From a purely political point of view (is there any other?), Smiley probably wasn’t all that dumb to make no move on our destructive mayor. Labor at every level loves leaving ticking little time bombs for those who defeat them. And this one is a doozie – it poses an uncomfortable choice for Premier Crisafulli.
Do News Corpse headline writers ever actually think what they’re saying? David Crisafulli become our new Premier and is promptly and prominently dubbed a loser by some well lubricated sub (or editor).
Ma Greeney on the make? If she wants to get back in our good books after the Strand parking meter misadventure, she needs some professional spin advice after a clanger in the Weekend Astonisher … and during the week.
Pizza The Hutt’s big payout … former LGAQ boss now columnist and radio presenter Greg Hallam wins a half a million dollar judgement, which is a cautionary tale for internet trolls.
And two US immigrants set to turn on their own, as America the Crazy marches towards a looming disaster.
It is at this point that The Magpie usually rattles the begging bowl each week for the Nest, but this time around, he has finally got around to updating the permanent blurb that has been unchanged for a decade. A preview … and please forgive the royal ‘we’.
The Magpie’s Nest is now heading into its 15th year and remains an independent alternative voice for Townsville. To stay that way, we do not accept advertising, and we are forever free. Over the years, we’ve managed to break a quite a few stories that others preferred to remained hidden – and we always have laugh along the way. The weekly warble is a labour of love and takes a lot of time to put together – and naturally attracts recurring associated costs. So if you like your weekly Nest’s load of old cobblers enough, you can help keep it aloft with a donation, or even a regular voluntary subscription. Paypal is at the ready, it’s as easy as … well, easy as pie
Our Nightmayor Becomes Crisafulli’s ‘No Upside’ Trap
If ever there was an example of Labor’s failure to govern in the interests of the people, it was Miles refusal to move on legal advice and clean our accidental mayor out of Walker Street, permanently or otherwise. When Thompson bombarded them with 35 pages of no doubt utter amateurish bullshit arguing against his show cause notice , the legal panickers claimed they were slow readers. Then we had an election .
Now it is a matter for the LNP, and politically, the choices are unpalatable.
In a nutshell, choice one is to suspend the mayor – even on full pay if necessary, a legal type of thievery – while the CCC strolls leisurely through an investigation between tea breaks and putting practice on the carpet. That means he’s gone for a year, but at our expense.
Choice two is to sack him outright, and face whatever legal backwash that creates …. again at our expense. What the hell, it;’s going to cosr us one way oir another.
BUT WHAT IS NOT AN OPTION IS ALLOWING HIM SOMEHOW TO REMAIN IN OFFICE. Crisafulli has himself said this on several occasions, particularly describing the situation as ‘untenable’, and acknowledging the damage this egregious dishonest self-seeker has inflicted on our civic reputation, and our future. That’s a hard judgement to walk back from now that our former deputy mayor is in power, and he would be well aware that the usual buffer to cushion unpopular decisions – i.e. time to the next election – doesn’t apply here.
Here’s why.
People will not forget, let alone forgive, for the simple reason that Thompson and whatever damage he has further inflicted on the city will still be here around the next state election cycle. The Kid also well knows we wouldn’t forget a failure that amounts to the biggest broken promise possible. The media would not be able to remain silent, even those who support the LNP. News Ltd has already signalled it will be scrutinising every little detail, let the big issues like this one. They’ve started already (the ministerial reshuffle) and while its early days where editors direct that molehills become mountains, and many such faux beat-up sensationalist issues will fade and dissipate, Troy Thompson being allowed to continue to drag down Townsville’s reputation and future will not.
The Magpie’s Issues Management experience tells him that the best way forward is to sack the mayor outright. Since whichever way this falls in the end, it’s going to cost a motza, but it’s worth putting the legal ball right back in his court. If Thompson wants his grifting payout, let him work through the courts … and there are ways that can be drawn out longer than a CCC investigation. Not to put too fine a point on it, the government could bleed him, all the while reminding him that he may swell not win in the end.
The only thing that’s cheap about this whole sorry saga is talk … and Thompson cheap morals.
Over to you, Kid.
But One Hopes The Idiot Who Thought This Up Is Wrong.
So David Crisafulli is a loser?
So David … yes, that is DAVID … is a loser, eh?
Newsflash from the sports desk: Goliath nil David 1. It was a KO.
But whoever thought this sounded clever although totally, 100% nonsensical, showed that Goliath wasn’t the only one stoned.
And Speaking Of Payouts … Great News For The Star Wars Franchise.
October 30, 2024 at 1:44 pm (Edit)
IT’S OFFICIAL: Greg Hallam IS NOT Jabba The Hutt. George Lucas Greatly Relieved.
Former LGAQ boss Greg Hallam
The former LGAQ boss and former Townsville Council executive has been awarded more half a million dollars in a judgement handed down by a court in Cairns this morning. He has also been granted a permanent injunction against the lead defendant ever publishing the same or similar material about Mr Hallam again.
The case involved an unrelenting attack on Hallam by four social media commentators, and included mashed-up cartoons of Hallam as the Star wars criminal character Jabba The Hutt. (Although the cartoon appears by necessity in the judgement, The Magpie declines to publish it and further publicise the grubby attack and exacerbate Mr Hallam’s genuine distress.)
And while The Magpie couldn’t resist a silly head line joke, when one reads the details of the defamation, it is no laughing matter, and the award is more than merited.
It was way bigger than a weak jest about a Star Wars character, Hallam was repeatedly accused by his social media attackers of running an organised crime syndicate, having people bashed up, drug dealing, money laundering and re-homing paedophiles. As he dryly observed recently ‘Clearly I’ve been very busy’.
The 71 page judgement can be found here…
https://jade.io/article/1105286/
… but this is the guts of it.
And this is the official outcome.
%20CEO%20Greg%20Hallam%20AM.%3Cbr%20/%3EThe%20LGAQ%20Board%20unanimously%20decided%20in%202018%20to%20support%20Mr%20Hallam%E2%80%99s%20action,%20as%20the%20Association%20takes%20its%20duty%20of%20care%20to%20its%20employees%20seriously.%3Cbr%20/%3EThe%20LGAQ%20Board%20accepts%20and%20respects%20the%20Judge%E2%80%99s%20ruling%20and%20thanks%20the%20Court%20for%20its%20time.%20%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd%20Greg%20Hallam,%20now%20a%20newspaper%20columnist%20and%20radio%20presenter,%20says%20this%20is%20the%20only%20statement%20he%20intends%20to%20make%20on%20the%20matter.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%E2%80%99d%20like%20to%20thank%20my%20legal%20team,%20and%20the%20LGAQ%20Board%20for%20its%20unwavering%20support%20throughout%20what%20has%20been%20a%20particularly%20difficult%20time.%3Cbr%20/%3EI%20accept%20and%20respect%20the%20Judge%E2%80%99s%20ruling%20and%20would%20like%20to%20thank%20the%20Court%20for%20its%20time%20and%20consideration%20of%20this%20matter.%3C/p%3E%3Cdiv%20class=)
Here is the comprehensive story from the ever reliable ABC.
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Muddled Messages From She Who Would Be Mayor
As an ambitious woman, the hustling and bustling Clr Ann-Maree Greaney has decided to lift her profile in, she hopes, a positive way. She’s been out and about in the Astonisher a couple times in the past week … and on both occasions, showed she needs some professional PR advice. This from the Weekend Bulletin.
A couple of quotes are just silly, one that would appear to seek some sort sympathy considering the confused political situation in Walker Street. Quote:
:Townsville councillor Ann-Maree Greaney is fuming about the damage across her division, some of which she describes as “politically motivated”, continues across a six-day streak and with no way of seeing it stopped.”
And just what was the political content that alarmed her? This.
A councillor in a regional city that has a large university is drawing a long bow with this attempt at outrage. And now you’re one thoughtless statement away from stepping into a totally councillor-irrelevant issue,. And it’s an issue which, if you let yourself be drawn into it, the Strand parking meters will be like a picnic with butterflies and cucumber sangers. Best advice: of course, decry vandalism, but leave the ‘politically motivated’ tosh to others. And if you’re going to splash yourself in the media, have a well crafted statement about an action plan beyond ‘report anything you see’. FFS. And also, avoid simply rude and ‘well duh’ statements like this: “Council does not take this destruction of public property lightly, and neither should our community,” she said. That suggests the community DOES take it lightly – only you and the council do, and we’re letting you down.
Earlier in the week, you jumped into that silly ‘deck chairs on the Strand’ nonsense, where you demonstrated that you were not willing to stand up for council staff doing their jobs.
Brief background: The Spirited Goat business on the Strand put some deckchairs on the grass across the road from their Strand business, using the excuse that they weren’t exclusive to their customers, they were for everybody to use (yeah, right) . It was patently obvious it was a too clever by half attempt to circumvent council regulations and fees. (They would never admit this, they are no newcomers to Townsville hospitality rules, and anyway, they’ve got heaps of publicity out of this.) In the eevent,, someone … business or individual isn’t known … complained to the council, the council quite correctly ordered the chairs be removed, and the incurious Bulletin went all sensash with some dullards knee jerking against a ‘stupid council’ ‘need to get a life ‘ blah blah etc. This from Friday’s Nest comments.
The MagpieIt is worth pointing out that the decision came from the buttock-clenching letter-of-the-law shiny bums, not the elected councillors. And two things that haven’t been considered .. the complainant may have been under the impression that the deck chairs were for the exclusive use of the business’s customers. And if that was the case, the complaint and the council are fully justified, such use of public space is strictly controlled for reasons beyond revenue raising, and charged for by council’s everywhere in Australia, not just Townsville.
The second matter to be factored in is the impossibility of passing a satisfactory law that allows such ‘donations of community spirit’. It is easy to imagine the arguments about appropriateness and then there is the insurance matter. What happens if someone is injured by tripping over inappropriately placed ‘private’ furniture in a public place (or a chair collapses and injures a hand or finger – no joke, as The ‘Pie can ruefully attest). It is highly likely insurance claims and confusing ‘whose responsible’ cross claims is the reason for the council’s decision. Therefore quite correctly, the decision was a ratepayer protection in this nanny state’s litigious society. And to top it all off and complicate that issue, the chairs were across the busy Strand road. … and anyincident at the nearby crossing and roundabout would be a lawyers picnic.
Revved up by the paper’s normal hyperventilation, the whole ho hum was stirred up with adjectival outrage before the story endedwith a very reasonable ‘nothing to se here’ council explanation of its position.
But the Strand’s divisional councillor Ma Greaney raises a slightly different question when she tangles herself up trying to appear on the side of the businesses when she told the paper: “But you know, I’m happy and willing to talk to any business about that down at The Strand about it if they’re willing to put out deck chairs and what they’d like to do, and council has been in discussions about how we are going to activate the Strand more.
