Fraser Coast Free Clarion

Newspaper facts wrong on Motor Park

2008-04-26T14:50:00.002+10:00

One of the co-founders of the proposed Motor Park headlined in today's daily is hopping mad that the paper could get it so wrong.

He said the story had the potential to destroy what should be a viable community project with the capability of creating jobs, take illegal racing off the streets, give kids something to do and has the potential to be environmentally sound. Check out the other side of the story by clicking this link to Bring Back Strewth.

Bowser Blues - v - Motor Park

2008-04-26T10:55:00.005+10:00

Where are we going? With petrol at an all-time high and little chance of the price ever dropping in a significant way. There are some amongst us those who want to promote fuel usage!! They want to build a Motor Park!!!

We have people drawing our attention to societies ongoing waste of the world's resources and we have others trying the hasten the process.

Oil is a finite resource, it will never get cheaper. Availability will continue to decline and cost will continue to climb.

While a Motor Park may have had some reason for being 20 years ago, although the writing was on the wall even then, there is no rational or sustainable reason to build one today. Motor sport as we know it, is going the way of the Dodo. Until we find a cheap and viable alternative to oil/petrol, to promote motor sport borders on the criminal.

If private enterprise wishes to waste its money on such a project, so be it. But please don't waste public money on a dying industry.

John A Neve

One family, two cars: Ratepayers foot the bill

2008-04-24T11:08:00.006+10:00

Morale among some Fraser Coast Regional Council staff is understandably low at the moment but that doesn't apply to the Arthur household, where Cr Julie Arthur and her husband John enjoy the use of two council-owned vehicles.

The Free Clarion received a tip off from a reader, and a council spokesperson confirmed that Mr Arthur, the former Maryborough City Council Water Officer, is currently on two years leave, just under two years left to run, and that he had private use of his council vehicle. The spokesperson said it was probably part of his contract and confirmed that his vehicle was not at the Council's Maryborough office for use by staff.

The tip off said there was a shortage of council vehicles available for staff to use when they needed one to undertake council work. It was hardly fair that Mr Arthur was allowed to get away with taking one home for his personal use for such an extended period of time.

As part of the pay package for Councillors, Cr Arthur also has the use of a council vehicle. Why should ratepayers be paying for the supply of two vehicles to this couple? He is, after all, not using his ratepayer funded vehicle for council work and I am sure Cr Arthur would not mind giving him a lift in hers should he need one.

The Free Clarion earlier this month exposed Cr Arthur's possible conflict of interest in accepting the role of the council Chairperson of the Water & Sewerage Infrastructure portfolio because of her husband's council position. See Portfolio Chair may constitute a conflict of interest.

Cracks appear in new council team

2008-04-23T09:20:00.018+10:00

Less than a month since the polls were declared cracks are appearing in Mayor Mick's new council team, if a public rant by one Fraser Coast councillor is anything to go by.

It is one thing to vent one's spleen in public and not be recognised, but to disturb the patrons of a popular beach side cafe while wearing an easy to read name badge, is quite another.

The councillor complained long and loud to her companion about one councillor who, reportedly in a bad mood, wanted to annex Maryborough and its problems from the Fraser Coast Regional Council altogether. Interesting that the councillor being complained about said he supported an amalgamated council during his election campaign and indeed secured a swag of votes from Maryborough voters.

The councillor also proclaimed her disgust at how one councillor had treated her during a meeting, to the point that she became so upset she felt "nauseous". That another councillor needed to be pulled into line and support the Maryborough councillors. And the Mayor needed to do more to keep his team in line.

The tirade finished with a bemused shaking of her head and a "why am I putting up with this, for what? $70,000 a year? I could be earning $150,000 in private enterprise, but I have made a commitment. Perhaps I should do what a lot of the others do, just take my $70,000 and sit back and do nothing."

Could a bye-election be on the cards?

I understand this councillor's frustration with some of her colleagues, but that is the nature of politics. Councillors are there to do the job of representing those who elected them. Sometimes it can be bloody. Loyalties are fickle and it must be remembered councillors are not members of a quilting club. They are a disparate group, each pushing their own agenda. The niceties can disappear in an instant despite all initially pledging to honour the Councillor Code of Conduct.

What section of the Local Government Act, Mr Mayor?

2008-04-21T20:00:00.011+10:00

Tonight's local television news carried the story of REST and its receipt of a notice of eviction by the Fraser Coast Regional Council.

The mayor Mick Kruger cited two reasons for not extending the REST contract to continue its recycling activities in Maryborough until tenders were called in about seven months time. The first was that the original contract did not have provision for extending the contract, and the second was that extending the contract would contravene the Local Government Act.

The interview did not elaborate on what section of the Local Government Act covered a situation such as this. Using the Local Government Act as a reason for not doing what is right and proper is normally the refuge of bureaucrats who simply don't want action taken on a particular issue.

Perhaps the mayor could explain what section of the Act covered the council's decision or whether he was advised to use that hoary old chestnut as an excuse by the relevant bureaucrat?

In the meantime keep the pressure on our elected representative to represent us, the voters and ratepayers, and not the opinion of unelected bureaucrats. They are there to advise but not to interfere in council decision making. See, Support REST: Contact councillors and let them know where you stand.

I must watch myself, I am beginning to sound like the editor of the local daily rag...... Ahhhhh! In my defence I did not use the term "faceless bureaucrats".

Coal in them there hills?

2008-04-21T08:03:00.011+10:00

There appears to be plenty of coal under the ground on the Fraser Coast. I am not talking about Howard or Torbanlea but apparently a company named the Tiaro Coal Company has conducted surveys from Dundathu to Traveston Crossing.

Could this discovery change the State Government's intention to build the Traveston Crossing Dam? The flooding of viable farming land, destruction of the lower Mary River and the Great Sandy Straits for water, versus millions/billions of $$$'s from the sale of greenhouse gas emitting black gold to emerging third world countries? Quite a dilemma.

Check out Roger Currie's excellent blog site for more information, links and maps. Also read the comments on Bring Back Strewth and Hervey Bay Gossip.

Support REST: Contact councillors and let them know where you stand

2008-04-20T09:29:00.010+10:00

Public Question time at last Wednesday's Fraser Coast Regional Council general meeting was dominated by supporters of REST, a voluntary organisation that funds its community programs from recycling.

REST supports 18 community groups who rely on its ongoing operations. These include a Youth Centre for young people affected by mental illness and a computer school for more than 200 senior citizens.

REST had a contract with the old Maryborough City Council to run the recycling centre at its rubbish tips which expires at the end of the month. But after weeks of talks with councillors, REST now faces eviction. The organisation has been given 14 days notice by the council to vacate the recycling centre. The recycling centre is its only source of funding and without it REST and the Bazaar Street Community Centre could be forced to fold.

Those who spoke at the council meeting asked council to consider allowing REST to continue its recycling operation until tenders were called and it could tender to run the service. The, at times, emotional speakers feared the loss of something that had made such a positive impact on so many lives.

REST is a volunteer organisation that funds its services in a positive way to truly benefit the community. It would be a travesty if it lost its income source over the period of time the council takes to restructure its operations and it was not around to tender for the recycling business when and if it finally goes out to tender.

Support REST by letting our elected representatives know how the community feels about this issue. The power of the people can change things so email them either as a group or individually. Click on the following email links. All councillors or the mayor, Mick Kruger, deputy mayor, Belinda McNeven, councillors, Julie Arthur, Sue Brooks, David Dalgleish, Linda Harris, Debbie Hawes, Barbara Hovard, Les MucKan, Anne Nioa, Gerard O'Connell.

Dingo fence equals political farce

2008-04-18T15:51:00.002+10:00

The dingo management situation on Fraser is a joke. No disrespect to the rangers who do a great job completely hamstrung by a lack of funding and resources, conflicting policies, and politicians who tell them to do one thing one day then something else the next.

The dingo problem has been around for decades. Compounded by the removal of the brumbies and the closing of the tip sites on Fraser. The dingos then got hungrier and braver. The dingos have been responsible for the decimation of a lot of other wildlife on the island, especially the ground dwelling animals. Nobody seems to consider that issue.

Years ago rangers were told not to fine people for feeding the dingos as it was bad for tourism, just warn them. The culmination was the tragic loss of Clinton Gage. Rangers were then ordered to practically shoot dingos on sight, and to fine anyone who so much as wiped a greasy pan and left the piece of paper lying around, or left an empty egg shell in the camp site. Then the rangers were ordered to put up that stupid fence around Waddy Point barbecue area as a cheap political stunt. NOT around the camping area where most of the humans spent most of their time, but around a small barbecue area measuring a hundred metres or so, which got very little use.

