The online blog of Fraser Coast Regional Councilor Sue Brooks

Community meetings, moving shop and babies.

Sue Brooks July 4th, 2010

What a busy time of year this is turning out to be. On the personal front I travelled to Melb 2 weekends ago to share Dad’s 84th Birthday with him. Even though direct flights would be good, using Qantas and connecting through Brissy is a breeze, the whole trip taking no more than 4 hours both ways. Melb was looking greenish which is a good sign and they had some rain while I was there which is badly needed still.

Last weekend and most of last week was taken up by moving our shop. We have relocated to Pialba Place so our shop ‘Mind Games’ now has a much bigger shop and we have all our fingers and toes crossed that existing customers come with us and that new ones find us. I’m not sure if moving a shop is better or worse than moving house but it sure is tiring and Graham is only just starting to look normal again after some very exhausting and stressful very long days. I’m also now back in my proper role as a visitor rather than a removalist and shelf stackerer.

Council conducted the first 3 community meetings also last week, The meetings are part of the consultation process to decide on our future for the next 20 or so years. Both the Community Plan and new Planning Scheme will evolve as a result so now is the time to contribute if you are keen to shape the future of this region.

I attended the Maryborough and Hervey Bay sessions last week. Attendance in Maryborough was a small but very thoughtful and keen group of concerned residents more than willing to have their say on the future of their region and more specifically Maryborough. A larger group in Hervey Bay spoke about a range of issues with the usual topics getting a good going over. The themes in common included caring for our environment and not letting it degrade, managing growth carefully with associated traffic movement catered for. Alternative transport including public (possibly trains) and buses and cycle ways etc were high on the agenda. Both groups want to live in a region where our communities appreciate and embrace cultural activities and they want venues that can cater for this. Much more was discussed but I will await the results of the consultation phase before talking more about what people do want for their future.

There are more meetings scheduled this week at Tiaro, Boonoroo and Howard and I encourage anyone interested in our future to attend. If you can’t attend personally don’t forget that you can have your say online via the Council homepage.

I missed the Brooweena meeting due to a combination of exhaustion and a knock on the door just as I was exiting the shower. A neighbour handed me two little balls of fluff! It seems our missing old lady Guinea Fowl hadn’t gone to the paddock in the sky but was in fact busily sitting on eggs somewhere. We now have a small total of 5 little fluff balls resident in our bathroom. They are growing and thriving and I hope we can find new homes for them when they are a bit older. If you want any do let me know.

5 baby guineas

Rulers and Their Rules.

Sue Brooks 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

Sue Brooks 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….

Sue Brooks 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

Sue Brooks 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

Sue Brooks 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

Sue Brooks 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

Baby boomers still rock

Sue Brooks May 31st, 2010

Sat night at Seafront Oval saw a large crowd enjoying some excellent live music. We arrived at about 6pm just in time to settle in and listen to Joe Camilleri minus his female backing singers. Joe was great and his music still excellent after over 30 years of entertaining us. Next we listened to Shannon Noll and although I didn’t know a lot of his material he was an energetic and charming performer. Next of course was the ever loud Jimmy Barnes. Jimmy can still belt out his songs and we listened to nearly an hour of newer material followed by his hits of course. I was glad it didn’t rain and also found it very enjoyable to hang out and rock along in a mosh pit with such a mix of people. Many grey beards mixed in with young school children. The concert was an enjoyable family affair. It was well organised, sounded great and I hope we see more acts here in the future.

Fraser Coast 2031. The future of our region is up to you! http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/web/guest/fcrc2031-have-your-say

Council is asking for your input now to help us decide the future footprint of our region. If you do or don’t want more high rise along the foreshore or you want development to grow in a certain direction or not at all or you want to see certain types of industry encouraged to come here this is the time to have your say. Decisions will be based on community input so I can’t emphasise the importance of taking the time to engage and be involved in the process. There is heaps of information on the Council web site and there will be hard copy forms and brochures available at Libraries etc. If you fill in the questionnaire online there is weekend away at Kingfisher to possibly win!

Also there are some sign boards up and about asking for your input about developments. The Maher development cnr Beach Rd and Esplanade is a multi storey building and submissions are open now. Many of you have received letters from the solicitors acting for the Braith Vidler, Anson’s Rd, Dundowran Beach decision. The developer is appealing the Council rejection of this application so Council will have to defend its decision in Court. Main Roads will also have to defend as they advised Council to say no to the development. I encourage you to all to be involved in what is occurring in relation to development. Your voices matter and it really is too late to complain once a building is starting construction or a telecommunications tower is being erected or a housing estate is going in down the road! If you require more information about how to become more involved don’t hesitate to ring Council, peruse the web site or ask a Councillor.

Jimmy rocks the Seafront Oval

Building fences, showtime and birdsong.