‘Activate the Strand more??!?” But … but …. Councillor, we all thought there was too much selfish activity on the Strand, like people staying too long while ‘activated’ – which is why you in particular wanted to install parking meters along the Strand.
Councillor Greaney, The ‘Pie will be more than happy to cast an eye over your next foray into the media before alerting our investigative friends. No charge.
Hmmm … an ideal candidate? Maybe. But how would we know … and we’re entitled to.
Lieutenant Colonel McDougall has given long and great service to our country, and The Magpie discovered for himself, he is also a man who thinks strategically about all things Army, being a contributor to Australian Strategic Policy Institute with several thoughtful articles.
But perhaps TEL would have the courtesy to let us know – since they are recipients generous annual ratepayer support … why they decided to recruit L/C McDougall. What caught their eye, what specifically does Mr McDougall bring to the table?
Bumping across from the closely regulated world of Defence to the somewhat more free-form ‘corporate civvy street’ doesn’t always translate to a successful transition Remember the excellent soldier the council put on a lucrative contract to clean up kiddy-crime and how that turned out to be a massive waste of ratepayer money? So what relevant skills does he offer?
Now before those who go red faced and spluttery, yelling ‘give the bloke a bloody go’, you are as usual missing the point. This not some sneering attack on a clearly intelligent bloke, it is yet again a question about Townsville Enterprise communications with the public. And recruitment processes.
Previous defence/civil transitions have shown adjustment problems and there is always the Fallacy of Transferred Authority theory … which in plain language, the false assumption that someone good at one thing will be good at something else. They well might be but it’s not a given.
So, a basic statement of aims, ability and even (although highly unlikely) some KPIs from the TEL non-communicators mob would be appropriate and courteous.
Or in fact, why not from the man himself … he can obviously write.
Which will make a nice change from the likes of “Nah, it’s Townsville”.
Well, Yes, We All Know That …
… but are too well mannered to bring up personal history. Why mention it it at all after all these years?
The ‘Pie will bet a Lansdown lease to a Hive hotel that that headline was no accidental whoopsie.
Anybody Got A Spare Jawbone Of An Ass Handy?
Sampson of biblical legend would have a field day if he was in America right now. He could greatly increase his score of a a thousand dead Philistines with his imaginative weapon, there being more Philistines per square metre in the US today than ever there was back then. No shortage of asses either.
Today we teeter on the edge of a catastrophe, as record numbers of American line up to vote, joining record pre-poll voters. And the fact that voting is not compulsory, the legislators down the years have made sure elections are not easy events for the punter. Even when one gets through the roadblocks thrown up by corrupt Republican state officials, for instance, it is surely no mistake that the national poll is on a Tuesday. That really must be the most difficult day of the whole week to try and entice someone out to put their X to their least worse choice.
But when collating this week’s US gallery of ‘toons, one in particular seemed to demand a bit of attention. With the hot button issue of illegal immigration high on the campaign list, this particular image nailed an generally overlooked point.
The Shovel as usual nailed the egregious involvement of Musk, himself an South African yarpie who came to the States via a stay in Canada, in the affairs of state through the weight of his immense wealth. The absurdity and gullibility is neatly summed up.
But Musk is a relative newcomer and it is Murdoch who has played a long and insidious role in foisting the Trump era on both America and the world. His media reach is different but just as damaging as Musk’s. There was a good example of the manipulation in this past week, even here in The Australian.
When a ‘comedian’ at a Trump rally told the crowd that Puerto Rico was floating island of garbage, Trump stood approvingly by with his usual oafish grin of the mentally absent, and the News Ltd reporter briefly mentioned it without comment or condemnation. It was well down in the story, at the bottom of the first column, Just a passing comment that it hsd caused a bit of a ripple.
But when Joe Biden was asked what he thought of the comment and he suggested the only garbage he could see were Trump supporters, a judgement far more plausible that Puerto Ricans being garbage, this is how that was reported in the Australian, front page no less.
This is an excellent example of how News Ltd … and particularly The Australian … employ this long standing editorial policy of comment in the news columns, without actually lying. Locally we have seen this policy at work in the Townsville Bulletin under many editors during the Hill years.
But the cartoon funsters have themselves taken a hefty dose of sarcasm and irony as the Armageddon clock ticks down.
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Other Stuff. Guy Alert! Gut Alert! Guy Alert!
The ‘Pie was mightily amused during a visit to the supermarket where he spied a oman in a t-shirt that said ‘Don’t make me go all Beth Dutton on you.’
Some mnight not get it, but for those who do, the latest season of Yellowstone is back later this month.
Paedophiles Big Night Of The Year Has Come and Gone Again
Of all the copycat cultural cringes originating in America and promoted by rapacious commercial interests, here in Australia commercialised Halloween tops the list. Unlike Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day (both manufactured yankee hokum conceived in the cash register, Halloween carries no message of love, gratitude and family values. There is not even any real religious significance and its moral is extortion works, threaten something unpleasant unless you get a sweetener (literally in this case). Actually, thinking about, maybe there is a religious connection after all, despite it’s medieval magical origins in Europe.
The main damage here seems restricted to kids’ teeth.
But it is so embedded in US culture that fortunes are spent on once a year costumes for the dimwitted little snots to annoy the shit out of the neighbourhood.
And now, the houses themselves are being brought into the act. At least they offer some wit and imagination to an the otherwise dreary commercial dross.
And Finally, The Magpie Is Not Making This Up,
One of the daily Magpie chores is to get the regular ‘Word of the Day’ emails from the Merriam Webster Dickshunary peeple.
Thought one word worth checking out for an exact meaning … but it was the example that had The Magpie wondering if the American-based Merriam Webster has been following Townsville politics. Promise this is not photoshopped or titified up, it’s the real deal.The ‘Pie laughed himself silly, – which should explain a lot.
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Enough for this week, we now await Tuesday (Wednesday our time) to get the outcome of what one candiodate has promised will the last election America will ever have. Have your say in comments anytime, its free and anonymous. And if you’d like to lend a hand with Nest costs (bit of a tech bill landed during the week) , the donate button is below. Thanks.
Halloween at least reminds us of the need for fluoride in our drinking water…
Comment of the day so far. LMAO.
Halloween evolved from a pagan ritual practiced by the celts to celebrate the harvest and welcome in the winter and the dark. Like all well loved pagan celebrations, the Christian church tried to modify it, into all souls day. It was originally a 3-6 day festival of drinking and bonfires.
Big first week Premier Crisafulli canning $12 bil hydro near Mackay and the “truth telling enquiry ” . Add sacking DG Premiers department Mike Kaiser first day with a further 9 DG,s going that week . 50% of his Ministry are from Regional QLD . Ex Qld tourism / TEL Ceo Patricia Ocallaghan picks up DG tourism , science , innovation , environment . Voters wanted a change so contrast the with Townsville Council . Other 50-60 staff who excited after Team Hill lost Council still has the same bumbling bureaucrats who convinced Councillors on paid parking and acted on one anonymous complaint but ignored petitions with 20,000 + signatures . Can anyone confirm that Councillors ( putting on their big boys pants ) signed off on a 51 % increase infrastructure fees new resi builds effective January 1 st 2025 on the suggestion from Council bureaucrats ? .
Yes, they wanted an action man, and so far, The Kid has delivered, and the new attitude to crime ‘adult crime, adult time’ bill will be law before Christmas.
But where does that last bit about a whopping increase in council charges come from, Mike? The ‘Pie seems to have missed it, and so does the Astonisher. Can’t find anything. When did this all happen, and what is your source? (Not doubting, just asking.)
Leaks from Council behind doors discussions ( Lansdown , Nth rail yards , Council debt ) . Some of the in-depth comments especially Councils cashflow and how many days Council can operate in Magpies Nest has seemed very reliable in the past year .
OK, fair enough. So now it needs to be a direct question to your local councillor if they did vote for that. Let’s know what they say, The ‘Pie will be happy to run with this issue, because it goes to the heart of the opaque notion of council’s deep financial strife.
And we’re not alone. Is this Townsville next move?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-01/bundaberg-council-community-halls-beachside-properties-for-sale/104542872?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf275264676&utm_campaign=tw_abc_news&utm_source=t.co&sf275264676=1
Hi Mike, you are spot on with the word from council and its eye-watering infrastructure increases starting on 1 January 2025.
The infrastructure charges in the document link show 2 periods – current being 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024. And future being 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025. https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/238863/2024-25-Infrastructure-Charges-Resoluation.pdf
Here are some of the figures:
– Vacant lots of 400-499m2 going from $30,464 to $33,874 (11% increase).
– Homes on the same block size are going up the same 11%.
– 2 bedroom units going from $15,825 to $22,225 (40% increase).
– Short-term accommodation increases ranging from 23% to 64% increases depending on the type of accommodation.
– Long term accommodation labelled “Community Residence” is increasing up to 248%.
– Retirement facilities are increasing 40% across the board.
If the Mayor hanging around isn’t scaring developers off, these infrastructure charges aren’t helping.
Has anyone worked out what “adult crime” actually is yet? Other than a catchy slogan?
Still your bleeding heart, my little quacker, let Uncle Magpie explain it to you.
It is more than a catchy slogan, it goes to the core of the kiddie crime wave, and the grubs just might get the message. It means … listen carefully and do try to keep up, Ducky … it means that crimes that attract certain sentences for adults … car theft, gbh, murder, manslaughter et al … will now apply to a lower age group. This new law recognises the inalienable fact that one of the basic reasons for the crime wave is that these anti-social arseoles know they will get away lightly their criminal antics because of their age, although the damage they do has precisely the same effect as if committed by an adult. It also recognises that in this day and age, 13 or even younger is the new 18. And we’re being played for suckers.
Crisafulli is putting the victim front and center, which is exactly where they should be in any civilised society. We’ve had more than a decade of the ‘poor misunderstood youth are also victims’ bullshit. That may in part be true, but those they killed are still dead, those they injured still carry the physical and mental trauma of their wounds, and the financial loss to ordinary law abiding people remains a massive and underserved setback in life. And we’ve had more than a decade where just about everything has either been tried or blocked … various ‘on country’ ideas by Uncle Whatever and Auntie Who have been abysmal failures, police have been held back by skewed priorities (no police chases, a rule the main result of which is massive disrespect and contempt for police) and they have been badly let down by the judiciary, particularly magistrates with no accountability to the community and a tilt towards the perpetrator as victim.