For years numerous experienced people debated and discussed the issue, with the government doing nothing. The Fraser Island Advisory Committee made recommendations. Nothing was done. Businesses and tour operators all had ideas. Nothing. The most sensible idea was to place remote feeding stations several kilometres from residential and popular camping areas to attract the dingos away. At the same time dingoes could be medicated via their food for disease and population control. The radicals said this was interfering too much with nature.

So now, out of the blue, our great white knight Andrew McNamara, after no public consultation by himself whatsoever, comes charging in on his donkey and builds the Great Wall of Fraser. Except it really is not a wall to control dingos at all. It is a cheap, correction, expensive political stunt that ruins a massive amount of sensitive habitat, walls in the humans in a couple of relatively small places, REALLY cheeses everybody off, and it won't even work!

The Watcher

Dingo fence clearing causes environmental damage

2008-04-17T11:05:00.007+10:00

The State government's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has pushed ahead with clearing for the construction of a dingo fence and fire break around the Fraser Island townships of Eurong and Happy Valley, causing major environmental damage.

Fraser Coast Regional councillor, Sue Books successfully moved yesterday that the council write to the Minister of Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, Andrew MacNamara outlining concerns about the lack of consultation, non consideration of the former Maryborough and Hervey Bay Councils' expressed concerns, and the unacceptable environmental damage caused when the route was cleared by bulldozers.

Cr Brooks showed a series of photographs of the damage caused by the clearing and labelled the fence as unnecessarily intrusive in an environmentally sensitive area which was World Heritage listed.

Cr Les MucKan who rarely comments, said on behalf of the Butchulla people, that he was disgusted by the environmental damage shown in the photographs. He said if dingos were fed they would not cause a problem.

Cost cutting? You betcha

2008-04-17T09:11:00.002+10:00

The Fraser Coast Regional Council's first Ordinary Meeting No. 1 took place yesterday. In line with the main reason for amalgamation our council has started cutting costs. No longer will members of the public attending council meeting be able to obtain a hard copy of council's agenda! There will now be three copies in plastic folders to be shared!! This will not only save ratepayers money, but also save the trees!!!

A cynic like me could think this is aimed at keeping the public in the dark. I am told those with access to a computer can download a copy prior to attending council meetings. So we don't save trees, we just shift the cost.

It was decided, once again not to pursue non voters at the recent council elections. I've always thought a law that can't or won't be enforced, is a bad law and should be removed from legislation.

Fees associated with Food Safety have been increased raising revenue from $105K to $113K.

Councillor Arthur was elected to represent council on the Local Government Association of Queensland Executive for 2008 - 2012.

Authority was given to the mayor to set in motion the recruitment of our new CEO.

Meeting closed: 1130hrs.

John A Neve

Saving the Trees?

2008-04-16T16:47:00.005+10:00

The Fraser Coast Regional Council was doing its bit for the planet today by saving a tree or two and limiting the number of printed agendas available in the public gallery.

At today's General Council Meeting the shortage of agendas made it difficult for members of the public to follow the meeting. I, for one, was heartened by the knowledge that, while some in the gallery remained blissfully ignorant of the issues being discussed, trees had not been sacrificed to the notion of open government.

That said, the projection of motions onto a big screen behind the heads of councillors did go some way in assisting the public gallery's understanding of some of the ensuing discussions.

I must also commend the Council for now making agendas available on its website prior to council meetings. A big help to residents who can now decide whether to attend a meeting should a subject of interest appear on the agenda.

Email Comment

2008-04-15T20:35:00.003+10:00

Blind Bias

An article from the Maryborough Herald (27/2/08), has belatedly been brought to my attention. While some weeks old now, the article by a Mr Alan Betteridge deserves, I believe, a response.

Titled "Election fever brings out the distorted truth", having real Alan's comments, I feel he is right, he has distorted the truth. His comments relate to an AEC Group report into Wide Bay Water commissioned by the Hervey Bay City Council. Their charter was to review the financial implications of WBW for the HBCC. The article suggests on more than one occasion that the report has been discredited! I would have to ask when and by whom? He goes on to question the report "the accuracy of which has now been brought into doubt by the respected financial analysts Pricewaterhouse-Coopers"! I am surprised, as any one reading the financial reviews would know Pricewaterhouse-Coopers have themselves of recent times, been the subject of critical comments.

Mr Betteridge finishes his comments by quoting the following: "Beware of the person who will do anything to become a councillor just because they want to be someone in the city rather than do something for the city" and he is so right. That is why someone obviously thought the report, after being hidden from the public gaze for so long, needed to see the light of day.

I wonder if, prior to making his comments, Mr Betteridge had read both reports? Because having done so, I believe they were looking at two different sets of criteria. I suggest everyone interested read them for themselves.

John A Neve

Email comment

2008-04-15T12:08:00.022+10:00

The following two comments were emailed to the Free Clarion by a reader who was catching up on the news and responded to the Yag'ubi postponed story and Wide Bay Water's PR machine continues apace story.

The hard questions need to be asked

I disagree slightly with Bec T, the editor of the Clarion, on a couple of minor points. I don't believe the big issues are percentages of Return on Capital/Council Investment etc, etc, are all that important. Yes they must be calculated but bureaucrats, accountants and lawyers will have a field day with those percentages for years with the residents and councillors none the wiser. The simple questions that should be asked are things like how much NET profit is being made from the external business activities, with all costs counted, including a share of the corporate costs?

And other questions I have read elsewhere about keeping down the costs of running the business. How many expenses do WBW have that normal council departments don't? Why should WBW staff be on different pay rates for equivalent jobs compared with the rest of council? Does it cost more to have a CEO of WBW than the CEO of the Council itself? If so, why? Do WBW staff and partners get all expenses paid Christmas parties (lavish dinner) when standard council workers paid $10 a head for a sausage sizzle in the park, no partners allowed? Is there a lavish expensive Chinese garden attached to the CEO WBW's office for his own personal use? How much did it cost? Who paid for it? Why pay for a board of directors with all their associated expenses? Why have duplication of staff, finance, IT, HR etc, etc, when that expertise is already available in Council? There are potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings of ratepayers' money involved in these questions.

To the best of my knowledge no councillor, other than Sue Brooks, have ever asked any questions like these. It is time they did.

_________________________________

Two multicultural festivals madness

Bec T is right. We cannot have two multicultural festivals on the Fraser Coast. It is madness.

Yagubi was a wonderful event in the early years. It has been dying for some time now. This implies no disrespect to the committee who work very hard all year round and we can all debate at length the possible reasons for the fading popularity.

There is probably more to the story as to why the FCMF refused to combine but that is all water under the bridge. The reality is that festivals nearly always make a loss (there are a few notable exceptions) and only survive/show a profit due to sponsorship and council/govt grants. Yes there are often a small number of businesses that profit but not the general community/ratepayers as a rule.

Perhaps the Yagubi committee should consider winding the organisation up by resolution at the AGM and as most constitutions say, gift all profits and assets to a like organisation. I am sure the FCMF committee would not refuse that offer. I am also sure that any of the hard working committee members of Yagubi would be welcomed onto the FCMF committee. A rather drastic suggestion I know, and I am sure there will be showers of criticism for suggesting it, but it is realistic.

The Watcher

Kayaker's epic journey to highlight dam opposition

2008-04-15T07:36:00.005+10:00

The fight against the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam received a welcome shot in the arm when long-distance kayaker Steve Posselt announced he was highlighting his opposition to it during his latest epic journey.

Mr Posselt left Brisbane on Saturday for a two-week paddle along the Brisbane, Stanley and Mary rivers before returning via the ocean.

Last year the self proclaimed river campaigner paddled and walked from Brisbane to Adelaide, using the Murray-Darling system and this time he has the Traveston dam in his sights. He said it had been a "knee-jerk reaction when we've had a water crisis.

"Let's at least not dig our heels in and say 'oh well we're going to have to have the dam'. Let's take a rational approach to it and figure it all out before we proceed."

Yag'ubi postponed

2008-04-14T15:37:00.006+10:00

Hervey Bay's Yag'ubi festival has been postponed, for this year at least, thanks to a combination of poor community support, organisation, the Wide Bay Water sponsored Fraser Coast Multicultural Festival (FCMF) and a lack of media publicity.

