Sue Brooks March 20th, 2011
Last week at Council was interesting with a very intense debate between Councillors and some strong input from the public also. While the issue of providing ‘free’ overnight camping at Bauple would not seem to be a divisive issue it has become just that because of the location selected. The Bauple recreation grounds are also the school ‘grounds’ in that the local school is adjacent the park and the students use the oval there. Nearly every public event at Bauple happens on these grounds and they are quite central to the comunity. A recently completed Mens Shed also is a new addition to the site. While everyone continues to speak of the benefits of having ‘grey nomads”and other young backpackers in their camper vans spending cost free time in the community, the cost is borne by the region. If Council supplies upgraded toilet facilities, dump points for sewerage and possibly hot water for showers, someone is paying for it. The someone is the ratepayer. While I agree that an economic return to the small business in town is a benefit I dont think the campers will swell school numbers or help keep the town sustainable. While some people are expressing concerns at the ability of Council to monitor the time that people can stay and the proximity of the site to the school children, there is no doubt that Tiaro enjoys the benefits from their ‘free’camping site. But the site at Tiaro is not adjacent the school. Hopefully a differnet site, as was suggested by Council officers, could be the solution. I am so sad that this issue is dividing the community and I hope that it will be resolved soon. Oh and what if someone wants to open a caravan park in these places? What do we do then?
There was an advert in the paper this week to notify us of the proposal to place a 6X3 ádvertising device’ in Pialba on Boat Harbour Dve. This sign will be a billboard and if you want to make comment you can do so by emailing Council or ringing via 1300 794 929. Another development application in Urangan for multi units is generating much comment with Council receiving numerous letters by concerned citizens. This is what the public consultation phase of development applications is for and I am pleased that residents are taking an interest and ‘Having Their Say’.
Pier plans. I think it would be nice to have a small ‘building’ with seating on the Pier. Last two times I walked to the end of the Pier I vowed I wouldn’t be going back any time soon. It was dirty, dominated by fisher people (which is a good thing that fishing is successful there) and had dead and dying fish strewn over it (a bad thing for me). Having to witness fish dying just because they aren’t the desired species caught and are just left on the planks in the sun to die, is not for me. I am glad the Pier is a great place for fishing but the rubbish generated is also probably some of the stuff we pick up on our walks along our beach. Maybe a small establishment that could help manage the litter and provide a pleasant place to sit would make the Pier more attractive for visitors and residents alike. I envisage that the operators would assist the behaviour on the Pier and supply a much needed service to all and especially our more elderly folk, by having a space to sit quietly and enjoy the atmosphere and views. There could also be some infrormation and interpretive displays incorporated. Other places have popular piers with sympathetic commercial activities on them and if it means keeping more shore based cafes off the foreshore, I’m supportive of the concept. I hope that business operators who are worried about the competition that could result, are the ones putting their hands up and expressing interest!
Lastly Council is circulating a Tree Policy for public comment. The policy is about managing trees on Council controlled land eg parks and road verges. I recomment that you have a look at this policy and provide feedback. I will be pleased to see the policy adopted by Council so that we can move forward in terms of street trees etc. I would love the Fraser Coast to become as famous for tree lined streets as is Toowoomba!
Sue Brooks March 13th, 2011
I had a rotten day yesterday! Reading the Sat Chronicle was going well till I discovered someone taking a swipe at me via letters to the editor. A Mr Stuart Taylor, from Hervey Bay, believes I shouldn’t be allowed to express my opinion about my religous upbringing. He says my words are prejudiced and intolerant. Mr Taylor I believe you are badly mistaken. As a public official I thought I was supposed to fight for things I believe in. I thought public officials should use their heightened public profile to try and improve the world. I also believe that it is far, far easier to continue in public life if you have absolutely no publicly expressed opinion about anything at all. This is because having an opinion means someone will always disagree with that opinion. But what has my religous beliefs got to do with my role as a community representative? Have I failed you in some way? Have I not been open and communicative? Have I not represented you properly when making decisions in Council? Do you find me untruthful or dishonest? I find your accusations unfounded and somewhat defamatory. Please describe to me where you find my words (found under Meanderings and Musings on this web site) prejudiced and intolerant? My brother was molested by Christian Brothers when he was a very young and innocent child. The result of this total breach of trust has reverberated through my family for years and years and I will never know the man my brother might have been had he not experienced such pain during his childhood! This is my own experience and it is real. But what has it got to do with my role on Council? My private life is somewhat public these days but it is what has shaped me and made me the person I am. Maybe I should do like a lot of other politicians and simply keep quiet…?