Mandatory sentencing comes with great dangers of injustice – not allowing for genuine extenuating circumstances, not allowing each case to be judged on its own merits – and we certainly don’t want to reach the heinous point of the American ‘three strikes and you’re out’, where life sentences have been handed down for the third shop-lifting offence. But those dangers are preferable to those faced by law abiding victims not getting any justice at all.
Got it now? Of course you haven’t, and your heart will bleed dry all over your Guccis, and you will rail and rage in your one-eyed fury.
You have our thoughts and prayers.
“It also recognises that in this day and age, 13 or even younger is the new 18. ”
So I’m assuming we shall all be enthusiastically campaigning for the voting age to be lowered to something ambiguous like “13 or even younger ” as well?
Ingenuous and ersitic as usual. Pffft!!!
And Ooh lookey here…maybe I’m not the one that requires re-education…
The Queensland Law Society thinks its a bad idea. Whodahthunk!?
https://www.qls.com.au/Content-Collections/News/2024/Queensland-Opposition-s-youth-justice-policy-will-
Here’s another one..
“The proposal to treat children as young as 10 years old – the majority of which are First Nations – in the same way as we would sentence an adult, flies in the face of all evidence about how to successfully combat crime and puts our international reputation as a modern democracy at stake,” McDougall said.
https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/newlaw/40176-adult-crime-adult-time-policy-will-not-fix-the-problem-lawyers-argue
I can find plenty more research showing that this approach WILL fail. Oh well…
But therein lies the problem when you say ‘I can find plenty more research showing that this approach WILL fail.‘.
Much of what you call research is in fact opinion based around limited empirical evidence. Re-offending can be caused by many things, and not necessarily incarceration per se … but incarceration without rehabilitation is a waste of time and yes, leaves released offenders swinging aimlessly in the wind. But they must be compulsorily be kept from society while given the opportunity to become independent through work when they leave.
And such approaches as you quote have been tried and don’t work. It is a sad fact that one of the basic problems is the lack of parental control and lack of a family respect, but making society pay for a symptom not of their own making (spare us the sociopolitical babble, please) is not just. A regime of compulsory programs -both practical and emotional – to go along with ‘adult time’ is necessary; for the youth cohort, sentences, more generous remissions can be earned if professional courses take hold and start to make a difference, including trade and even uni courses while they’re inside (these kids aren’t all dumb). But voluntary projects simply don’t work. Can you honestly say you would volunteer for anything if you were one of these kids?
As The ‘Pie said before, in this new information age, 13 is the new 18, and these kids are whip smart about the laws that govern criminal responsibility. This should be a big wake up call that their victims require justice and safety.
The ‘Pie has long advocated that those in juvenile detention in Queensland should pay at least one visit to an adult prison, the tour structured to make sure they see the more unpalatable parts of what is a bleak existence anyway. And just for the record, 10 is way too young and unfair to be locked up, but certainly shoukld be the subject oif other interventions.
So maybe you actually are the one who needs to stop the knee jerk reaction to this ‘complex problem’.
Ultimately, time will prove you are wrong.
Well, one of us.
Eersitic. Pie, I had to admit to looking it up, gold love it it’s DN to a T,
Hey DN – have you tried the marvellous new invention called Google on the “internet” it is the real Ducks Nuts. If you simply type in what you are looking for you will get many answers, opinions and everything.
Heres what you get when you type in “LNP Adult Crime Adult Time policy”.
The tough on crime policy will form part of the LNP’s Making Queensland Safer Laws and focus on serious crimes impacting victims including:
Murder
Manslaughter
Serious harm like wounding
Home and business break-ins and robbery
Stealing cars and dangerous operation of vehicles
The policy adds to the LNP’s previously announced changes to the Youth Justice Act which will be rolled out before year-end, including, removing “detention as a last resort”, and enshrining in legislation the rights of victims ahead of offenders’ rights.
Yeah. I’m fully aware how Google works. The legislation is a load of shit and the LNP is trying to rush this legislation through without proper due diligence and the investigation of unforeseen consequences. This is poorly thought out, popularist policy.
A Crisafulli trademark.
A trademark, eh? Any actuakl examples you’d care to share?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
Magpie,
Council reviews fees and charges as part of the annual budget. I was quite surprised that more wasn’t mentioned about this in any of the reporting on the 24/25 budget. One example that comes to mind is the application fee for a new driveway, which increased from around $195 to over $400. There are plenty of other examples.
You can access the full fees and charges for 24/25 here: https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0035/238589/Full-list-of-Council-Fees-and-Charges.pdf
It seems they have removed the 23/24 fees and charges from the website.
Bucky
MD, is the infrastructure fee being charged to developers? If so, might be an explanation for why upcoming land releases are $10-$15k more than same size block in the same estate earlier this year.
This is a pretty serious change, and it would be a public service if someone could point it down for us. And it is as reported, no wonder the council wants to keep it quiet, it points to a greater malaise in our city’s finances than anyone is letting on … and all indications that we do have don’t look too fladsh.
Hey, Leighton, do you you reckon you co … oh, forget it.
White mouse / Uncle Buck thanks for those details of those Council increases . Gouging in a cost of living / housing crisis is deplorable . Isnt it enough the highest rates in Qld and renters paying up to $60 extra week here after Team Hill approved differential rates a few years ago . Is Liam Mooney replacing the 3 stooges for comedy relief ? . Page 5 Astonisher ” wedgewood artists collection ” let them eat cake cementing Townsville as the North Queensland capital of arts and culture .
Choice three, sack the council and have a new election. That’s what they will need to do to cover all bases.
Why? What’s the justification for the government to take such a drastic and unmerited step? The council were elected without lying and distorting their claims to a place.
I’ve explained before that it’s often the simplest solution. The state government can’t be blamed; democracy is upheld, and the issue is passed on to others. That’s likely why they opt for this approach.
Just like the chairs on the strand. Most likely a competitor, anonymous, blamed on safety. Put it in the hands of public safety and well being, rather than tell the competitor to push off.
Everyone does it, the old how to not get blamed chart.
That is simply evasively stupid gobbledegook, doesn’t mske sense and doesn’t address the points made about the issue.
It doesn’t need to address any specific points, which is why they prefer this approach. If David takes this route, he can’t be blamed or accused of anything. He removes the Mayor, upholds democracy, and hands power back to the people. It’s like Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the situation. Plus, the fact that the council faces instant karma over the paid parking fiasco is just an added bonus.
David Crisafulli could be forgiven if suffering some sort of multiple personality disorder, as suggested by various commentaries. In one, he’s Goliath (that’s the bloke who originally lost to David by KO) and now he’s Pontius Pilate, who ‘washes his hands’ of Thompson.
This of course typically ignores that The Kid has to consider the financial detriment to the taxpayer, but that’s a little above your mental pay grade to grasp.
TC. That is exactly what Troy’s Cookery Kooks are baying for. But are unable to provide a single rational reason for doing so.
Rational has nothing to do with governance. Its all can they blame me?
A great “burn the books” attitude by taking a single problem with a simple solution and piling every real and imagined slight on top and lighting the bonfire.
I don’t see many losses for The Kid in this. If he sacks him it looks strong to most people as well as providing a great long list of opportunities to drag the story up as the courts dismember TwoNames. If he suspends him with the option of recovering the wages paid while spuspended and lets the CCC at him we get the same result but without the ongoing media. The only fail is to squib and do nothing which leaves the Troyster free to hammer The Kid and his new MPs all the way to the next election.
Is Bob Katter still sticking by his false claims as to his own military history? And can we force him to resign as an MP ?
What’s good for the mayoral goose is %1000 good for the goose stepper.
Care to explain what that’s all about?
Interesting stuff, I wonder what came of it
https://littledarwin.blogspot.com/2016/06/article-challenges-katters-war.html
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck … Perhaps the Kat in the Hat and TwoNames could be tried together in a two for one deal. Both used the same ploy of “greatness by association” to increase their profile and when the facts are researched the claims are found to be false. Bob and his kin have never let a fact or the truth stand in the way of their stories.
My inkrish not great, but as I read it the allegation is not around Bob’s service but that of his Father and Uncle?
Click through on the scanned article
Ripper Headline
GOD SAVE THE KING????
Just for Jenny. You are a fake. You are as big a fraud as Troy Thompson. You are an intellectually dishonest wannabe. Your typical “got to have the last say” comment late yesterday was almost completely AI-generated. Almost the entire post was word-for-word plagiarism. I have a Texas Planning Court decision that says you are a posturing goose. And I couldn’t have said it better myself. Oh, and fuck you and the horse you rode in on. (that doesn’t sound right without the split infinitive)
Oh, Grumps, you’ve just joined the party, have you?
Jenny has always been an agent provocateur in The Nest, not necessarily espousing her/him/its actual beliefs but just spoiling for an argument, dropping baited hooks with all sorts of morsels to tempt the gullible. Then gum flapping around AI generated stolen ideas of others as original thought.
The Magpie has loved it that he/she/it think we all take he/she/her seriously, and yes, much of the twaddle is AI generated. Jenny is the fire starter to the BBQ grill that is Nest comments.
‘Intellectually dishonest’? No not really, because the thoughts aren’t hers and the Jenny will always maintain that the motivation of mischief always justifies the means.
Now let’s see what AI has to say about that. This is fun.
Can you include a “ I am not a Robot” button?
Nobody seems to see the irony of when successfully doing the ‘human task’, you get a message confirming you are not a robot … from a robot.
Not my quote, but to the point: “the one thing about artificial intelligence is that it is artificial”
TNX Pie,
That pic is a graphic display of a brain fart, gonna use it when I receive BS emails etc.
Maybe it’s time to pass the mantle from “mare” Jenny to this Jenny and crown her Spinning Jenny?
Grumpy, you don’t have a clue how to generate AI and I know even less. Man up; if you want to be a Christian Zionist then own it. It’s racist and ugly and out of control.
Jenny. Apart from being a fucking liar, you really are dense. This is not about Israel or your bizzare twist on history. Its about your deceptive, intellectually lazy posturing. You try so hard to come across as edgy and cutting and oh-so-clever, when in fact you are a sad old copycat. . Do you want me to copy and paste the two AI extracts that my very basic program generated? The ones identical to your post?
Grumpy, you assert you are a committed Christian Zionist? I won’t dispute your religious faith – anyone can call themselves anything they like. But Zionism is an ideology. Its proponents have an objective. What’s your Zionism about? Have you cast your lot in with Zionism central or have you lapsed in disappointment because the zealots have taken over?
Christian Zionists in the USA are the ones who don’t like Jews but support Israel because its existence brings the end times one step closer.
J – nice diversion. As to my faith, it is, of course, none of your fucking businesss, you twat.