A committee spokesperson said that running the FCMF six weeks before Yag'ubi last year contributed to declining numbers. It also did not help that the FCMF billed itself as the Fraser Coast's only multicultural festival.

Apparently Yag'ubi organisers this year attempted to negotiate with the FCMF to combine the two festivals but the FCMF was resistant to the idea and it did not eventuate. Hervey Bay is just not big enough for two multicultural festivals so it would have made excellent sense to combine the two. After all Yag'ubi has been around for a long time and the FCMF is the new kid on the block.

I can only speculate that had Yag'ubi been sponsored by Wide Bay Water, an excellent run of publicity in our daily newspaper would have been assured as would the success of the festival.

Fundraising and events for Yag'ubi will continue so hopefully it will give the FCMF a run for its money and come back bigger, brighter and stronger next year.

Oops! Hervey Bay not in electorate of Wide Bay

2008-04-13T13:50:00.009+10:00

Fraser Coast residents have been declared the happiest in Australia, according to the Fraser Coast Regional Council's website. Mayor Mick Kruger said he was not surprised.

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index report found, for the second year running, that the federal electorate of Wide Bay had the nation's highest level of personal wellbeing.

Did someone mention the Wide Bay? Unhappily, the Fraser Coast's most populous city, Hervey Bay now belongs in the federal electorate of Hinkler while most of the remainder of the region along with Noosa sits in the federal electorate of Wide Bay. Where did Hinkler sit on the index?

Perhaps the council's media officer should have checked that out and also included the Hinkler result in his media release before the mayor jumped on the bandwagon and claimed the result for himself.

Email comment

2008-04-12T14:10:00.002+10:00

Water finds its own level

Once upon a time, in the car park adjacent to the Hervey Bay RSL and behind Pialba Place, there used to be a sign (it could still be there), which said "Warning, car park subject to flooding"! This was at ground level. Extensions to Pialba Place now have an underground car park! There are a number of new buildings in our city that now boast an underground car park. In most if not all cases, the car park is below sea level!!

Rumour has it that one of the first underground car parks on The Esplanade flooded prior to Christmas. If true this has been kept very quiet! One has to ask why?

If an underground car park floods causing damage to vehicles or loss of life, who is at fault? The owner of the building or the council for allowing the construction? As part of the construction pumps, in many cases, are installed to prevent flooding. But in storm conditions, power can be lost and pumps don't work.

History tells us King Canute once tried to stop the waves, he of course failed and so will we. Water is the hardest thing to keep out. One has to ask, why does our council allow car parks three and four metres below ground?

John A Neve

Councillors gagged if proposal gets green light

2008-04-11T08:13:00.008+10:00

My mind flashed back to the mid 1980's when I read today's Independent editorial that councillors were being asked to consider the introduction of a proposed 11 step process before media representatives could obtain councillor or senior staff comments.

Back then it was the old Noosa Shire Council. The council had just employed a Media and Communications Officer who announced to the attending media at a general council meeting that in future there would be no need for them to attend council meetings as media releases would be issued by him in time to meet deadlines. He was quick to assure the stunned journalists that they were not banned from attending, just that there would be no point. That the tradition of having free access to councillors and senior staff at morning tea on council meeting days, or after the meeting, would cease and all media inquiries would be directed through the officer.

In a rare show of solidarity, the media collectively advised the Noosa Shire Council that should this directive not be overturned, there would be no reporting of council matters whatsoever. Needless to say, the directive was overturned almost immediately as councillors realised the implications of such a media blackout. Councillors need the media for political survival, in much the same way as the rest of us need oxygen for survival.

Council is grass roots government and the media, if it is doing its job, plays an important role in getting information out to residents and ratepayers. When a council is beset by secrecy and unbalanced dissemination of information, as the Noosa Shire Council attempted, then democracy and the public's right to know, is compromised. The success or failure of the first Fraser Coast Regional Council will depend heavily on an informed public.

The council's interim CEO Andrew Brien may believe that the symbiotic relationship between the fourth estate and a government body like the council makes for an unholy alliance, and unfortunately in the case of our local daily newspaper, that is sometimes true. However for good or bad, it is important that the council is not only accountable but is seen to be accountable by the public it serves. It achieves that by being open to media requests for comment and not filtering information through a process that hampers the public's right to know and gives only a sanitised version of council news.

Fraser Coast Regional Council's first Planning & Development meeting

2008-04-09T17:54:00.005+10:00

A big thank you to John Neve for covering today's Planning & Development Meeting and filing the following report:

The Fraser Coast Regional Council held its first Planning & Development meeting today. There were three applications on the agenda.

Item 4.1

Material change of use, two lots into 17 lots in Annie Street, Howard. This was rejected due to the potential for flooding. The land was low lying.

Item 4.2

Reconfiguration of two lots into 51 lots in Madsen Road, Urraween. The mayor vacated the chair, whether there was a conflict of interest or a pecuniary interest, I don't know. Councillor McNevan took the chair and the recommendation to approve the application was passed nine - zero with councillor MucKan abstaining.

Item 4.3

Material change of use multiple units in access to two storeys in height. Restaurant/food services and vegetation removal. The Esplanade, Scarness. This application was deferred until July 9, at the request of the applicant. The officer's recommendation was for a refusal.

There were three items in CONFIDENTIAL these being the Waterfront (Qld) Pty Ltd, Cnr Fraser Street and the Esplanade, Seashift Properties, Burrum Heads Road, Burrum Heads and Torquay Heights Drainage Flooding issues. All three were covered verbally! On resumption of the open meeting no comment was offered, so I am unable to comment.

General Business

Councillor Dalgleish requested an update on the Burrum Town Plan.

John A Neve

Wide Bay Water's PR machine continues apace

2008-04-08T16:53:00.009+10:00

I wonder why Wide Bay Water (WBW) employs a Media, Communications Officer? Surely it is an unnecessary expense when the Chronicle's editor and former Corporation board member does such a fine PR job on its behalf.

A copy of the paper's story dated April 8 was on its website and featured the usual weekly, piece on the virtues of WBW. Under the catchy heading "Little place, big waves" we had the head of a US water efficiency body "startled to find Hervey Bay had a population of only about 50,000.

Why was the executive director of the federal Chicago-based Alliance for Water Efficiency, Mary Ann Dickinson so startled? Because of WBW's big international reputation.

Apparently "Ms Dickinson said she would like to see the Wide Bay Water governance model for water utilities replicated in the US. She was, according to the report "shocked" by how small the city was because of the "impact WBW is having on the world stage and in leading worldwide innovation."

Then came the cruncher. "On the other hand, by being small and set up as a corporation, you have flexibility here that you might not get in a bigger organisation that is part of a council water department. Water utilities can be so conservative."

All this praise and recognition will count for nothing if the people of Hervey Bay face the huge hike in the cost of their water and sewerage, predicted by the AEC Group's Financial Review of Wide Bay Water Corporation, commissioned by the former Hervey Bay City Council. The report under the heading Return on Council Investment in WBWC states: "The actual achieved return on investment (or the achieved return on capital - weighted average cost of capital) by WBWC has been below the expectations outlined in the corporatisation charter. WBWC has achieved actual average annual rate of return of 3.8%, compared to the average benchmark of 6.8% between 2001/2 and 2005/06.

"The projected real pre-tax return on capital to be achieved by WBWC averages 2.4% for the life of the financial plan, compared to the benchmark rate of 6.6% determined by QTC for WBWC.

"The inability to achieve the return on capital target effectively means that WBWC is not meeting its legislative requirement to set prices in accordance with full cost. WBWC should be fully recovering three components namely a return on capital invested, a return of capital (depreciation) and efficient operating costs.

To achieve the targeted level of return of 6.6%, the report stated: "Indicative price increases, above inflation, would be required for Water and Sewerage: 2007/08, Water 74%, Sewerage 12%."

It remains to be seen what the new Fraser Coast Regional Council will do with water and sewerage. Hopefully it won't be swayed by the regular PR puff pieces in the Chronicle.

There are probably two options to consider, the first, to bring WBW back in-house or the second that WBW remain a corporation and take over Maryborough and Tiaro's water supply. The new council should take a long hard look at the operating efficiency of WBW and compare that to the in-house operating efficiency of Maryborough and Tiaro's water management.

Council Meetings: Information not available on website

2008-04-07T16:18:00.004+10:00

A reminder that the council's first Planning & Development Standing Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday April 9, 9.30am at the Maryborough Council Chambers.