Yesterday I also attended the Reptile Workshop put on by Fraser Coast Wildlife and assisted by BMRG and other enviro groups. There was a big crowd and we squashed tightly into the Aldershot Hall to see a 2 hour slide show of the hugely varied and numerous reptiles in and around our region. I honestly didn’t realise there were so many beautiful lizards of so many colours and sizes in our natural and urbanised areas. But afterwards I came under fire from a passionate bird watcher, for the apparently unkempt appearance of the Arkarra Lagoons and Tea Gardens. In defending Council, as is my nature, I was then personally accused of not doing my job properly. Maybe I should simply smile pleasantly and agree with everyone all the time? Maybe I’m just too opinionated and driven? You see I want Council to be seen in a positive light. I truthfully believe that Council achieves much good and is using its resources to the best of its ability. I believe that Council can do better however and I continually try to ensure we improve. I nag our CEO and Mayor if customer service isn’t delivering good communication back to residents. I want to ensure our roads are well constructed and maintained, our parks kept attractive and our cities and towns cared for. I want our social services to provide opportunities for the young and the not so old. I want our finances to be managed fairly and responsibly and I certainly don’t want any of your money wasted. These are the things I continue to strive for. I’m sorry if at times I sound strident, self righteous or am simply wrong! I’m sure many people will find fault with me and disagree with me but I believe I work hard and will always try to effect positive change. I will also always try to represent this community in a fair and honest manner. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail! But I do keep trying.
So to this week at Council. The agenda contains 2 items relating to boundary changes between our Council and Gympie Council. This process is simply endeavouring to introduce common sense into the line on the map that divides the two regions and should provide better outcomes for the affected residents. Council also is notifying the review of position of the Deputy Mayor which we do every year. Council will decide on the Deputy Mayor role at the April Council meeting. There is an item to call for expressions of interest to fill Environment Advisory committee vacancies and a report on the review of Parks and Reserves in relation to overnight camping. This is a contentious issue for some communities but Council does need to ensure we have consistent guidelines to oversee this type of use on public land. We have an item on Public Disclosure Management and one on the development of local community plans. Lastly there is a lease agreement for the Bauple Rec Grounds and an application to reconfigure one lot into two and one lot into 117 lots for Doolong South Rd, Wondunna. The agenda should be available for your perusal tomorrow afternoon.
Take care and fingers crossed that we receive some more sunshine soon… Sue
Sue Brooks March 8th, 2011
Tomorrow Council has three development decisions to make. Firstly Council will be deciding on a multi unit development on land located between Hillyard St and The Esplanade, Pialba. The height of the tallest building is 5 storeys. This land is one of the few places along the Esplanade in Hervey Bay, that some high buildings are suited I believe, as it is not a residential precinct and commercial development located behind this site. Next we have an application to approve residential development on a block abutting Turrum St, Scarness and lastly we decide on the application for the proposed St Stephens hospital and medical centre in Nissen St, Urraween.
The latest Council enews edition has been emailed out so please remember to sign up if you haven’t already as it is a quick and pain free method to keep up to date with Council happenings. On a personal note I’m still limping after tearing my calf muscle in my first game of netball for a few years. Not a nice thing to have happen and then I tripped last week and aggravated the tear yet again just when I was nearly walking normally again. It is quite humbling to suddenly not be able to walk efficiently and hobbling around isn’t much fun at all. Missing out on beach walking is awful also. Maybe this is a message that I shouldn’t place my ageing body at risk of injury via a fun recreational activity like netball. Maybe it is time to take up lawn bowls or some other more sedate competitive game? But it is a very clear message to me that health and fitness is so very, very important and treating ones body with respect is something I need to concentrate on a bit harder. So I wish you all good health and a trip and fall free future!
Sue Brooks February 15th, 2011
Tomorrow is the last day to let Council know whether you would prefer our region to be represented via ‘divisions’. Would you prefer the ten Councillors to have a specific geographical area to represent, as well as representing the entire region as a whole, or not? I’m happy to try divisions as many residents still tell me that they want ‘their very own’ Councillor. Though they know that currently they can ring up or write to any of the ten Councillors they would rather ‘ get to know’ a specific Councillor who they have selected to represent them. Of course if we do end up with divisions the community can still contact any Councillor on any issue and should definitely still communicate their wishes to all Councillors. Without divisions all Councillors are driving around the entire region and trying to attend meetings throughout a very large region toget to know all the local issues, while at the same time keeping their sights firmly on our regional issues. It also means that each Councillor is potentially competing against each Councillor for your vote at the next election. This can, in my opinion, lead to disunity. Under divisional representation some say the danger is that a Councillor will concentrate on just their own division rather than the region as a whole, but but this would be a breach of their duties under the Local government Act. I know that the community would be less likely to vote for me in a future election if I didn’t make sensible decisions on things likes our foreshore, sporting facilities and roads etc that were not all within ‘my division’.