Grumpy, nothing to do with your faith, it’s your Zionism that’s in question. You probably think, like so many before you, that Zionism is some sort of benign entitlement of Jews to a place in historical Israel/Palestine – shared in peace with the people who were/are already there. If only. But Zionism has moved on since 1900 or 1948 or the 1970s, even 7 October 2023, and like it or not Israelis have moved into Palestinian territory in the hundreds of thousands, protected and overseen by the IDF with a global praetorian guard laid on by the USA. Despite their protestations that Iran or the Arabs or Islamic State want to destroy Israel it is hardline Zionists in Israel and elsewhere that appear to be intent on displacing all non-Jews from greater Israel/Palestine and now, if you read the weekend Guardian, treating northern Gaza as future real estate. You, as a “committed” Zionist might object to it but other more powerful, more committed, more ideological Zionists do not care about your view. Are you with them or agin them? It’s not a matter of religious faith it’s about ideology. Zionism has gone feral and you know it.
What the fuck are you talking about? “Hundreds of thousands” of Israelis have moved into Gaza since October 7? That’s an outright lie – and you bloody well know it is. Israel displaced Jews from Gaza when they handed it over to Palestinians in 2005. Hamas (and Iran and its agencies such as Hezbollah and Houthis) have declared that Israel must be destroyed and consider Jews fit only for extermination. What do you think “from the river to the sea” really means? I’ll give you a clue – genocide. Yet you seem to suggest that Israel is the unprovoked aggressor. Even though it is none of your business, my view is that Israel is justified in prosecuting this war. The grossly exaggerated civilian death toll is down to Hamas and their vile tactics. You really are an antisemitic Jew-hater. And, typical of your ilk, you disguise it with pathetic attempts to assume moral superiority. “I don’t hate Jews, I hate Zionism” You disgust me.
Grumpy, in your spluttering outrage you can’t even read plain English. I wrote: ” . . . and like it or not Israelis have moved into Palestinian territory in the hundreds of thousands, protected and overseen by the IDF . . “. Which referred to the half a million or more illegal settlers in the West Bank. The word “Gaza” did not appear in the sentence.
I don’t have anything against Jews or Judaism or any other faith. I have a problem with ideologies like Zionism (Jewish, Christian, Atheist or whatever) which hides in the shadows crying foul about ‘anti-semitism’. Zionism is driving Israel (steadily becoming Greater Israel) into something resembling a caliphate.
Caliphate? Where are you getting this nonsense? “The rule or reign of a Caliph or Muslim leader” ? You try so hard to be clever, but your ignorance is out there for all to see. Remember this thread started over you being called out for plagiarism. You don’t appear to have an original thought in your head. Just hatred for Jews.
I can see the resemblance to a caliphate, Israel is turning increasingly into a religious and ethnic autocracy.
God. Another one.
Interesting, didn’t the Magpie complain about Troy Thompson for not removing comments relating to this matter…
Troy Thompson endorsed racist comments on a fb page identified as ‘Mayor of Townsville’. So your point is?
Grumpy, it’s not plagiarism when I give you the source and place quotation marks around the extract (although I love how you pretend you know something about AI – what a fucking laugh!). In case you still don’t get it, here is a link to the decision which categorically differentiates between anti-Zionism and anti-semitism. It’s written in the English language by lawyers. You might learn something. Or not. Probably not since you are an up-yourself know-all already.
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Miller-judgment-1400780.2022-JDT.pdf
That’s exactly the problem. At no stage did you make any attribution and you still seem to be denying you used AI to create your post. Which makes you a plagiarist. No, I’m no expert in AI, but I have been taught the very basics and how to understand its use. So far as your case citation is concerned, I’m singularly unimpressed. Some obscure little case in some obscure little Tribunal, focussing on UK employment law. I get it – you say you are simply anti-zionist, not a Jew-hater and I say you are an anti -Semitic piece of shit. Whats that got to do with the issue of you being an intellectually dishonest charlatan? No matter how desperately you try to divert, obfuscate and hijack the issue, the fact is that you are a smug little fraud who can’t abide being called out. I’m done. Lets have your final clever-dick say and call it quits. Shalom
Ma Greaney is certainly yearning to wear the mayoral robes but as usual she hasn’t bothered to do any community consultation. Like, would she be seen to have contributed to the city’s massive debt? And would her support of paid parking on the Strand (and the millions wasted buying the meters before council approval) put voters off? And how would she explain the massive waste of ratepayers money on white elephants in her council division? Like the $6 million Flinders Street boardwalk from nowhere to nowhere, the $4 million sheds on Castle Hill, the waste of space called Flinders Lane, the empty Palmer Street alfresco precinct, and her North Australian Festival of Arts financial flops.
And most importantly would the good people of Div 3 be prepared to embrace a Jenny Hill clone?
Food Trucks Greaney is toast next vote time; folks won’t forget the Strand Parking fiasco in her division, or her connection to the Hill/Ralston mess. She needs to shut up and ‘enjoy’ what’s left of her gravy train ride and not stand next time.
Io, how many times do you have to be told that the Flinders St boardwalk was not a massive waste of ratepayers money because it was paid for entirely by the Queensland government.
Could be wrong but think it was Hill who help choose the project to fit in with overall decades-hence dream of connectivity, so there is some responsibility there. but you’re correct, it was a waste of ‘taxpayers’ money, not ratepayers.
How much was the soldier paid to NOT clean up crime
Weird comment of the day. As Pawlean would say ‘please explain’.
Magpie, glad you posted that article about Bundaberg Council desperately selling off assets to stem their ongoing financial losses. Townsville has a reduced operational ability to meet operational costs on a monthly basis yet what is being done about it? Are the state of our finances another reason why John Oberhardt was shipped in to keep an eye on things? As for food trucks Greaney, she is part of the financial legacy issue we now see ourselves in. She might have her eye on the Mayoral prize, but she supported Hill for many years and we are now reaping the results. Will the astute McCool come clean on the real state of councils finances anytime soon? Team Hill and Ralston have left behind an unraveling shit pile. Pox on them.
There is a lot of people on the island that would not vote Greaney in as mayor.
I personally think she is a two faced scammer.
Be careful what you wish for. In the unlikely event that Troy Thompson is entirely removed from office and a new election for mayor (only) held, I wouldn’t be surprised if party political campaigning re-emerged in Townsville. The mayoralty would be ripe for the taking, only limited by the amount of money available for a campaign.
Our AI Queen – And what’s so wrong with that? At least political candidates are vetted and compete for selection.
All one needs to do is drive around her division to see how much IS NOT done, this goes to prove that she is far more focused on becoming mayor then caring about her community
One of the last few good things that Townsville has going for it is fluoridated water and now Twonames, pushed by the MyPlace crazies, contemplates removing it from our water supply.
How is it that gutless councils across QLD have been so cowered by a few hundred petitioners, go against all medical advice to follow this practice? That bastard, Twonames claims he wants to do this as a cost saving manner and who knows which way our flip flop councillors will eventually land.
It seems the days when governments at all levels acted in the interests of the majority have long gone.
This will never happen, and we need pay it no more attention.
Absolutely ???? correct
The small amount of fluid in our water has saved tens of thousands of children from pain and tooth ach over the decades
Once again a tiny minority cause these issues
Sick to death of so many of these tiny minority trying to stop common sense
Orange NSW
It’s important that TwoNames remains contemporary so that he is held accountable for all he has been called out for! For the sake of humanity, he should never be allowed to just fade away, his face needs to be well known because he will change his name and continue to grift and con his way through life!
All our new Premier has to do is change the law back to what it used to be that , is make it compulsory for all councils in Qld to put fluoride in their water. After all they have a majority in parliament so they can do what they like.
Don’t agree, Wallo, each community should have the right to decide what additives go into their drinking water.There is nothing wrong with fluoride, removing it is not removing some unscientific ‘threat’ no matter what the whackos say, but it a matter of choice. And therein lies the most reasonable argument against fluoride.
The ‘Pie well remembers the row back in the 60’s when Australian cities and towns were debating the subject, that is reasonably argued that being forced to ingest an unnecessary additive by order was a step too far and if people wanted to use fluoride, tablets were available without prescription. It’s a debatable point about freedom of choice versus scientific measure for widespread public health.
Pie, I take your point but there are many instances where we don’t have freedom of choice e.g. when I fill up my car or I order a beer the excise is included in the price and I have to pay it whether I like it or not and when I get my pay packet and there has been x amount of tax deducted the gov. doesn’t give me the option to pay it or not. I See the fluoride as a public health issue and you have only got to go into Coles and see the pallets of bottled water everywhere so the people that buy it already have freedom of choice if they don’t like fluoride. If there are any Dentists on your blog they might like to comment. I am living proof that fluoride is working because since I got my full dentures I haven’t had one tooth decay…HA! HA!
he ‘Pie was agreeing with the notion, just pointing out the in how view, there is only one arguable point, and it’s not the faux whacko pseudo scientific one. However, you’re on shaky ground with your argument because equating putting petrol in your car with ingesting something into your body is not comparable to the point of the debate. Nor is the cost aspect. But the vast majority of Australians willingly put alcohol nto their bodies, so fluoride is hardly a problem, eh?
I’ve drunk Townsville water all my life and the dentist is yet to give me a filling. However when I was growing up, a single 1l bottle of coke was a treat reserved for birthdays, and lemonade was to sooth upset tummies! These days, sugar laden soft/sport/energy drinks are consumed daily and in large quantities, so really, a fluoridated water supply should be more important than ever.
Just confirming, did the mayor actually say he wanted to remove fluoride, or was the petition submitted and the council are investigating it as they do for all petitions.
Sasha’s, Two names is part it that My Place cooker lot and removing fluoride is one of their aims along with some concern over 5G and other conspiracy theories.
Enjoyed my bike ride this morning and while cooling off I thought I would check in with the magpies nest. So even though Mayor Thompson has been quiet all week, he still makes a headline appearance in the near. Hilarious. You guys are so desperate. Get a life
Thank you for your input Stephen.
Unfortunately, the story was more about Crisafulli’s dilemma, we don’t need to say anything more about your criminal cult hero.
PS Still waiting for your follow-up on the concerns notice … haven’t slept a wink since receiving it.
“Citizen”? Sovereign perhaps?
Bugger it. I’m turning the tellie on.
Baldy, you should trying riding your bike with the seat on it. You will go much faster.
Awww, you’re no sport, boys just wanna have fun.
LTC
Let’s say there’s a cyclone, or another emergency that requires your man to stand up and deliver leadership or gawd forbid, stand up a response – would you trust him to actually be able to manage that?
Asking for a friend.
Yeah, I thought so. Big gulp. Anyone left that knows what the heck they’re doing in a weatherly shit show?
I understand that Councillor Andrew Robinson is the ‘new’ disaster coordinator? He was interviewed about this on the local news a while back. He was wearing Mullets white vest at the time, with controller on the back.