I am publishing this information to remind readers because it is not currently available on the Fraser Coast Regional Council's web site.

Not good enough. The only thing loaded on the site is the Post Election Meeting which took place on April 2, and the agenda for that meeting. Information after the fact is of little use. In the interests of democracy why can't council list the meetings before they happen together with the agenda? If an agenda was available prior to the meeting, interested ratepayers would know when an issue of interest was coming up and attend that particular meeting.

Committee and Council meetings are open to the public, provided of course they know when and where. It was decided at the April 2 meeting that Council meetings would be held on the first and third Wednesday of each month and the Planning & Development Standing Committee on the second Wednesday of the month, rotating between Maryborough and Hervey Bay Council Chambers. How difficult could it be to load that information onto the council's website?

Comment

2008-04-06T13:49:00.003+10:00

Dundowran Public Meeting

This afternoon I attended the public meeting to discuss the application to change the terms of Hervey Bay's town plan. This would allow development in Ansons Road, Dundowran. About 150 people were in attendance, amongst these were councillors Hovard, Arthur, Hawes and Brooks.

The meeting was well-run by Tanya Sanders a new Dundowranite from Sydney. The feeling of the meeting was totally opposed to the development, although there was little specific information on what was proposed! This after all was not an application to build, rather one to change town plan zoning for this land.

I can only hope those who submit written opposition to such changes, point out the proposal is out of sequence, lacks any viable sewerage plan, lacks good vehicular access and will increase traffic on the Hervey Bay - Burrum Road.

Having only been in Hervey Bay for eight weeks, this city needs more like Tanya Sanders.

John A Neve

Life imitates art: Subdivision

2008-04-06T10:54:00.016+10:00

Was it a case of life imitating art or art imitating life? On the weekend that casting for extras on the Hervey Bay-based film Subdivision took place, a community meeting at the Dundowran Hall yesterday afternoon voiced its objections to a proposed real-life subdivision on Ansons Road.

The movie Subdivision focuses on the change a community experiences when city developers take over. The majority of the concerned (approximately) 150 residents attending the public meeting said they did not want the peace and amenity of their community to change.

Alas the all too familiar story of Hervey Bay.

The coincidences did not stop there. The movie Subdivision will be directed by Japanese Story director, Sue Brooks. Not Cr Sue Brooks who, unless she is moonlighting as a director, attended the Dundowran meeting along with Crs Barb Hovard, Gerard O'Connell, Debbie Hawes and Julie Arthur, and Fraser Coast Regional Council's manager, Development Assessment, Michael Ellery.

The meeting was organised by Tanya Sanders, a young mum and Dundowran resident of only eight weeks. Tanya explained to the packed hall that she moved to Dundowran from Sydney because she was attracted by the wildlife, peace and safety of the area which enjoyed a zero crime rate. She said the developer, Braith Vidler, could not attend the meeting but was happy to meet a small committee after the meeting and listen to their concerns.

The proposed concept plan for the subdivision divides the area fronting the eastern side of Ansons Road into two lots, one lot for low density residential, 600 square metre blocks and townhouses/multiple unit development. The second lot for shops, a tavern, service station and sporting fields with only one access road, Ansons Road.

However, Tanya said the concept plan was just that, a concept. There were no guarantees the concept was what would be built there. She said the developer's application to the Council was a preliminary one, to override the old Transitional Town Plan. The submission did not include an application to build. She said that if Council approved the application to override the town plan, no other public notices would be required.

Mr Ellery confirmed this and advised the developer's application would be assessed under the old Town Plan with reference to the new Transitional Plan. He said both had equal weight. He said an application seeking to change the Town Plan would involve State Government agencies and the Council. He said the previous application made by the developer was not rejected by Council. The developer was asked to provide further information within 12 months. The information was lodged one day before the 12 months expired.

Mr Ellery said the Nikenbah Sewerage Treatment Plant was proposed to be upgraded by 2009 and under the new Town Plan, the efficient roll out of infrastructure could be argued. He said the Emergent Community zone, which the land is zoned, gave a lot more leeway. However he said there were issues with on-site treatment of sewerage.

Public submissions either for or against the proposal would be given equal weight, Mr Ellery said. They must be addressed to the CEO, include name and address, the file reference, application number, be based on valid reasoning, ie town planning, environmental impact, need, etc., and lodged by 4pm on April 16. He said late submissions would not be accepted.

On the issue of need, Tanya argued that residents were well serviced by Eli Waters Shopping Centre, six minutes drive away, the Craignish Store plus planning for more shops adjacent to the store, three minutes, the United Service Station, five minutes, and the Craignish Country Club and golf course, Fraser Lakes golf course and club house, (five minutes). She said approving more shops, a tavern and a service station was not needed and it would take until 2014 before the catchment area (local, Burrum Heads, Toogoom and Craignish) was big enough to make it a viable business proposition.

Impact was another area of concern. Tanya said approval to override the Town Plan could pave the way for future high density development in other garden residential areas. She said the area around the proposed development was the home of 148 species of bird, the last stand of Vine Forest left in Hervey Bay, wildlife, the Arkarra Lagoons, third popular eco-tourism site after Fraser Island and whale watching. She said many local residents set aside land in their yards to encourage wild life.

If you wish to make a submission, for or against, address your letter to the Chief Executive Officer, Fraser Coast Regional Council, PO Box 1943, Hervey Bay, Qld, 4655. File number: 513/3-061243 Development application for 59 Ansons Road (lot 21 RP35381) and lodge it before 4 pm, April 16, 2008.

In the interests of publishing all sides of the story, the Free Clarion would like to hear from readers who have a different point of view and wish to contribute to the debate, email us or click the comments link at the bottom of this story.

Reminder: Dundowran Public Meeting

2008-04-04T17:46:00.002+10:00

The public meeting protesting the proposed Ansons Road development project starts at 4 pm tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon at the Dundowran Hall on Dundowran Road.

Come along and find out what it is all about and what you can do. Residents have until April 16 to lodge objections.

For further information phone Tanya 0401 356 878

Email comment

2008-04-04T16:41:00.006+10:00

The inside story: How the deputy mayor won

The following email was sent to the Free Clarion by a reader who had the low down on the machinations that took place prior to Wednesday's Fraser Coast Regional Council meeting at which Cr Belinda McNeven defeated Cr Barb Hovard for the Deputy Mayor's spot.

"Actually, the deal was done a couple of days before the official meeting. Hovard, McNeven and Dalgleish put their hand up. McNeven had the support of her gang of four from the electioneering - Hawes, O'Connell, Nioa and herself. Sue Books committed to her and Kruger promised his support. Dalgleish only had MucKan. These two would never vote for McNeven. The rest for Hovard. Hovard could have pulled out at that time but pushed on to the official meeting. With Dalgleish pulling out that left five for Hovard with Kruger carrying it for Hervey Bay. The numbers six, three and two were public knowledge long before the official meeting. Yes Hovard should have been deputy, but McNeven (AKA Biddy Marchant) managed to politically out maneuver her. The question is, can McNeven maintain the support of her colleagues beyond 12 months? History suggests otherwise."

Conflict of Interest: "Water under the Bridge"

2008-04-03T16:03:00.010+10:00

Well, Well. Just who is reading the Fraser Coast Free Clarion? Someone at the Chronicle perhaps?

To my knowledge absolutely nothing has appeared in our daily paper about a possible conflict of interest in Cr Julie Arthur's previous and present chairmanship of a water/sewerage portfolio, while her husband John was/is the Maryborough water officer. (see Portfolio Chair may constitute conflict of interest, below) Yet in today's paper Quick Draw, which normally comments on the Chronicle's big stories, alludes to it.

The cartoon shows three koalas fishing off a bridge, the first said: "Why shouldn't Julie Arthur be in charge of the Fraser Coast's water - it's not as if she's wet behind the ears!" The second, quoting Belinda McNeven said: "And she always looks at the glass as half full - not half empty!" The third koala, looking stressed, said: "All this controversy should be water under the bridge!"

That the editor was so quick to damn Cr Sue Brooks in the eyes of the public, over what can only be called a weak and nebulous claim of conflict of interest, before the election, (Click on March Archives - Popular Hervey Bay Candidate targeted) yet when there was an obvious one sitting under her nose for the past 17 years, she makes a joke of it. Hypocrisy writ large!

The hard questions do need to asked and they need to be answered by those who are accountable to the electorate. Just not in the Chronicle if it doesn't suit the editor's purpose.