Without divisions it is expensive to campaign and also very expensive to run an election if a by-election is ever needed. The last term of the Hervey Bay City Council saw two by-elections and two very expensive bills for our community to pay. Please either email or ring Council by Close of Business tomorrow (Wed 16th Feb) to Have Your Say. There are links and more information on the Council web site http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au Just look to the right side of the home page. There is an online form that will work for one vote from one computer but you can email directly if you share a computer. The restriction is to help us ensure that voting is valid and honest. Take care, Sue
Sue Brooks January 23rd, 2011
Now is the time to get into some reading and peruse our draft Local Laws. Council needs to turn all the “old’ Local Laws into a streamlined version for the Fraser Coast. Yesterday over 80 people met at Aldershot to consider the impact on the draft proposed Animal Management Local Law”and Subordinate Law in relation to bird keeping. The discussion was very sensible and I learned more about bird keeping than I did prior to the meeting.
If you would like changes to the times and/or places we can take our dogs for a walk, now is the time for action. If you want to see how Council proposes to control car parking and signage and a myriad of other issues now is the time to attend a public meeting and learn more. The aim of the Laws as far as I am concerned is to ensure we have a fair system of dealing with issues. Not forgetting that Laws need to be enforceable and as straight forward as possible.
Information meetings are scheduled throughout the district and all the information that you need to know regarding making submissions etc is available via the Council web site. While many of us think we have too many Laws already the approach being taken by the State Government is to reduce the overall number of Local Laws and to try and bring some uniformity to the Laws across the State. We can tweak ours to suit us locally but we need your help to ensure we tweak them correctly.
Take care, Sue
Sue Brooks December 29th, 2010
I trust that you all enjoyed a Merry Christmas and are, like me, hoping we don’t get anymore rain before New Years Eve. Preferably not before Feb would do me….
I just had Mr Peter Chapman, the Chronicle editor, visiting. He will be writing a story about the capability of Dundowran to cope with the flooding rains I expect. One of my neighbours has hired a pump to try and pump out the water from their backyard. Another neighbour has a pump going also and we are just glad that our big shed stayed dry. We had about 1inch to go and the floor would have been wet. Our little shed didn’t fare as well and I am scared to turn on our pool pump as it received a bit of a soaking.
But all in all I reckon our region, including Dundowran, has fared well. While there are some very waterlogged gardens only a very, very small number of homes received flood damage and when we compare ourselves to other towns and cities, so far we are doing OK.
A big thank you to SES volunteers and emergency services staff who have all pitched in to help in what should be a week off work! Take a bow and I am sure I speak on behalf of our entire community in thanking you for your dedication and expertise.
Just a reminder that it might be a good time to read that Council disaster booklet that you all received recently. I certainly am as while I really don’t want to ever have to evacuate our home I need to know what to do in case the worse happens. But in case evacuation isn’t an option, and with flooded roads it may not be, I want to know what necessities I should have packed and ready in case we have no power or water or transport for a few days.
Do take care, think of your neighbours and all those who have lost their houses to the rising waters, and drive ever so carefully so that we can all enjoy a happy New Year. Let’s hope it’s a drier one!
PS Graham measured 175ml in our rain gauge this morning since some time Monday.
Sue Brooks December 19th, 2010
Letter I sent to the editor re the Doll Museum issue.
I would like to respond to Mr MacKellar who accuses Council, and therefore myself, of being greedy, and Rebecca and Carl (FCC 18/12/2010) who also believe Council is neglecting certain small business owners. I can understand your comments as on reading the reports in the Fraser Coast Chronicle in reference to the Doll Museum etc. I would also believe Council is being insensitive at best.
But this is my take on the issue. Council has an obligation to ensure that residents comply with Council ‘rules’ so at times it carries out inspections. After amalgamation Council has had to re classify for rating purposes etc, four regions into one. This is a challenging and ongoing process so rules that were in place by one Council 10 years ago are quite probably different to the rules we have now.
As your Councillor I am always trying to ensure that Council imposes fair charges equitably throughout the region. But sometimes one size does not fit all! When our Acting CEO, Ms Lisa Desmond, first became aware of the classification issues in relation to the Doll and other home run businesses, she immediately notified Councillors and contacted the owners of the effected businesses. Ms Desmond did not ‘make a mistake’ at any time but apparently information passed on to the business owners via the media did not accurately reflect the Council issued statement. This caused some confusion to the business owners involved as you can imagine.