Horses for courses …
Good old Food Trucks. I want to line up for the job of repainting the Maggie Skate Park for $20,000 a time as stated by our little princess. An hour or so with the paint roller and it’s fixed so I reckon that would equate to a daily rate of about $160,000 (so the price is obviously set through LocalBuy and they fly a specialist in from Brisbane to do it).
Sorry, the figure made public was $15,000 a shot to repaint the skatebowl so it’s a measely $120,000 per day. My bad.
Dont forget the qbuild 15% loading
The Troy Thompson debacle is a major issue!! But considering the amount of rubbish that has been discussed at TCC meetings ie: failed paid parking on Strand and the Hilton Hotel fiasco (a lot behind closed doors?!) I wonder if the entire council should be sacked and people of Tsv go back e vote again. Some new blood and perhaps councilors who have had business experience/knowledge would be more beneficial to the people of Townsville. It never ceases to amaze me how the council so quickly consumes its revenue without delivering real value to its shareholders, we the community of our town.
Has Cupcake, Harpic, or Messagebank got themselves a new job yet? Centerlink has programs for disadvantaged people to find them meaningful employment. Hopefully Troy Thompson will join them.
I notice that Harpic still has MP after his name on his website.
Roger, I hear three former stooges are considering entering the product endorsement business:
Private Cupcake is considering an offer to be a Jenny Craig Ambassador, Harpic is considering an offer to endorse a new line of toilet disinfectant and Messagebank is considering an offer for a new line of boxing training bags!
(sigh)
Wasn’t last Saturday a fantastic start for the next 10 days
Out with state Labor comprehensively
Labor here and democrats in America are on the nose ???? as they should be with woke diversity divisive crap ????
It had to happen the people are waking up to the lies and bribes these leftist socialists governments try every election
Back to common sense government
Next the race
Personal dog food and glue but if an event can stop a nation
Then the 47 President Trump
Only massive corruption by the democrats will stop the march to save America
Finally February
Out with this incompetent lying pathetic corrupt albosleezy Labor government and giving ???? China CCP billions for crap solar and wind turbines
We must welcome nuclear, gas and coal
24/7
Last Saturday was fantastic , as will Wednesday to start the come back to the centre
S88
The Orange Ejit is going to have his ass handed to him. Women’s health is a “woke” issue because a Trump appointed Supreme Court made it an issue. Set aside the highly emotive abortion word, women have been arrested and thrown in jail for having a miscarriage at home after being turned away from hospital. Women are dying because doctors are too scared to perform a D&C on a non-viable ectopic pregnancy. Various states are already looking into whether they can pregnancy test women travelling out of state and then arrest them if there is no baby registered months later.
Women and good men who love their wives, daughters and grand daughters are going to make sure that women’s health rights are restored by President Harris and Vice President Tim “Mind your own damn business” Walz.
Were you born in 1988 or using the 88 as code for “Heil Hitler”? You support Trump so I suspect the latter!
I’m reading a lot about “Adult time for adult crime” but not much about what the LNP is going to do with the entitled untouchables that do the break and enters, steal vehicles and then drive them dangerously on the roads, hijack vehicles and other crimes that are most common in Townsville and other cities and that would not be classified as adult crimes.
Does anyone have more detailed information on what the LNP is going to here. Hopefully any changes for these crimes will be introduced as a priority as the summer school holidays are nearly here.
Perhaps more to the point, the LNP needs to define what they classify as adult crime … B & E and car theft are NOT little boys being naughty.
The kids throwing rocks at the tourist train in Cairns hit a 5 year old child on the head.
They are currently on bail.
Who will they injure tonight ?
I thought you said they had defined it? Are you telling me it’s still not defined you don’t actually know what it means, and yet you voted for it and defend it?
The ‘Pie isn’t aware that he said anything was defined. In English (stick with me here Ducky) ‘adult crime’ can only mean crimes committed by adults. In English (still with us there, Ducks?) ‘juvenile crime ‘ has only ever meant adult crimes committed by those not yet of age. It is only the penalties that have changed.
But the LNP appears to be going to have. a little Nanki Poo list of naughtiness to fit this legislation,
And although its none of your clot-headed business, The ‘Pie didn’t vote FOR anything, he voted AGAINST a lying (see pumped hydro cost story today) and inept Labor government, which showed during the covid years that it didn’t know its SARS from its Ebola.
Once again, just to help Duck Shove, here is the list of “adult crimes” which will see all perpetrators treated equally:
Serious crimes impacting victims including:
-Murder
-Manslaughter
-Serious harm like wounding
-Home and business break-ins and robbery
-Stealing cars and dangerous operation of vehicles
It isn’t bloody complex. Just read the published material.
Aaron Aaron where are you? Your 2 to 3 anti LNP memes per day has suddenly gone quiet! C’mon mate, why the silence? If you were so worried about Crisafulli you would still be posting about him. Do t let an election loss stop you.
If Steve 88 is so keen on living under a Trump dictatorship, perhaps he should move to the USA.
Hope he’s not a journalist though, because they’re going to be shot.
Well, there’s a twist on the line that got Pawlean into trouble ‘ If you don’t like it here, go and live in America’.
Adult crime is fairly well-established and universally understood. Adult crimes are absolutely being committed by children as young as 10-11 years.
The concept of ‘Adult time’ is fraught with issues and most which will land on the lap of taxpayers.
UN conventions on the rights of children, youth criminals will need to see out sentences in youth detention not with adult criminals. They will need to be educated, provided with healthcare and given the opportunity to engage in programs to assist them to reintegrate. Making them wards of the state for significantly extended periods will cost us dearly.
13-year-olds today are biologically exactly the same as 13-year-olds 50 years ago. Impulsivity and poor decision-making are classic traits. Family support, moral guidance and goal setting play a huge part in establishing right from wrong decisions probably more so than the threat of consequences. None of the former being available to today’s young offenders. Do the 13-year-olds committing these crimes even understand or value the concept of freedom? I guess that they aren’t thinking ahead to next week. Human evolution does not happen over a decade or two and the pre-frontal cortex has not suddenly developed due to the digital age. In fact, social media has probably delayed development in many cases. It will be interesting to see if the average juvenile offender has the capacity to make the right choices and “look around corners” (as Dr Phil would say) based on the possibility of a long stretch in detention. Will this help stem youth crime and assist at-risk youth in making good choices? Will it satiate the community’s need for punitive justice and harsh punishment? I doubt it but am hopeful it may help a few. The other huge consideration will be the capacity to staff youth facilities to meet the needs long-term of young offenders. Lessons to be learned from the Royal Commission into institutional abuse. What type of person will be drawn to work in detention centres? How well will they be screened, trained etc? As it is now, staffing is a major issue and some very dubious characters have ended up working in youth detention. Some people may say they don’t care, lock em up and throw away the key and let what happens to them happen ….etc but will this result in another redress situation decades down the track? Finally, finally..apologies for quoting Dr Phil, probably the only compelling quote he has ever made but has helped me understand my own teenage boys over the years.
There are reasoned arguments to be had on so many points, and no doubt others will take up some of them. But The ‘Pie will make just a couple of observations.
First, worth noting you have not a single thought about the trauma – almost always on-going – for the victims of these children/teenagers. What is their due? Blaming parents for their children’s behaviour is a reason but not an excuse. Most of them know better, and callously think what they’re doing is a bit of a lark. They need to learn differently.
While holding perpetrators to account is a basic tenet of our society, is there actually a widespread sentiment for ‘harsh punishment’? From some victims perhaps, but in the wider community, one imagines just removing them from where they can’t offend is probably what most want … cruel and vindictive punishment towards kids would certainly be counter-productive, and it’s reasonable to assume is not the desire of most. But neither is holiday camp atmospheres either.
More like compulsory and highly regulated live-in boarding school/TAFE. Your points about the requirements of education, health care and guidance programs are paramount and one way of viewing that is that these kids are placed in a situation where they cannot be truant and can be encouraged to become goal-oriented. And they are not subject to the often destructive home life which forces them onto the streets.
And it’s hoped the legislation when finalised will leave open the opportunity for carrot and stick outcomes. The extra sting of the stick will be the overwhelmingly crushing time meted out to a young person, and the carrot will be genuine reward for showing rehabilitation. Time remission can be a goal that most if not all will make an effort to achieve, but they will need to demonstrate a readiness to make good use of the opportunities and assistance they will receive on release.
The phrase carrot and stick has an overbearing tone, but it works if the carrot is the right kind.
As to cost … that’s why we pay taxes, in part to ensure we can live safely. And it probably wouldn’t be any more than the current cost of the side effects across society that allowing these crime wave to continue.
All this said, it will be interesting to see how the judiciary views these new laws and if they’re left any wriggle room – mitigation – in sentencing.
I imagine it will be a case by case approach esp in utilising mitigation. An oversight in not acknowledging the distress and trauma of youth crime on victims to an already lenthy comment. In no way am taking a bleeding heart approach. Really considering less emotive aspects eg potential significant cost (we pay for this what do we sacrifice elewhere?) also risk and biology. Hopefully there has been due consideration and modelling done to ensure adult time is not just papering over the cracks.
The Agenda for this Wednesday’s TCC meeting is up on the website. Plenty of Reports on finances and funding plus non-details of confidential stuff (North Yards for example). A report into the development of a childcare centre at North Shore gives a very enlightening insight into issues of ‘red tape’ – be it traffic, noise, storm water, local objections etc. – that councillors have to face up to.
Jenny , Growing Townsville 2023/24 Annual report is now in the agenda . Page 44 Councillors hospitality , printing and advertising , conferences + facilities provided . ( emailed to Pie ) . Pages 146-147 NQ spark + railyards . All up 170 pages .
Crisafulli doing well, pineappled 10 rusted on Labor directors, pulled the pin on the $37b Mackay dam. I’m loving this. All the Labor acolytes are sooking and crying over the LNP kicking goals. Great stuff.
That white unmarked Embraer jet with the repeated decompression issues came in again at 3.15 pm today
Why do you keep posting this? Is there something you know that we should all know?
Mayor in waiting, Food Tricks Greaney, is very disappointed in vandalism done to public shitters and taps. She is within her rights to be pissed off. But the $200k in damages is nothing compared to the overall level of Council debt, of which she has contributed to over a number of years.
https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releases/2024/november/vandalisms-high-cost-to-community
Hope you have an alibi, Jenny. Seems about your level of inanity.
Well doesn’t the oxygen thief, otherwise known as TwoNames, once more have egg on his face!