Some workloads more even than others

2008-04-03T15:03:00.004+10:00

All councillors on the Fraser Coast Regional Council will chair a Portfolio each, but when it comes to membership of those Portfolios and appointment to external committees, some councillors are more even than others.

The majority of councillors are members of two Portfolios each. However, Cr Debbie Hawes has the heaviest workload as a member of four Portfolios, while Cr Les MucKan sits as a member of zero.

Appointments to external committees and organisations range from between three for Cr Les MucKan and eight for Deputy Mayor, Cr Belinda McNeven, one behind her is Cr Gerard O'Connell on seven, Cr Anne Nioa on six, Cr Linda Harris on five and Crs Brooks, Hovard, Hawes, Arthur and Dalgleish on four each.

To be fair some Portfolio's are more complex than others, some external committee/organisations meet irregularly and of course, attending lots of meetings doesn't mean a thing if nothing is achieved and the person is there in name only.

The next couple of years will sort the wheat from the chaff. Between us, Hervey Bay Gossip and our friends and contributors at Bring Back Strewth our elected representatives and the Mayor's personal PR machine, the Chronicle will be under much more scrutiny than in the past. By the time the next election rolls around, we will know who is value for money and who is not.

Portfolio chair may constitute a conflict of interest

2008-04-02T16:47:00.009+10:00

The division of Portfolio responsibilities for one Fraser Coast Regional councillor may constitute a conflict of interest.

Cr Julie Arthur was elected chairperson of Water & Sewerage Infrastructure at today's statutory meeting of the newly formed council. A similar role to the one she held for 11 years as the Chair of Maryborough City Council's Works and Services Committee, a portfolio that included water and sewerage.

For the 17 years of her tenure as a councillor on Maryborough City Council she has been a member of the Works and Services committee (six years as a member and 11 as chair) while Cr Arthur's husband John Arthur was employed as the Council's water officer.

Had Cr Arthur declared a conflict of interest, as she should under the Local Government Act, it was incumbent on her to resign from that particular committee or at the very least absent herself whenever water was discussed.

Now Cr Arthur has accepted the role of Chair in the Water & Sewerage portfolio. I checked with the council's Maryborough office today and a spokesperson advised that Mr Arthur was on leave until 2010. Obviously one of the Maryborough City Council officers who had accumulated excessive leave.

On leave or not, Mr Arthur is still employed by the newly amalgamated council, presumably in his substantive role. It remains to be seen if Mr Arthur's position eventually disappears under restructuring or if Wide Bay Water takes over Maryborough and Tiaro's water supply. Whatever happens, Cr Arthur should not be part of that decision making process.

Cr Arthur should do the right thing, declare a conflict of interest, and move on to a different portfolio.

Council votes itself top pay rate

2008-04-02T14:21:00.004+10:00

Our new councillors wasted no time in getting their snouts in the ratepayer funded trough.

The council voted itself the highest pay scale available under the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal's range for a Category 5 council. As a percentage of the rate of pay of a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly (MQLA), a Category 5 mayor was entitled to claim between 80 and 95 per cent, deputy mayor, between 55 and 67.5 per cent and councillors between 47.5 and 60 per cent.

Under the top percentage rate, the mayor will receive $120,230 per annum, deputy mayor $85,430 and councillors $75,940. A total annual councillor wage bill of $889,120 plus a percentage of any MQLA wage increases, superannuation and expenses. Had councillors chosen to adopt the lower percentage rate of pay the cost to ratepayers would have been $711,940, plus add-ons.

However, councillors did vote to reimburse council for private use of their council-owned vehicles and telecommunications equipment.

Of course, traditionally new councils vote themselves the largest pay increases available to them at the beginning of the new council term in the hope that four years down the track ratepayers will have either forgotten or been so impressed by the work done on their behalf that they conclude it was money well spent. Cynic that I am, my money is on the former.

McNeven Deputy Mayor

2008-04-02T13:28:00.009+10:00

The Fraser Coast Regional Council's mayor and councillors were officially sworn in today at the council's historic first meeting at Maryborough. The public gallery was packed by family and friends of the elected councillors, the media and members of the public.

Belinda McNeven, in a show of hands, narrowly defeated the strongest polling candidate at the election, Barbara Hovard to become the council's first deputy mayor.

Councillors adopted the recommendation that the Planning and Development standing committee would comprise all members of council. The mayor has put his hand up to be chair. Planning and Development Committee meetings would be held fortnightly, alternating between Maryborough and Hervey Bay council chambers. The first is scheduled for Wednesday April 9, 9.30 am, at Maryborough.

A total of ten portfolio chairperson's were decided. Corporate Governance, Belinda McNeven; Arts and Culture, Linda Harris; Community and Recreation, Les MucKan; Business Development, Barbara Hovard; Marketing and Tourism, Anne Nioa; Economic Development, Gerard O'Connell; Water & Sewerage Infrastructure, Julie Arthur; Environmental Sustainability, Sue Brooks; Rural & Urban Infrastructure, David Dalgleish; Strategic Policy & Sustainability, Debbie Hawes.

the next ordinary meeting of Council will be held at Hervey Bay Council Chambers, 9.30 am, on Wednesday April 16. Subsequent meetings will be held on the first and third Wednesday of each month alternating between Hervey Bay and Maryborough Council Chambers.

$4.5 million in staff leave inherited

2008-04-01T15:16:00.010+10:00

Prior to amalgamation Maryborough City Council allocated $4.5 million to cover unclaimed staff leave and long service leave which all ratepayers in the now amalgamated Fraser Coast Regional Council will inherit.

That amounts to 40 years of accumulated leave, according to a report in today's Chronicle. Shock, horror, what a revelation. How did this happen under the watchful eye of the journalists who cover council meetings and scour council budgets looking for just this type of discrepancy?

This situation did not develop overnight. Where were the probing questions and in-depth stories? Probably missed because the journalists either put down their pens or looked the other way.

That staff were allowed to accumulate such a huge slice of leave in the first place is poor management practice and says a lot about the skills of a council overseen by four of our newly elected Fraser Coast councillors, Barb Hovard, Gerard O'Connell, Anne Nioa and Julie Arthur. Former mayor Barb Hovard explained it by saying Maryborough was an old council with a loyal workforce who were willing to postpone their leave if needed.

I am sure there are many more revelations to come as the lid is finally lifted on all four of our former councils.

Tomorrow marks the official beginning of the new Fraser Coast Regional Council. The mayor and councillors will be sworn in at a Statutory meeting at the Maryborough City Hall at 10am.

I urge interested members of the public to start attending council meetings. It is only by watching the councillors perform that you will be able to make a more informed choice at the next election. Unfortunately you cannot rely on getting that information via the daily newspaper.

Ansons Road development back on agenda

2008-03-31T13:22:00.005+10:00

The controversial Ansons Road development project is back on the Agenda.

Dundowran and Craignish residents who protested against the proposed development last year thought the issue was dead in the water. Not so, says Tanya Sanders who has organised a public meeting next Saturday, April 5, 4pm at the Dundowran Hall on Dundowran Road.

Tanya said the previous proposal was never submitted for decision but the developer, Braith Vidler, was asked to provide Council with more information. She said Mr Vidler took 12 months to provide that information for council and now residents have until April 16 to lodge objections.

The original plan included 600 sq metre housing blocks, town houses, shops, a tavern and sporting facilities on a site with no sewerage connection and one access road. Land adjacent to the proposed development in Ansons Road and Sempfs Road is zoned Garden Residential, minimum 2000 sq metre blocks, which cannot be subdivided because there is no sewerage connection. The land proposed for development is currently zoned Emerging Community.

Tanya said Mr Vidler had submitted three alternative proposals for sewerage. The first was a piped connection to the Nikenbah Treatment Plant, the second to provide a large trap on site to collect sewerage and pump it daily into trucks for transport to the treatment plant, the third was to set aside an area of planted land and install a much larger system, similar to the systems now used in the area by individual householders.

Residents worried by the proposal were urged to attend the meeting. Tanya said it was probably the last opportunity the community would have to discuss the issues and lodge objections.

For more information Tanya can be contacted on 0401 356 878

Why wasn't it in the story?

2008-03-31T10:45:00.007+10:00

Among all the Wide Bay Water PR puff pieces, in Saturday's Chronicle (March 29) I was fascinated to read a little gem of a letter which elicited a curt response from the paper's editor.