Council does not change rating categories mid year but we can waive fees and charges in specific instances. As soon as Council learned of the financial impost that the correct categories would mean for these particular businesses it did two things. Firstly Council made a commitment to review these categories and charges for the next financial year and secondly decided not to back date charges. So these businesses can continue as usual and Council will review the fees and charges to better ensure that small businesses, such as these, can continue to operate while contributing fairly to the public purse.
Sue Brooks October 20th, 2010
Front page no less! For those of you that don’t read the daily Chronicle yesterday saw the Chronicle front page emblazoned with the headline “Blunder Blog from Brooks”. The story then quotes the odd comment from my previous post about my hesitation in signing the Drive to Survive Campaign due to my history of receiving the odd speeding fine and the distinct possibility that I will sometimes exceed posted speed limits in the future. The story is very critical of my stance.
Apparently the Chronicle thought that their front page story might make me change my mind as they say today that my blog stays the same. Well yes… why would I go back and change my blog or change my mind about an issue simply because I make the front page?
But the real issue for me is the issue of freedom of speech and what credence I give to the print media these days to truthfully inform me of issues. If my thoughts expressed here on my web site can be so sensationalised on what must have been a slow news day, it does reflect on the type of journalism that we all are now used to.
My partner tells me that he is sick and tired of watching Current Affairs on TV as they simply recycle stories one after the other.
Maybe this week will be obesity, next week bullying, the week after might be how fast food shops are poisoning us then we could have another story on how someone or other is ripping someone off and then we finish with a sex scandal or two and probably a bad Council story. While we do need to be informed of such issues we are bombarded with so much negativity that we start to believe we live in a big bad awful world when in fact the opposite is true. Most people are nice people and we are lucky to live in a great country where we are relatively safe and well cared for.
My favourite topical show these days is Q and A. On that show we actually see and hear the words as spoken by leading figures. Their own words unedited and unsensationalised. I have learned more about my political leaders via this show than any other ‘news’ forum in recent memory. I learn if the guests are polite or rude, sensible or not and intelligent or not. I have a far greater appreciation of someone after an hour of chat than I get from a one or two sentence grab during the nightly news.
So to conclude. This blog is my blog and everyone can read it or not. Yes as a Councillor I do have a responsibility to ‘lead’ and I believe that I also have a very strong responsibility to freely and openly communicate with my constituents and give them an opportunity to communicate with me. I don’t for one second believe that I give up my rights to express a personal opinion and I refuse to simply do what many people have advised and just ‘shut up’ and not speak out. The best way to be elected, to my mind, is to have no opinion on anything much at all apart from the popular opinion of the day and to keep your head down and smile nicely. Well I’m just not like that. I have opinions and some people will always disagree with them.
But I don’t blindly follow what experts tell me. I question rhetoric and I believe that the voices of our community deserve listening to and acting upon. For example I don’t agree when ‘experts’ tell me a tree falling onto our beach due to erosion is now a ‘marine plant’, and I don’t agree with someones advice simply because they have a qualification. I would rather much listen to people who have work and life experience and can really understand the issue at hand.
So I will continue to say what I think, be open to new information and prepared to change my mind.
PS When will the road ‘experts’ lower the speed limit at the Craignish Shops corner Burrum Heads Rd, from 100kmh to 80kmh. That corner is a dangerous one… ‘in my opinion!’
Sue Brooks October 5th, 2010
I reckon that every day should be a good day. That being alive is simple reason enough to be ever thankful and positive and to go about living life fully with a smile and a cheery disposition. Easier said than done sometimes I find.
Lately the grey skies have reflected my mood. Several lives taken on our roads before their time and a trying time in Council have conspired to find me somewhat gloomy. Also we have to relocate our shop again after only 3 months so that is a total pain also.
Watching the news doesn’t help either with story after story of negative gloom and doom! But the icing on the cake was another round of let’s simply sack Council and me hitting some solid brick walls at Council. The Courier Mail has taken the story to sack Councils to the blogosphere with hundreds of comments reflecting a great community dissatisfaction with both our State and Local Governments. Then on the local Fraser Coast Forums Blog I’m copping a serve for driving a Council owned Prius and my every word and utterance comes back to bite me. Par for the course really when one decides to take on a public role but what makes life really hard for me is when I don’t live up to my own expectations.
I can understand community dissatisfaction but I decided to put my hand up as an elected member truly believing I had something to offer. That I could somehow make a difference to the people around me and help them. I wanted to work hard to make our region a better place and I believed I had some skills that I could contribute.