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/claims-of-misconduct-against-townsville-councillor-dismissed-by-watchdog/news-story/c39a22faa71e4eec71b397ec2ed26360?amp
Hypothetically, if a councillor went to dinner with someone who applied for an executive position that they had to vote on…wouldn’t that seem to be a conflict?
Yes. Definitely if it was a tete-a-tete, bad look even in a group. What prompts your pretty obvious question?
Hmm that’s what I thought.
I don’t know TwoNames, would it?
Just listened to an Australian commentator on the radio note that the Republication voters in the US were generally long term Republication voters who would vote that way again because Trump hadn’t really done enough to upset them ! WTF, these people must have been living in a cave for the last eight years or so to miss the damage that this deranged egomaniac fool has done.
I guess this voter attitude partially exists because of the the non compulsory voting system over there thus not forcing voters to take a hard look at the performance and/or damage clowns like Trump undertake.
Commentator also noted that he can’t even speak about or consider the damage that the orange headed fool will embark upon if he loses !
Better strap ourselves in !
MEDIA STATEMENT: Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro
Get all the info here including a link to the report. Oh wait… nope.. you can’t. Crisafulli’s media advisor Greg Thompson, formerly of Sky News, has managed to provide a link to his desktop (file://min.internal/min/home/Thomsg/Desktop/PB003_PB%20DAR%20Executive%20Summary_Redacted%200411.pdf)
https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/101593
That’s a good announcement. The ALP were reckless with spending and $30b is a ridiculous cost to the taxpayer. Ducks Nuts, you are a fool.
Jenny, you are a LNP obsessed fuckwit. Go take a bike ride.
It is a good announcement, they should have gone with grid sized batteries all along.
Little Patty O got a big pay rise
Come a long way
Patty is in for a shock. Those roles are pretty full-on and involve a lot of hard work, believe it or not. Unlike her bludging TEL days. That said, she is articulate and quick off the mark so I can see why they headhunted her.
She had a pretty steep learning curve, we’ll now find out how she coped.
Taking on the other portfolios of Environment, Science and Innovation as well as Tourism will be hard for someone with her skillset. It is going to take more than a winning smile and quick wit to wrangle those horsies.
Did anybody in the Nest catch up with the Kid today as he visited Townsville? Perhaps the Kid met up with Mr Oberhardt? After that, maybe he had tea and biccies with the retarded TEL, followed by lunch with Twonames. An afternoon meeting with Les,
Scott, and Harpic would have rounded off his day.
Probably … no make that certainly … none of the above.
Jenny, I have been very concerned about many of your comments, but I think your reply to the “drakes little testes” effort is commendable
Uh Oh, No Joe.
Looks like Nanny McPhee Oberhardt is sitting in as acting CEO. At least I think nits him.
Hmmm …
Gees, sitting pretty cosily and personal space intruded big time and Two Names not looking very comfortable!
Yes Pie, that’s Mr Oberhardt. Could be innocent and Joe McCool could be away on business or off sick. Or it could be way worse and he has received a pineapple. I hope all is ok with Joe.
Was observing not hinting at anything untoward. We probably would’ve heard if Joe had been boned.
With the council and Mayor Boofhead well aware that of the live stream, one would’ve thought a courtesy mention would’ve been appropriate but …. nah, it’s Townsville.
WRONG! See how interesting it is that you uneducated people spread incorrect information. That is Peter sitting next to the Mayor, and is action CEO while Joe is away.
Peter who? And it was clearly a question, you sad little Thompson enabler, fancy you accusing other of being uneducated people spreading misinformation.
Sorry Pie, perhaps I need my glasses repaired. I did think it was Oberhardt. If I am wrong, I humbly apologise.
So who was it, one reader suggested it was Peter someone or other, but didn’t supply a second name.
Try Peter Cannizzaro, Director of Business Services
Yup, that our man.
Wow TwoNames Cult Follower, that’s a big call just loves someone who fraudulently claimed academic qualifications and business credentials (amongst military service, lied about criminal charges, is a domestic violence perpetrator,
grifter…….)
Hey, Mopsy, who’s the TCC planning guy talking about the child care centre?
If someone at council media are reading this (as if they’re don’t), sub-titled names and position would be handy.
He is on leave
So was there anything of interest mentioned in the Council meeting today? How’s our finances? Did Twodicks stumble along as he normally does? Any of the Councillors stick it to Twodicks or are they all playing along nicely while the special advisor is in town?
Inorder as asked: yes, but in an interesting way, unknown, ,yes, and no.
For followers of the US election, interesting the next few hours will be (my Yoda moment).
Prepare for the best or the worst, depending on your outlook, as Trump is ahead in 5 states, but 2 of them, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with counting over 85% in each, will be enough to put Trump back in the White house.
https://www.9news.com.au/us-election/2024-results
Looks like Americans are about to get what they deserve…
Unfortunately, so is much of the world, including Australia. perhaps the wisest thing for the more visionary pragmatists among us is to start learning Chinese.
Orange ijit easy win. Sea of red sweeps across Merika and the World awaits for him to fuck us all. Ukraine and Middle East on standby. Harris and Biden, now a part of history.
It looks like we will have the privilege of living through one of the most tumultuous times in western history over the next four years, with tectonic shifts in all international arenas, with authoritarian regimes being boosted while the once great United States of America will soon be left to eat its own entrails. It will now truly be Amerika. But this was preciently envisioned in 1987.
Looks like the orange man is going to win the election.
Townsville Council meeting today Childcare centre 100 Mt low parkway was approved 6-4 subject based on a certain wall for protection which I am not sure even complies with childcare centre legislation . Paul Johnson Council planning explained that the developement met with Council guidelines continually as Councillor Phillips was worried the centre could find enough staff . A number of Councillors that voted against the development didn’t believe the childcare centre fitted the zoned area even though it clearly did or planning wouldn’t have approved it . Council is going to chalk up a lot of legal fees in the planning environment court if Councillors can’t get their head around legislation vs their personal views . Based on Councillors percunary interests it doesn’t seem any have done a development or understand processes + costs .
Stupid place to put a Childcare centre of that size but that roundabout is a menace in the first place so wouldn’t be surprised that this sort of development is planned for that block for a while.
Trying to find info on this ML Parkway. They have had 2 hearings at the Land & Environment Court after a 26th April application. On 21st July & 19th Sept in front of Judge Williamson in Brisbane, the respondent is the TCC. I cannot find anything on AUSTLII on what it’s all about or in any search in the public sphere.
Be interesting to know the particulars or if the TCC has folded to a pushy developer from Brisbane (Registered in Paddington/Milton area). Also another mob keeps popping up with the searches also from Milton, Parmac Proprty Group and I’m starting to wonder if they are the same entity. As Parmac has form riding roughshod over residents concerns for things like this. So many questions and its not as the TCC is the most transparent mob.
Anyway wonder if the previous council were signalling approval but were turfed out. Personally I think ratepayers are owed an explanation especially if the legal tussle is related to the proposal at Mt Low Pkwy. Cr Phillips what say you?
Dave Nth – a sign of how commercially naive Councillors are Foodtrucks asked the Council planner how likely it was the 100 Mt low parkway developer would appeal and planner said most likely . ML parkway 82 mt low appealing in planning and environment court wasn’t it knocked back because it was on a main rd ( which nearly all childcare are ) . Have a look at the childcare in Fairfield Central that accesses possibly the busiest shopping centre entrance approved before Councillor Ellis elected . Amaroo Mandalay Council proposed folding after their tough stance and it only takes one resident that now forces Council to Court . Appears some Councillors knowing the developer will appeal and win are voting against just to keep some of their division happy . Nth Railyard Council discussions behind closed doors like Lansdown . Scott Stewart took the gloves off on Council before the Council election . New Member for Townsville Mark Bailee is likely to ask Council executives some uncomfortable questions especially as the new Premiers 2 nd office is likely to be in Flinders st . Word is Council issues / infrastructure price hikes / follies were top of discussion with Premier Crisafulli who attended the Colliers Townsville Melbourne Cup function as many of the business people own / lease in the cbd .
Dave N, having read the Report cited in the TCC meeting agenda about the childcare centre and seen how the various arguments about zoning, noise, traffic, road design, local objectors etc. played out over time, then watching as some of the same issues were mulled over in the meeting and further compromises were made I thought that Council wanted to approve the proposal but needed to buttress some of the arguments – hence the last minute extended steel-reinforced concrete fence/traffic barrier facing the roundabout. In the end it went to a vote (Mike says 6-4 but I think there were 11 voters). In the face of a likely appeal in the P&E Court against a refusal, if you were an elected councillor what would you have done?
Yes, the councillors rejecting the application did impose their personal views on the community. I found it odd how it didn’t fit with the rural aesthetics of the neighbourhood (probably to preserve poor infrastructure?), despite the corner of the back fence bordering on a fucking huge housing development, and the fact there are 2 childcare centres and 2 schools on Veales Rd, even further out. I imagine they’d reject a future application to build the childcare centre proposed at Carmen Close in Yabulu because it doesn’t fit the rural aesthetics, too. The aesthetics also probably includes a lot of shit soil from decades of operation of the nearby nickel refinery. We MUST preserve the shit living these residents have, for some reason.
Chunky, wasn’t the “rural” thing about the existing ‘rural/residential’ zoning of the land? Not about aesthetics but about the town planning issue of the zoning? As I read the report, a zoning of ‘rural/residential’ did not exclude (automatically) the development of a childcare centre.
The zoning thing is a bit ridiculous. There have been childcare centres in Jensen for decades before the massive housing developments came in the 4818 postcode. Might as well lock rural residents in northern suburbs out of fairer childcare access cause yolo.
I wonder what their decision will be regarding the application to demolish three houses and build a childcare centre at Yolanda Drive and Honeysuckle Drive, Annandale?
Sam, do you have a link?
Townsville City Council website — Building Planning and Projects — E Planning —Launch E Planning — Find an application — then enter MCU24/0095
Thanks Sam. Interesting that part of Annandale was opened up nearly forty years ago (1986 title deeds) before childcare centres were really the thing they have now become – and making the demolition of three posh houses still economically viable. Wonder what the locals think of this proposal.
At present there is a childcare centre at Yolanda & Oleander. Been there for years.
TCC News Flash:
Planning Department to be renamed “Developer Support Unit” in recognition of its true role. A “donation” box will be added beside the tender box at Walker Street.
Wanna know where Hell is?
Hell is in USA…….. don’t rhyme but is so…..
Biden was a warmonger. Never voted ‘no’ to a war in all his years in Congress. America spent over $1 trillion on the Afghan failure and has given close to $200b to the Ukraine. Money that could have been used to upgrade failing American healthcare, welfare, and infrastructure. And don’t get me started on the US debt of over $35 trillion with interest payments alone of almost $780b per year. Again, a situation caused by successive misuse of the taxpayer dime by successive governments, both blue and red.