The letter was written by Gavin Cantlon, an experienced journalist, complaining about the front page story (FCC March 26) headlined "$10,000 gun haul: no conviction". In Summary Mr Cantlon's complaint was that the court story failed to give the day of the hearing, contained only the name of the defendant, it did not name the defendant's solicitor, the prosecutor, the judge, or report the judges sentencing comments.

Mr Cantlon said "there must have been good and valid reasons why no conviction was made but these were not reported. The story just sits there implying again that the court system is soft. I find this bad journalism."

The editor's comment was amusing. Most of the information the story should have contained was packed into the editor's response. If the information was known why was it left out of the story in the first place? One is left wondering where she did her journalism training, especially when she asserts "the names of prosecutors and lawyers are not always integral parts of court reporting". Really?

Footpath access difficult to navigate

2008-03-31T09:07:00.004+10:00

I received the following email written by a disgruntled driver and pedestrian who makes a valid argument for some council controls on footpath access for everyone. It is hard enough for the majority of us to get through the maze but it must be a nightmare for the vision impaired or the wheelchair bound.

I am happy to publish any comments on this issue from our newly elected councillors.

Email:

I was wondering has anything ever come up about cafe seating along the esplanade at Torquay? It is now so crowded on weekends you have to navigate your way through the maze of chairs and tables. If you pull a car up you have to watch no one is taken out by the passenger door opening. In NSW the same problem saw the councils start charging local store owners space fees and they had to move tables back for clear walk through. It's out of control. I think shop owners believe they own the space out front of their stores.

Nicki

The hard work begins

2008-03-27T08:21:00.007+10:00

The polls have been declared. The inaugural Fraser Coast Regional Council elect will soon be sworn in. Then the hard work begins.

Setting up the new council structure in such a way that it works more efficiently than the old four is the first task, but the job involves much more than that.

Those elected need to improve what we already have, secure new opportunities by getting out there and putting our region on the map. Look at what the old Bundaberg Council achieved for Bundaberg. Many operations that were once based here were enticed to set up in Bundaberg, why? Because the council was pro-active in offering incentives not on offer here.

The new council needs to be a driving force for nurturing industries that provide jobs, yet maintain a careful balance between sustainable development and environmental issues. The past mindset of development for development's sake is no longer acceptable to a more informed and environmentally aware electorate. Mindlessly allowing every subdivision application without the developer providing proof of need, ie low housing stocks, and an environmental impact study, must not continue. Passing councillor decision making powers over to unelected council officers must also stop. Councillors are paid to make those decisions by the people who elected them.

The nuts and bolts work of building a unified community, sharing of resources and improved transportation are only the beginning. Youth also needs to have a voice in building a future that encourages them to stay in the region.

The new council needs to look at the reports commissioned by the old Hervey Bay City Council into the operation of Wide Bay Water Corporation and bring it back in house. Doing this would make significant savings by eliminating service duplication. One of those reports, the AEC Group Financial Review of Wide Bay Water Corporation, under the heading Potential Service Duplication the report concluded: "The potential savings from the review and subsequent elimination of service duplication could equate to an annual ongoing saving of between $75 and $150 per ratepayer based on savings of between $2 and $4 million."

I congratulate those who were elected and commiserate with those who did not make it this time around. Ratepayers will be watching and those councillors who don't perform will no doubt answer for that at the next election. The ball is in your court. Let us hope you can show real leadership and deliver a council that surprises even a tired cynic like me.

Who will own Centro?

2008-03-25T11:16:00.004+10:00

Our friends at Hervey Bay Gossip have uncovered a story published in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday that Bankers are pushing Centro Properties Group to speed up the sell-off of its shopping centres in order to bring down its mounting debts. Is Hervey Bay Centro up for sale? Full story

The Kingmaker spoke: Long live King Mick

2008-03-25T09:35:00.017+10:00

Our newly elected mayor has been promoted thanks to the Chronicle. No longer is he merely mayor Mick, he is now King Mick and dressed in full royal regalia. Saturday's (March 22) front page featured the mayor, sceptre in hand, on top of a cliff with the heads of the top ten candidates scrambling behind. The caption read: "King of the newly united Fraser Coast mountain overlooking his near-certain court of councillors".

Hubris gone mad?

Although counting of about 10,000 postal and pre-poll votes begins today, the line-up is unlikely to change. The people have spoken. A couple of the councillors who look like being returned had achieved little for their community in the past and are now set to enjoy an even more lucrative ride. Hopefully the majority of those elected are hard working and will ensure ratepayer's best interests are fairly represented.

The results to date may look fairly even-handed with four former Hervey Bay councillors, four former Maryborough councillors, and one former councillor from Woocoo and Tiaro respectively. However, this outcome, should it remain unchanged when the poll is declared, would leave Hervey Bay residents under represented, on a per capita basis, and rural/regional voters over represented.

It appears that Hervey Bay residents went to the polls and fairly distributed their votes to include representatives from Maryborough, Tiaro and Woocoo. Unfortunately that fairness was not repeated by voters in the rest of the region who feared a Hervey Bay takeover of their area. We can only hope that the majority councillors, aware of this imbalance, do not band together as a parochial block, and use their numbers to vote against improvements/benefits for Hervey Bay ratepayers. The mayor's casting vote, if such a scenario ever eventuated, would make no difference.

There was good news however from the Chronicle editor who has now graciously given councillors permission to use the Internet, but only as long as "they know the difference" between fair and unfair debate. How fair was that?

Email Letter

2008-03-25T08:40:00.003+10:00

Self Interest -v- the common good

I believe any objective review of our Representative form of Democracy, would have to admit it has been eroded over time. As a direct result, many people have lost faith in their ability to influence the direction of their lives.

Successive federal and state governments have introduced laws that restrict the ability of the ordinary Australian to participate. Very few people have the money or resources to stand for any level of government. Unless backed by a political party, church organisation or business group.

There are a number of ways we could endeavour to restore faith in our political system. Some of these are as follows; cap the money spent by or on behalf of any candidate, do away with blanket voting for the Senate by removing the LINE on the ballot paper. The voter would then have to mark every box. Scrap compulsory voting and introduce fixed terms, thus removing opportunistic snap elections. Giving the electorate the time to truly assess a government's performance. Most importantly, insist on equal electronic media coverage and limit lead times prior to an election.

Better still, we could move to a Direct Democracy system. With a population of little more than 20 million, it would be easy to introduce a system similar to California or Switzerland. We could hold referendums quarterly, with the added ability for citizen initiated referendums, if 10% of the population so desired.

There are probably many other options, which would enable the people to have a greater say in how our country is run. But I believe something must be done, no one could deny the increasing loss of the citizens rights and privileges over the last 20 or 30 years. Those we choose to elect no longer listen to us, they now tell us what is good for us! Sad to say they often have gotten it wrong.

John A Neve

email address supplied

Email Letter

2008-03-20T17:13:00.004+10:00

Fluoride: The alternative view

The Queensland Government's current TV push for the acceptance of fluoride in our water claims that there is no credible evidence that it is harmful. May I quote Dr Mercola (mercola.com)

newsletter of November 22, 2007: "If you still believe the myth that fluoride is good for your teeth, think again. There are a vast number of scientific studies confirming the opposite - that fluoride is a toxin that is extremely detrimental to your body, your brain, and even to your teeth. One of the most active research areas today is fluoride's ability to damage your brain. Recent human studies from China have confirmed that elevated exposure leads to reduced IQ in children."

Fluoridating drinking water for dental health is a swindle of massive proportions. An award winning journalist Christopher Bryson details in his book, The Fluoride Deception fluoridating water began n the mid 1940's as a solution to fluoride pollution generated by the Atomic Bomb Program, and the aluminium industry. Starting off with a simple truth that a natural form of fluotide is part of the composition of your teeth, they were able to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. That drinking toxic chemical fluoride compounds - the waste materials from these fluoride polluting industries - was good for children's teeth.

Start with a grain of truth, and end up with a lie the size of the Sahara. Premier Bligh, please remove the lies being fed to us and refer to "the extremely toxic chemical Hydrofluorosilicic Acid" and not just fluoride (The Atomic Bomb/Fluoride cover up was obtained under the United State's FOI act. Details at fluoridealert.org/WN-414.htm

Noel Gomersall

Unit 2, 43 Milton Street

Maryborough, 4650

Three candidates close

2008-03-18T17:42:00.009+10:00

A race has developed between three of the candidates in the Fraser Coast Regional Council election as counting continued today.

