Officer Andrew Brien.

 1: The vehicle is available for other staff to use. The Director of External Services, Ron Smith, who manages the fleet on behalf of Council said that the motor vehicle policy states very clearly that: all vehicles are made available for Council business.

 2: Under his employment package Mr Brien is entitled to a Holden Statesman Caprice or similar prestige style vehicle or as otherwise negotiated. The vehicle chosen for Mr Brien is a Toyota Prado Grande, said Mr Smith. This vehicle fits our fleet and operation needs as well as those of the CEO.

 3: The DVD player and other fittings were offered by the dealer, and are options on the vehicle. The motor vehicle policy provides details of other “non-standard” options that are fitted to a range of Council vehicles.

 4: Mr Brien salary sacrifices $22,000 a year for private use of this vehicle.

 5: Mr Brien was not stood down in October 2006 while two independent investigations were conducted and reinstated the next month. The Tiaro Council did suspend Mr Brien. Subsequently there was a CMC investigation into the Council’s actions, not Mr Brien. The CMC directed that the Council re-instate Mr Brien.

 6: Rates within the Fraser Coast regional Council have not risen an average of 10 percent and in some cases up to 13 percent as stated in the article. The rates rise was in fact an average of 7 percent.

 7: The Director of External Services, Ron Smith, manages the fleet on behalf of Council. Fleet is managed as a NCP compliant business activity. Vehicles are selected that provide the best financial return to Council while containing operating costs. The Council is mindful of rising operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions and is moving towards vehicles that achieve its operational needs while reducing fuel costs and emissions.

 8: The Director of External Services ordered the vehicle in March to replace the vehicle used by the interim CEO to take advantage of beneficial sales offers on the existing vehicle. It was to be passed to the new CEO, no matter who was appointed to the position.

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