Now before the lefties hang me from a tree branch, Trump is no Messiah and I think he is the best of a bad bunch. At least he has run businesses and knows a little about fiscal management, unlike Biden who has survived on corrupt deals and sucking on the taxpayer teat for a half a century.
The prognosis for America still isn’t good. Harris would’ve been a disaster. Hopefully Trump will pull the pin on supporting wars that aren’t Americas problem, he will complete the wall and keep out illegals who are sucking the public purse dry, and he might hold the UN to account and cut back on funding this outdated and useless organisation that takes taxpayer dollars and delivers SFA.
God help America.
Hosted US family members and their friends a couple of weeks back – all successful business people travelling on The World.
They convinced me Trump was the way to go and he would have a clear win. In the US it’s always the economy. Add to this illegal immigrants from south of the border are the new crime and corruption wave. They said the Democrats have stepped further left handing out money for no work. Harris would make this worse. In parallel to Australia where Labor governments are pouring money into the economy and adding to inflation (the one that the Reserve Bank looks at) Biden/Harris have presided over massive spending without obvious benefit to the people. Cost of living is a big issue there as well.
They had no fear of Trump’s attitudes on women, etc. He will power up the economy – which is actually going ok. He will make decisions. Business welcomes Trump and that drives investment.
Tony P. “Trump has run businesses and knows a little about fiscal management”. I think you might enlighten us on what businesses he has run which were profitable, against those which lost millions of his daddy’s money.
Interesting comment. Donald certainly had a silver spoon, but proved way more successful than his Father in terms of business success.
What relevance does that have to anything?
Besides, it is completely wrong, Fred Trump, although as unsavoury professionally and personally as his son, Trump Snr started from scratch and became extremely successful, leaving a fortune to Donald who blew the lot. Donald Trump is probably the only person in the entire world who owned a casino that went broke.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Trump
Anyone that can bankrupt not one but two casinos is obviously a business genius.
God help the rest of us.
Jeff, who is this God person? that presumably will “help” us?
Unbelievable!
Someone who is unfit to be trusted with the keys to a public toilet will have access to the most sensitive military and economic matters.
There must be celebrating in the Kremlin. Russian militarism will proceed unchecked.
Americans are so fucking stupid and their electoral system is stuck in the 1800s.
Times like these to celebrate the wisdom of our fathers of federation and the system we have. Not perfect, but a shitload better than both the Brits and the Yanks.
The ‘Pie agrees with your last statement, but unfortunately, it ignores the fact that all matters, politic or other, always have been dependent on and shaped by both America and Britain. And in both instances, there have been massive shifts in both moral obligation and a propensity for political expediency at any cost. The cost in the case of the USA is probably our national safety.
National safety and economy.
Americans of the 1800s wouldn’t have voted for authoritarianism. They were breaking away from a monarchy and considered themselves liberal thinkers.
Apparently the thinking bit got lost in with conspiracy theories, disinformation, corporate and government corruption. Our politicians need to be held accountable for their relationships with big business. Our media needs to be held accountable for broadcasting false and misleading information or we will end up in the same place.
When it comes to world security and mad dictators everyone should cast there mind back to the last time that Trump was in power when that looney from North Korea was shooting nuclear missiles towards Japan , he rang him up and said ” Little Rocket Boy if you don’t stop firing those missiles I will blow you right off the map ” well there wasn’t too many after that hey? America has got a strong leader again one who has negotiated dodgy deals all his life to avoid tax and cheat the government so I would rather have him at the negotiating table with world leaders like Putin than Sleepy Joe or Kamala Harris any day. Harris would just bore them with word salads. The world is in a pretty precarious situation at the moment with wars in the middle east. , Russia using Nth Korean troops in their war with Ukraine, China circling Taiwan and China trying to muscle in on the Sth. China sea and the Pacific Ocean.
The selective memory of the gullible is only amusing when it isn’t delusional bullshit.
Wollo… maaatte… yes trump called him up. And then the US Defence Secretary was convinced they would be aimed at the US, and spent a long time not sleeping well. Mostly because your little red rocket boy did some publicity showing him studying plans to strike the US. But the UN Security Council(with China and Russia) imposed some tough sanctions on North Korea and your little red rocket boy did some more posturing, and put his toys away.
Trump didn’t solve this. Trump put the US under threat of missile attack.
A great day for the USA!
Trump gets up and now we can kick start the economy.
One assumes you live in the red area. And what’s this ‘we’ business, unless you are admitting to being a fascist.
The US economy is in great condition, Trump’s plans (if seriously implemented) are going to fuck it.
It’s only four years, FFS…what could possibly happen in that time??
World War 3?
And Trumps America, having created the power vacuum filled by Russia, would remain neutral.
Yeah, 4 years of a tyrant. The good thing, I guess, is that Amerika is already totally and comprehensively fucked, so I’m not sure what else could happen to further its decline other than a nuclear strike on American soil. I hope Albo is watching closely as his day is next.
I don’t think the current bunch of councillors are in the one percent club.
Love TwoNames latest tantrum approach. The TroySpeak Translator spat out this: “If I can’t run the council my way, I’m going to ask Mum and Dad to take it away from everyone”.
Last nights Ch7 News Story on TwoNames wanting to put TCC into administration.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EtE1Yg8Jo/?mibextid=WaXdOe
Ha ha Kristian has a copy of the correspondence from the CCC ‘on his computer upstairs’ . That’s better than what Troy does and keeps stuff on his computer at home. And Crisafulli claims to not have received Twonames correspondence relating to putting Council into receivership. Someone is telling porkies, surely not Twonames? Oh Troy, you really are an inbred and a fool aren’t you!
Well, hang on. The Kid has only said he is sure he hasn’t had direct contact or correspondence with TwoNames. he said he wasn’t sure if his office or anyone in the government had deceived anything. That said, your theory could be right.
I hope the link works. A map of Dumbfuckastan.
https://images.app.goo.gl/3qtXCQdN1BUgBCYW7
From Peter Baker at the New York Times:
No longer can the political establishment write off Donald Trump as a temporary break from the long march of progress. With his comeback victory, Trump has now established himself as a transformational force reshaping the U.S. in his own image.
Interesting to note that in the past three or four years, the NYT itself has been somewhat ‘transformational’ in its reporting, opinion colimns and editorial policy. One of the world’s previously great newspapers has started itself unravelling.
Unravelling appears to be a growing trend these days.
I wonder what the CCC thank about Twonames 37 page load of codswollop? Surely they must laugh behind closed doors. But on a serious note, the fact that only this week he is calling for Council to be put into administration shows just how dangerous he is. What does Mr Oberhardt think of this? The other Councillors better sharpen their knives and get on with the job of cutting Twonames loose before he sinks the entire ship.
Haven’t checked out the exact wording yet, but in the LG regs, one stipulation is not to bring the council into disrepute by public statements like that …. or wording to that effect as a direction to all councillors.
Troy Thompson has no evidence that there are any reasons to put this council into administration, and therefore without any evidence, he is bringing the council into disrepute.
Even if there is some wrongdoing by the previous council, to make such a statement, he needs more proof thas ‘they’re good for it, me and my mad cooker mates know this’.
G’day Magpie,
This is not the case, Mayor Thompson rattled off plenty of jobs to the ABC reporter in the forecourt. He was holding a large capital works document that listed projects pushed back. I believe he state clearly there are 2100+ outstanding jobs, that’s a problem for ratepayers. It means we do not have the funds to complete projects in the next 10 terms. I think the mayor did send the correspondence to the Premier. I would have no hesitation in the council being put into administration, it also gives Premier Crisafulli the chance for a full restart, much like Ipswich has gone through.
A very selective and personal view, Rod, so far without substance … let’s see what those 2100+ ‘outstanding jobs’ are, and the precise reasons they cannot be completed. One assumes that the mayor is willing to publicly share his ‘large capital works document that list projects pushed back’ with the ratepayers. Come to think of it, why didn’t he offer the evidence to the media with copies ready to be handed out to back his words? Or did he, The ‘Pie wasn’t there.
If, for some manufactured reason, he is not willing to share his ‘large capital works document’ with the public, then we are entitled to believe that this is another bit of TwoNames self-promoting blather and a deflection from his own quagmire of deceit, lies and civic destruction.
These matters (presumably) existed before the election, but dismissing the entire council was not on his campaign agenda, and when he tried to extort loyalty form the council with the threat of dissolution and was told to go fuck himself, he is now making a campaign out of it. So let’s see the document, you never know, the old bird might have to eat humble pie.
This may be over-simplifying things, but why should the current council be effectively sacked because of a previous council’s financial incompetence? If the money is not there, does it not make sense to defer, redesign or even cancel projects started by previous councils? What difference would an administrator make – presumably he has the same pot of money. If Thompson thinks he sees a problem – why not come up with a solution that involves himself and fellow-councillors facing the problem and showing signs of leadership? After all, he is our democratically elected saviour, is he not?
If has a case, and half a brain, he should have, and still could if he chooses to, bring a mayoral minute pleading with councillors to back his call for a complete re=examination of the work projects list, as a way to restore financial stability to the council. But even if he did, it would be a tactical move only in his vendetta against perceived political arch enemy, the Labor Party.
Twonames certainly does like to pick and choose between what he wants to be transparent about, and what he doesn’t want to share. There is no doubt that team Hill and Prince Ralston left behind a financial clusterfuck – an operational budget that is very lean and barely able to support council’s ongoing monthly needs, and a CAPEX budget in which the pot of money is not big enough to cover all the items listed. But, now that Hill, some of her posse, and Prince Ralston are gone, it’s the new Councils responsibility to right the wrong. I don’t think this Council is at the point where an administrator needs to be called in, but the Councillors need to roll up their sleeves and work out what to do about the Councils financial position.
I think Twonames is panicking by calling for an administrator. He doesn’t have a robust or even qualified background in finance. He is looking for the chickens way out. I don’t think he will get what he wants. But he and his team are going to have to work very hard over the next few years to fix the shitfight that they are in. Heaven help us.
he and his team. To what ‘team’ do you refer? He certainly isn’t the leader of the council, except in the stolen title he flaunts around ice cream parlours and coffee shops.
It was suggested that he had reached out to the Premier, and the Minister. The Premier yesterday said he had not seen anything, but it would be a serious allegation to bring to the state government, if true. I know of plenty of projects that have been put back, and I know my friends on the Island have a list a mile long that are yet to be completed, so it may imply he is not telling a lie.