The front runners remain ahead but with only ten of 32 booths counted, Anne Nioa with 8,881 votes, Gerard O'Connell on 8,800, Trevor McDonald, just below the leaders on 8,675, could close the gap. The three are vying for the ninth and tenth spots.

There has been no change to the list of clear leaders, with Belinda McNeven, Debbie Hawes, Linda Harris, Les MucKan, Julie Arthur, Barb Hovard, David Dalgleish and Sue Brooks well ahead.

Keep abreast of the results as they are posted by going to either the Electoral Commission Queensland's virtual tally room, or the Local Government Association of Queensland's tally room.

Election coverage: possible three codes breached

2008-03-18T08:23:00.009+10:00

The Chronicle's local government election coverage could have broken three codes including that of its owner Australian Provincial Newspapers (APN).

APN's Code of Conduct which covers all employees says in summary "All directors and employees are required to abide by laws and regulations, to respect confidentiality and the proper handling of information and to act with the highest standards of honesty, integrity, objectivity and ethics in all dealings with each other, the group, customers, suppliers and the community." Well worth a thorough read.

APN's web site does not include an avenue to lodge complaints but if readers and local shareholders felt aggrieved, they could write to the APN Board of Directors; and/or the chief executive, Brendan Hopkins at: APN News and Media Limited, Level 4, 100 William Street Sydney, NSW, 2011; and/or APN Regional Publications chief executive, Mark Jamieson at Level 3, 33 Park Road, Milton, Qld, 4064.

The second code involved the Advertising Code of Practice, which the Chronicle supports as a member of the Australian Publishers' Bureau, paragraphs three and four. Under the code, the Chronicle agrees it will only publish advertisements which: "3. Are truthful and not misleading or deceptive. 4. Are clearly distinguishable as advertisements."

Nowhere in the APN owned Chronicle, Observer or Maryborough Herald's published advertising for the Thursday March 13 lift out, Meet the Candidates feature, were readers alerted to the fact that the lift out was an advertising feature and not all candidates were covered. Again, the front page lead in Thursday's paper was "Who will get your vote? Meet the Candidates, Free guide inside today", failed to mention the guide was paid advertising. Readers had to get to the liftout itself before discovering it was an advertising feature. Apart from the lift out, all were possible breaches.

If you were unhappy with this situation you can lodge a complaint with the Australian Publishers' Bureau and/or the Advertising Standards Bureau. and complete the on-line form; or fax your complaint to (02) 6262 9833; or email, administration@adstandards.com.au. All complaints must be in writing and include your postal address.

The third code is that of the Australian Journalists' Code of Ethics in which respect for truth and the public's right to know are overriding journalistic principles. The first code states: "They shall report and interpret the news with scrupulous honesty by striving to disclose all essential facts and by not suppressing relevant, available facts or by distorting by wrong and improper emphasis."

If you believe the standard of the Chronicle's coverage of the election breached the code you can lodge a complaint by addressing it to the AJA Judiciary Committee at Level 4, 16 Peel Street, South Brisbane, Qld, 4101. Unfortunately only breaches of the Code made by Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) Journalist members can be enforced. If the Chronicle's editor is not a member then your complaint may be wasted.

Another organisation handling media complaints is the Australian Press Council The Press Council's principles state: "The freedom of the press is important more because of the obligation it entails towards the people than because of the rights it gives to the press. Freedom of the press carries with it an equivalent responsibility to the public. Liberty does not mean licence. Thus, in dealing with complaints, the Council will give first and dominant consideration to what it perceives to be in the public interest."

Press Council complaints can be made my completing an on-line form or by email to: complaints@presscouncil.org.au and mailing a copy of the relevant newspaper. Written complaints can be sent to the Executive Secretary, The Australian Press Council, Suite 10.02, 117 York Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000.

Councillor result: Early leaders

2008-03-17T17:34:00.003+10:00

The count has started for the Fraser Coast Regional Council's ten new councillors.

So far, according to the Local Government Association of Queensland's tally room, with 13.61 per cent of the vote counted by 2.14 pm today, former Maryborough mayor Barb Hovard and Woocoo Shire councillor Debbie Hawes have taken the early lead.

The result is too early to call but at this point in the count, the ten leaders are: Belinda McNeven, Debbie Hawes, Gerard O'Connell, Linda Harris, Les MucKan, Julie Arthur, Barb Hovard, David Dalgleish, Anne Nioa and Sue Brooks. All former councillors.

Tomorrow's count should give a clearer indication with several candidates so close to the leaders it is anyone's call.

A sobering result

2008-03-16T17:15:00.008+10:00

The result of Saturday's mayoral race is a sobering one. With 43 per cent of the vote Mick Kruger was elected on Saturday as the first mayor of the Fraser Coast Regional Council.

The result also showed that 57 per cent of the region's voters wanted someone else. A fact I hope Mr Kruger reflects on during the next four years. Those voters still have to be convinced that he deserved the job. Preferential voting could have delivered a different result.

Given there were a number of quality mayoral candidates in Saturday's election line-up, and Mr Kruger's less than mayoral performance at Hervey Bay's Meet the Candidates on Thursday night, it was hard to believe the Chronicle's Friday editorial could claim there were no star performers and we should settle for the "default position" of a "pair of steady hands". Mr Kruger's of course.

Hopefully the donkey vote was not as large as feared and the results of the Councillor's poll will deliver ten independently-minded, unaligned people who will make decisions in the best interest of ratepayers and the community.

For better or worse?

2008-03-16T16:45:00.002+10:00

I have long been an advocate of council amalgamations, with one proviso, that being, amalgamation had demonstrable benefits for the people. Sad to say the events of the last few months, have caused me to doubt myself.

Due to our state government, council amalgamation has become a hodgepodge of a system, some regional councils have wards/divisions, some don't. Both federal and state governments have electorates/wards/divisions, so why not local government?

As a result of the March 15, election we now have a mayor who has less than 50% of the electorates support! Is this democracy? Again, both federal and state elections use the preferential voting method, why should local government be any different?

Rather than uniting the people of our region, I believe this election has widened the gap between the urban and rural sectors. Based on discussions with a widely diverse group of people, I believe many voted on a strictly parochial basis, fear of being left our causing people to vote for their own.

The comments attributed to voters in a local paper are cause for concern; "I've voted already, but I can't remember who I voted for now." "No, I'm planning on just ticking the boxes as I go down the list, I'm not really interested." "No idea, I'll find out on the day and hope I pick the right ones." The Spartans, Tolpuddle Martyrs and the miners at Eureka, would be amazed at how we have allowed our rights, freedoms and democracy to be eroded. Unless we all take more interest in what all three levels of government is doing, DEMOCRACY will become a thing of legend. Even now, how many people could really describe what it is?

John A Neve

Mayoral candidate chosen

2008-03-14T07:30:00.004+10:00

Fraser Coast residents have been given the tip by the Chronicle editor about who they should favour for mayor at tomorrow's historic council election. (P8 March 15)

No surprises there. Mick is her man.

My advice to voters is to take a good hard look at all mayoral candidates. Think carefully, because such a ringing endorsement may come with some strings attached. Nothing is for nothing. I believe the separation of powers should also apply to the fourth estate.

If the region is to break away from the old ways of doing things, we need a mayor who is independent, honest and owes no favours to anybody or any organisation.

Choose carefully tomorrow.

Who do we need?

2008-03-13T13:37:00.009+10:00

Cr Sue Brooks is again in trouble with the Chronicle's editorial (page 8, March 12) taking her to task over alleged conflict of interest, and a further editorial comment following her Letter to the Editor in today's (March 13) edition on the same subject.

Her crime? Voting against a motion to give council staff the power to make the decisions on a proposed planning application to extend the Bay Central (sic) complex.

According to the editor's comment, four sitting councillors felt Cr Brooks had a conflict of interest in slowing down the application process because her partner owns a business in the complex.

It is drawing a very long bow to claim her vote against handing over councillor's decision-making responsibilities on such an important planning issue, was a conflict of interest. If the four councillors were happy to devolve their responsibilities to unelected council officers then it begs the question: do we need them? Those councillors who do not want to take on the responsibility of decision making should do us all a favour and withdraw.

The last word belongs to the Chronicle cartoon Quick Draw (Page 8 March 12). The koala is holding what looks like a Rubik's Cube with a tag saying "The latest puzzle for people who live in glass houses." The koala says "I'm surprised that some councillors have started promoting this new "Conflict of Interest" puzzle - I wonder what's in it for them."