So what really hurts is when I feel like a failure to myself. Right now I am failing to help a resident with flooding problems as I’m told we ‘need a legal opinion’ and generally speaking Council doesn’t involve itself in inter allotment drainage issues. Next is a woman who bought what she thought was a shop but now finds it isn’t and to have it rezoned etc would be very difficult and probably cost thousands (current Planning Scheme rules even though the shop has been a shop for years and years) . Then a neighbour wants to build a shed but can’t as Council Planning Scheme rules says no. If you had built your shed when you bought your land all would have been well but hey the rules have changed now. Another pensioner finds she still owes Council money that she can’t possibly afford to pay in a lump sum and ‘the rules’ make it difficult for us to treat this case with compassion. A case of whats good for one is good for all it seems….. Another neighbour wants to run a fruit and veg stall from his house and reckons he should be able to but he can’t. The rules say no and his neighbours say no but now he is circumventing the rules by holding weekly fruit and vegie ‘garage sales’. The neighbours are not happy.
Then I learn that the SEMP process and applications for sand pushing trials in two small spots along our foreshore are dragging out beyond the time frames originally envisaged due to a myriad of reasons beyond my control.
So the days when I feel like a failure at every turn are the hard days. The days when I can’t change the rules. The days when through no direct fault of their own residents face bureaucratic brick walls that cost them financailly and emotionally and directly effect their quality of life. The days when I fail to convince my colleagues to support changes or decisions that I feel are needed. The days when I want to rip up our Planning Schemes and throw them away as they make life harder and harder for people instead of making life simpler and more straightforward. The days when I question whether I’m ‘good enough’ are the trying days. I think all of us share that need to feel that we make a difference or that we contribute in some small positive way to the world we live in.
So there. Maybe my public grizzle will help me pick up and carry on and just get on with it. Back to battle for common sense and for reasoned positive outcomes regardless of the situation and to try to influence change for the better.
But if you see me on a bobcat gaily pushing sand back up to our foredunes you will know that I’ve probably totally cracked and lost my marbles…. but hey maybe that is one way of getting some action. So has anyone got a bobcat and a few spare hours?
Sue Brooks September 29th, 2010
Please do take some time from your busy schedules to take a peek at the Council Walk and Cycle Plan. This document brings together the previous Councils plans for ‘non car’ connectivity across the region and we need your input. The lack of pathways and the condition of existing footpaths is an ongoing big issue for local Government and I’m sure most of you do some walking every day, so getting this plan right is very important.
While I sometimes think we spend too much time planning and not enough time doing, a strategy like this one is needed so that we can prioritise spending and target ‘broken links’ etc and make our region a better one. Due to timelines etc the strategy is only available for comment till the 8th October which isn’t a long time frame but then again sometimes it is better to get things done now rather than put them off and end up rushing to meet deadlines regardless. The Council web site has details at http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/web/guest/walk-and-cycle-plan
Recent media reports about Council turfing people out of a shed are somewhat alarmist in my opinion. I was evicted from a shed I s living in on our previous block here at Dundowran by the old HBCC some years back, so I do see things from both sides. Council has responded to the majority community view that we don’t want people permanently residing in sheds. Sheds are not up to Building Standards as houses are and as well as a visual amenity issue we have health issues to consider. Anyone can live in a shed for up to 2 years or so (I should check that this hasn’t changed but am confident it hasn’t) if they lodge a Building Application to erect their house. Extensions to this time period can sometimes also be negotiated but at the end of the day Council, on behalf of you our community, expects people to live in a building that can be certified as a house.
If Council is actually serving notices to vacate or requesting someone to move out of a shed, it is usually because of complaints as Council staff don’t patrol the region looking for ‘shed dwellers’. Council also has made it harder for people to build sheds on vacant land to try and prevent people from using sheds as houses… but that’s another story! So it is a difficult issue and one that is getting some space in the local paper. I think we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t!
Lastly I did attend the Brooweena Community Chat yesterday morning ( my name was missing from the report in the Chronicle) and I enjoyed the morning immensely. We had a lovely morning tea and the community were respectful, sensible and very pro active in the comments they made to Council. Yes they did point out some future desires like maybe a BBQ and public toilet for their park and some roads that could do with attention etc but on the whole the discussions were positive and pleasant. Several residents said that the general condition of roads was steadily improving and that it is better now than in the past! This is a feather in the cap to our roads teams and good news I felt. So a big warm thank you to the Brooweena community for attending our chat and keeping a positive and sensible attitude. Together we can make our region a better one.
Cheers, Sue