Sue Brooks May 23rd, 2010

Firstly a huge thank you to Kristy Martin from the Chronicle. It was Christy that single handedly organised a group of small business owners and volunteers to build a fence. Craigs’ fencing, Dundowran Demolitions, Byrne Bros concreting, The Howard Sawmill, Dale and Meyers Hardware and Sunrise Rotary all combined their products and services to do a very good deed. They built a back fence for the lovely Marie. Marie lives adjacent our mobility corridor in Hervey Bay and while this corridor makes it easier for many of us to get around it also attracts the odd undesirable member of our community who thinks breaking into an elderly ladies home to steal her belongings while she is asleep in bed, is somehow an OK thing to do! I can’t express my gratitude to Kristy and to the workers who have helped build a new fence for Marie so she can now sleep much more securely and peacefully. Times are tough right now for any small business owner so I’m sure I’m not alone in appreciating the contribution that these business owners have made. We really do live live in a caring and happy community.

I spent 2 hours helping out on the Council stall at the Show yesterday. The sun was shining the weather was superb but the lack of crowds was disappointing. Maybe everyone that wanted to go to the show did so on Friday as there weren’t many people around yesterday. However everyone I spoke to was pleasant and positive and even the odd complaint was made in a cheerful and positive manner. It was such a relief to have happy chats with families and elderly folk who were out and about enjoying themselves. The day was a timely reminder that just because I read a daily paper that reports on a lot of bad news, blogs that are often a forum for complaints and personally receive many complaints about Council activities, that there are many, many other people living a quiet and contented life, They take the ups and downs of daily life in their stride and get on with things with a smile. My hat, if I wore won, is lifted and tilted in your direction.

But.. I would also like to support Maryborough State Member Chris Foley in his grumbles about QBuild and the cost to change a light globe in his office. In a previous life I worked for TAFE. The thought of having to use QBuild to get anything of a building nature done at Wide Bay TAFE used to send shivers of fear into all the staff. Quite simply the prices quoted to fix anything or paint anything etc were astronomical. There is definitely something wrong with this system. Either it is is bureacracy gone mad or some local suppliers are making a killing at the expense of their fellow community members who pay for their windfalls via taxes. I do believe every layer of Government needs to closely examine how they procure services and ensure that costs are competitive and not a rip off!

While the nights and mornings are turning chilly the prolific bird numbers in our neck of the woods are amazing. Lorikeets fill the air with their noisy chattering and feast on the blossom prevalent in our gum trees. My native bees are busy as ever as soon as the sun starts to shine and we have a new friend visiting. Bruce the butcherbird has decided to spend enough time on our pool fence or our BBQ to warrant a treat or two of minced turkey. The cats are already used to him and simply ignore him now but he has visited for the last 4 days perching quite happily near us and letting us hand feed him. I wonder if he will find a mate or if in fact he is a she! While I don’t usually feed the native wildlife he is so persistent that we simply can’t resist.

Fraser island wanderings

Sue Brooks May 17th, 2010

It was with great pleasure that I enjoyed the company of several other women on the very first Butchulla Women’s Tour of Fraser Island. Our wonderful hostess Chrissy introduced us to many facets of Butchulla culture and we enjoyed dancing, weaving, eating, wonderful company and visiting new places on our beautiful sandy island. We also learned more about how the very first inhabitants of this country prospered prior to the arrival of white man.

For me it was a trip of several firsts. I had not visited Dilli Village before and this is where we stayed on Saturday night. We visited Lake Boomanjin a beautiful large and very peaceful lake. It is so nice to find that this lake is less frequently visited by tourists and we were the only ones getting our tootsies wet. A beautiful and peaceful place. Then yesterday it was off to Indian Head to pay our respects to the Butchulla women of the past who are no longer with us. We then travelled to the Kgari camp (which I have now learned to pronounce as Gari), to enjoy a fresh and scrumptious lunch.

Over the two days I saw three dingoes. One female we saw twice at Dilli Village outside the dingo fence and this female showed absolutely no interest in us. Then we spied a glimpse of the dingo who frequents Kgari and this dingo also didn’t want to have anything to do with us. The last dingo was spotted on the beach from the bus and looked a bit worse for wear. He had been fighting and had a closed eye and scars and was the thinnest of the three. All dingo’s did not appear to be starving however and it made my trip all the better to know that these beautiful creatures are still surviving despite the trials of living in a now predominantly human impacted habitat!

Anyhow it was nice to get away and to try and forget about Council agenda’s and reports and other work related problems and activities. Lastly a big thank you to our intrepid driver Sarah. Sarah works for ‘Fraser Experience’ and is one of only two female bus driving tour guides on the island apparently. Sarah was informative and a highly experienced driver and I do recommend her tours.

So here are some pics to show you how wonderful our neighbourly island and our local Butchulla community are. Chrissy I wish you and everyone else that helped make our tour a great one every success for the future. Thank you, Sue