Candidates pay, Public duped, Chronicle cleans up

2008-03-13T10:28:00.013+10:00

Those having difficulty deciding who they will vote for in Saturday's historic Fraser Coast Regional Council election will be disappointed by the publication of "A Look at your Candidates" feature in Thursday's (March 13) Chronicle.

Instead of being helped by the expected reasoned, researched assessment of what each candidate stood for, readers found it was nothing more than a paid Advertising Feature funded by the candidates themselves.

Many of the candidates who paid, felt they had no choice. It was a case of pay up or no publicity. At this critical point in the election campaign, candidates desperate to have their voice heard, were forced by Chronicle policy to pay an outrageous price for the privilege. The candidates missing from the feature, apart from a photo on the cover, either refused to come to the party or could not afford the price.

The members of the public who wanted to fairly assess all the candidates were also duped into buying this edition. Nowhere in the pre-publicity blurb published in the APN owned Chronicle, Observer or Maryborough Herald did it mention the feature was a paid advertorial.

In such a diverse region it is difficult for candidates, even some with experience, to build a public profile without fair and equal access to the daily news pages to voice their points of view. To starve some candidates of oxygen, unless they pay, and give free access to others is nothing short of a scandal.

Cr Sue Brooks (click comments under "Bringing up the rear: The also rans" story) said she paid $583.33 for the smallest size advertisement but prices ranged up to $2048.65. The bigger the paid advertisement, the bigger the editorial.

Surely the generated extra sales of a newspaper genuinely interested in fostering democracy would have covered the cost of printing a free and thorough in-depth look at all the candidates.

Bringing up the rear: The also rans

2008-03-12T14:14:00.004+10:00

Anyone reading Wednesday's (March 12) Observer could be forgiven for wondering what 11 of the council hopefuls had done to deserve being named as the also rans.

On page 14 the Observer ran a half page promotion for its sister paper the Chronicle in which, 21 of the 34 mayoral and councillor candidates had their photographs and names boxed and published in large, bold print. Unfortunately the size of the area allocated to the 21 lucky candidates meant the Observer ran out of space.

Fortunately the 11 left did not miss out altogether. In the one remaining box, under the heading "Also running for Mayor" in extremely small print, appeared the names of Bob Chambers and John Neve. The remaining nine were listed in the same box underneath the Mayoral candidates but did not rate a heading. "For Council: Russell Felton, Brendon Banks, Roger Currie, Bob Campbell, Darren Dickson, Les MucKan, Walter Philippi, Ernie Paussa, Barbara Hovard, Troy Sullivan, Allen Hunter."

Not so even-handed reporting? Or just another case of sloppy editing?

It was enough to make me want to vote for them.

Popular Hervey Bay candidate targeted

2008-03-11T09:54:00.004+10:00

Popular Hervey Bay councillor Sue Brooks is in the Chronicle's firing line over alleged accusations made by three unnamed councillors.

Under the headline "Brooks hits back at accusations" Ms Brooks defended herself against an accusation that she did not declare a conflict of interest at the council's last development services meeting. Apparently a brouhaha erupted after the meeting because "Ms Brooks rejected a motion put forward by senior officers in regard to the Bay Central (sic) development."

Ms Brook's partner runs a business at Centro and in her defence she said the decision was not about the actual extension or application but the process that would be used to decide the application. She acknowledged there would have been a conflict of interest if the decision was about the actual shopping centre. Fair enough, However the story did not end there.

To further legitimise the story, the Chronicle included mayoral candidate Paul Hefferan and his behaviour when he was a councillor. He left the Council Chamber if issues came up for debate over development at Pialba, as he should. At the time he owned two shops in Main Street.

This was an unnecessary adjunct to a story in which Ms Brooks had clearly set out her position on what constituted a conflict of interest. That position was no different from that of Mr Hefferan.

If the accusations were legitimate then why weren't the three councillors allegedly making them interviewed or named in the story? Had that happened the story would have had legs.

Once again the Chronicle has used the rather tawdry journalistic device of cobbling together rumour/gossip/innuendo. Then in order to legitimise it enough to use in a story, the rumour/gossip/innuendo is upgraded to accusations and the subject of the accusations is asked to answer them. The story can then be written from the angle of the subject defending against these accusations, which leads the reader to suspect there must be something in it. The subject loses credibility in the eyes of the public, whatever their response.

I can only conclude that Councillor Brooks is not on the rumoured list of preferred candidates.

Press Freedom on Fraser Coast healthy

2008-03-11T09:29:00.003+10:00

Press Freedom on the Fraser Coast has blossomed since the closure of Strewth. In addition to the Bring Back Strewth and Strewth Reloaded sites the region hosts two older sites, one at Maryborough and one at Hervey Bay.

The Maryborough site Perspectives and the Hervey Bay Gossip sites and worth a look.

This healthy state of affairs brings, by my reckoning, the total of alternative news sources to five. If any reader knows of others please contact the Free Clarion and I will include links to their sites.

Strewth spawns two new sites

2008-03-10T16:59:00.004+10:00

The Chronicle crowed a little too early after the demise of popular blog site Strewth. The region's brief fling with press freedom spawned two sons of Strewth which appeared overnight on the internet.

Blog sites Bring back Strewth and Strewth Reloaded have received a record number of hits from people who either missed Strewth when it was taken down or were alerted to its presence by the Chronicle's outrageous attack.

The Chronicle's histrionics have backfired. That level of publicity could never be bought and the community has responded with gusto.

Nancy should be applauded for being so unintentionally public spirited.

Email Responses

2008-03-10T13:13:00.005+10:00

Received: 10/03/2008

You've done a nice job of this site. I sympathise with your rationale for creating it totally. When I left school I was pretty keen on journalism, but baulked at the prospect of joining the ****** rag. All this online journalism has led me to believe that maybe if we all pulled together, we could get a real paper on the road....maybe

Dirk

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Unlike Craig. I'm more interested in the issues and personalities involved in the council elections next week: in the standard of candidates rather than the standard of writing.

As a newcomer to Hervey Bay I find it very difficult to sort through the self-aggrandising claims of the candidates. People like me need some information. For current councillors, how about letting us in on who has taken what stance when matters have come before their various councils. For the rest, a glimpse of their previous political history would be helpful.

We don't want defamatory statements, just a perspective on unknown quantities. Some of us don't get out much and find it difficult to attend "Meet the Candidate" functions.

Let us know what they are not telling us, please

New Bay-ite

(email address withheld)

____________________________

Received: 10/03/2008

What next? A journalist who can actually write and knows one end of a grammar rule book from the other!

Do you mean I shall be able to read news articles pertinent to my region without the appalling spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors with which The Chronicle and The Observer are peppered? (At least The Independent does appear to have a sub-editor.)

Well, Bec T, if you can keep up the standard of writing as well as keep me informed on what is happening within our new regional council, you've just won yourself a reader.

Like you, I wasn't aware that there was a "Strewth" site until its closure caused the Chronicle so much angst. If John Howard and Kevin Rudd can use up-to-date technological resources to reach potential voters, why can't our candidates for local government?

Please keep us posted.

Craig

(email address withheld)

Strewth! Blog closure causes hullabaloo

2008-03-10T10:31:00.003+10:00

The Fraser Coast's only daily newspaper has clearly got its knickers in a twist over the recently closed down blog Strewth, if Saturday's (March 8) edition is any indication.

The Chronicle dedicated its entire front page, pages 4 and 5, the editorial and the editor's Inside Story column to the demonisation of Strewth, those who published it and those who provided contributions. What amounted to three and a half good news pages were wasted on nothing more than a defunct blog site.

This kind of coverage certainly piqued my curiosity but like most members of the public I was not aware Strewth existed before it closed down. Of course it is a fact that mainstream media organisations and some journalists feel threatened by Internet blogs. Hence the hysteria of the Chronicle's response.

Contributing to a blog site is not a crime and council candidates have a right to use all avenues of communication to reach the electorate without being taken to task by a daily newspaper with a vested interest in controlling the news fed to its readers.

Whether or not Strewth was defamatory as the Chronicle alleged, I cannot comment. I know from experience that defamation is nasty, especially for the victim who is left feeling powerless and defenceless. However, Saturday's paper also appeared to overstep the defamation mark with its excessive response and inflammatory language.

A sense of perspective was what was needed and what readers had a right to expect after paying their $1.20. Chronicle readers deserved better than pages of the histrionics of "lies and salacious innuendo", especially when the paper was not without sin and had at times indulged in some injudicious "Gutter Politics" of its own.

Please spare us the hypocrisy.