As an outsider looking in, the mayor may be stood down, the deputy is under fire by Greaney, so she is gunning for the acting mayor role, this means Team Jenny reigns supreme. I don’t know about you, but I hope he stands firm, at least for now. We all know TCC is not healthy financially, it is in the report and budget, every time our pipes leak, it costs millions, there simply is not enough to fix and maintain what we have, I think we actually might be at that point Pie.
I want to know not just what the debt in and out are, but where these ‘2100’ jobs are factored in the next 4 years, because if the lad is right, and only 50 are being done a year, then we have 40 years of jobs ahead of us and no money to get it done. I think we need to empty the list out, start from scratch and then see what comes out, if there’s more than 500, we are still no better off, we have to rationalise the whole council, interesting times ahead.
On that last point, this may be informative. The ‘Pie was pissed off that the secret meeting on Friday last week was never explained even by subject to be discussed … arrogant and anything but transparent. So he complained, asking what it was all about. Yesday, 6 days after the meeting, this reply dropped into the Nest.
Tara Grantemail hidden; JavaScript is required>
Thu, 7 Nov, 11:00 (1 day ago)
to me
Dear Mr Weatherup,
Apologies for the delay in response.
The meeting on Friday 1 November 2024 was a Special Meeting which was called to deal with the Organisational Structure. The Council endorsed a draft Organisational Structure to proceed to formal staff consultation.
Kind Regards,
Tara Grant
Executive Office
The Magpie replied:
That document may have also contained the members list of his cooker association plus it may have listed his achievements in philanthropy. In other words, whatever he held was probably a load of utter tosh. He is a bullshit artist with a proven history of telling porkies. I wouldn’t believe a single thing that comes out of the plastic man’s mouth.
Each of them knows about the previous council taking Maidment money as donations in 2016, failing to declare it to the ECQ, then declaring it as an interest in the November meeting after the election, handing the decision to extend sanctum at Mt low to CEO Adele Young to rubber stamp despite over 20 objections from council planning. This also flowed on to their breakwater development. Even if people are no longer councilors , and even though it was a while ago, each current councillor has a positive duty to report that to the CCC under s13-9 and s37-40A of the CCC Act at http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au . You have published this a few times. Jacob knows. Mooney declared an interest due to the previous councils election donors in his first meeting. Failure to declare, failure to report , disobedience to statute law and refusal to carry out a duty s200-204 Qld Criminal Code. The link to the release and minutes https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releases/2016/december/council-approves-sanctum-extension and the disclosure of interests https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/26106/OC-mins-22.11.16.pdf remember, they haveade it harder to download the actual pdf returns and I have them on file. You have to go here and to the archives link at the bottom, and keep following the links to the 2016 council election for TSV manually. Try and save the link close your browser and put that link in the new one and it asks for a password. But do it manually and you get it. Can’t save the pdf now though. https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/donations-and-expenditure-disclosure/disclosure-of-political-donations-and-electoral-expenditure/published-disclosure-returns
You might be surprised how many Townsville people want the entire council sacked, or at least the former Hill councilors. Thompson is a disgrace but the organised disruption being caused by the Labor councilors is unacceptable
What organised disruption? Please be specific with examples.
So anyone who sat with Hill on council over the past 12 years, you want removed? Hill was voted in time after time. 3 terms/12 years. She wasn’t forced on Townsville. Are people going to spend the next 12 years whinging about this devil incarnate who it seemed was good enough for voters for at least 9 years? You cant argue we didnt know what we were getting with Hill. In 2016 we had a really sound alternative with Jayne Arlett but voters wanted Hill.
That logic seems to also now extend to anyone sitting on the council with Troy Thompson. I’d defy anyone who claims they could work with him effectively. As for his go to solution of putting the council into administration, well thats all just part of his business MO, as we now all know.
IO, the ten councillors voted no-confidence in the Mayor but that didn’t shift him. There doesn’t appear to be any legal mechanism by which councillors can remove the mayor. There is definitely a legal mechanism for the minister (the government) to suspend or remove the mayor but you have to get all the ducks lined up and do it surgically and efficiently or it will backfire. The CCC inquiry may provide some ammo (or not) but it looks like the ‘show-cause’ demand from the previous government has come to nothing – maybe there was something of substance in those 37 pages after all? If Premier Crisafulli ends up doing nothing it’s probably because the other options are actually worse for the government and Townsville than just having to suck it up. The well-informed and transparent debate and decision making about the North Shore childcare centre in the chamber on Wednesday has demonstrated that the elected council is far from dysfunctional.
Christ, The ‘Pie hates it when he has to agree with you, but …
What The ‘Pie watched on Wednesday was a group of councillors arguing their differing viewpoints in the accepted democratic way, with no chair cutting anyone off with threats of expulsion from the chamber and false complaints to authorities. Requiring no input or haughty ‘I’m the boss’ bullshit from the mayor, the councillors got on with their decision making, and just because some disagree with the end result, that is the reality of our system of governance. The ‘Pie sees the genuine either/or nature of the child care centre debate … vote for the good of the local residents amenity or for the overall common good of council avoiding ruinously expensive appeal court actions further affecting the council’s reputational and financial position.
If the government can’t legally do the right and moral thing and sack a fraudulent con man from office, they might have an even harder time sacking a whole council without a single shred of evidence that the current incumbents – with the dishonorable exception of Herr Mayor – are incompetent. Thompson is desperately vindictive in wanting to ‘get even’ with Jenny Hill on a personal level, he has shown no real dedication to the good of the city. (Best displayed by still remaining in office when the entire city wants him gone.)
If there were to be judged enough evidence to merit it, a forensic examination of past council decisions and financial movements could be carried out without any necessity to sack everyone. And if malfeasance of past administrations were proven, there is no reason why the current council can’t start the task of marching Townsville back to a more respectable position in every sense.
Jenny , you believe the decision on the application 100 Mt low Parkway childcare was well informed and transparent debate reflecting a functional Council ? . What it reflected was that Councillors don’t seem to understand Councils planning laws . Put your hands up all the Councillors who actually drove out there before commenting especially a couple who voted against the centre . Councillors don’t seem to understand investment costs questioning whether a developer who bought the land , paid for the plans to be drawn up inline with planning guidelines paid for the application to be lodged and it was approved by planning might appeal in the planning court . Jenny , did you read the comments by Martin Locke homes manager who said their development could have been built months earlier if it wasn’t for Council delays / red tape . I’m guessing you have no interaction with developers / builders around the City .
Mike, I don’t pretend to know what it’s like for Grandma when she sucks eggs. I wouldn’t dare question her method. Before every Council meeting (and every committee meeting) councillors are emailed or handed reams of paper – documents, reports, financial statements etc that are presumed to inform them about every detail so they can make decisions. I just spent an hour looking at the proposal for a single childcare centre in Annandale – a quick flick through a dozen reports out of curiosity. I could have spent all day chasing details and still not known how voter Joe Bloggs from around the corner feels about it. I know councillors are lobbied in their offices, approached in the street and hassled online. They can’t possibly know everything about everything. Personally, I don’t expect my councillor to know everything. If I want them to know something I ask them, or tell them. I don’t expect them to trail all over their division, let alone all over town, inspecting every detail of every bit of Council business. I just don’t have that expectation. That way I don’t get let down. They are just ordinary people doing a well paid, unusual, mostly thankless but ordinary job that frankly, hardly anyone wants to do. Give ‘em a break.
BTW, I think I did read the comments of Mr Locke, and the petitioners. And if delays are caused by inefficient or understaffed or incompetent council offices then perhaps ratepayers need to spend more money on better people. We elect councillors and pay CEOs a fortune to make those decisions. Let them do it.
Jen Jen, the Councillors are paid fucking good money to know everything about everything. Full stop!!
Mike, re the Annandale childcare place. I notice that although there is a planning stipulation that there be 36 car parks the submitted plans only have 35 places. They provided some sort of explanation. The council will have to consider whether to relax about that. A councillor (from the other side of town, without even looking out the window) COULD say, well it’s not up to spec so I’m voting against it, rulz is rulz. Or they could look at the big picture and relaaaxxxx. It’s Townsville!
Disagreeing with a fucking retarded idiot is not “organised dusruption”
Thompson is trying to get the entire council dismissed for three – entirely self-serving – reasons.
Primarily, he knows that he has no chance of being re-elected unless all the councillors are gone and there is a full council election.
He could then campaign on the basis that “he got rid of the remnants of Team Hill, who were the problem, not me”. That would give him a real chance of a Trump-like resurrection.
(For the slow learners, the claim that the remnant of Team Hill is (still) the problem would be as much bullshit as Thompson’s two business degrees. However the claims that the Strand parking meter issue was planned by Team Hill has created a field receptive of such fertiliser. It is a fact that all 11 councillors, during the budget sessions, swallowed the line about paid parking which was developed after the election and fed to them by the bureaucrats. Jenny Hill, for all her many faults, would have never permitted the suggestion, knowing the electoral damage she and the councillors would sustain, even after the election).
Secondly, if the entire council is dismissed Thompson can more easily continue to believe that he was not the problem and did nothing wrong. The man is a delusional fuckwit.
Thirdly, he would love to cause detriment to those that have brought him undone.
Those clamouring for the appointment of an administrator should open their eyes to the great public service that the other 10 councillors have demonstrated, calling out Thompson and then doing their jobs despite the lying prick being at the head of the table. Thinking that another bureaucrat would serve the community interest better than people who face election is as delusional as American hillbillies thinking Trump is on their side. As but one example, an administrator would never have recanted on the Strand parking.
That’s why on that last point The Magpie has often cautioned in The Nest that some need to be careful what they pray for. An administrator has no reason to take ratepayer sentiment into account.
That’s why no one bothers arguing with you old man
If you’re referring to me, Dickweed, then it’s because I am always right.
Magpie, have you heard any warbles about progress on the Haughton2 pipeline? Back in August TCC announced that the first new pipes were laid in October 2023 and by May 2024, Council’s construction partners had installed more than 3km of pipe in a month. So they were into it. Apparently, by August 2024 30% of the pipeline had been completed. At about the same time questions were being asked about cost overruns, TCC’s contribution, and where an extra $xxx million was going to come from to finish it. It’s hard to imagine that BMD would just stop work but has anyone actually seen what is happening down there in the bush at the back of the cane fields and cattle paddocks or is it a no-go area?
Lighton Smith is onto it … we think.
Really, Light-on is on to a scoop Maggie? Has he been reading the Magpies Nest again, looking for suitable breaking scoops that he can then plagiarise? Thats his usual modus operandi.
Pie,
Talking to a mate today who actually works on the job, he said they have got about 1 kilometre of pipe left to put in the ground.
Then the soil remediation works and the jobs done.
What happens then, does that mean they will be able to start pumping water to TSV?
Leighton Smith is an idiot. He shouldn’t use the title of ‘reporter’. He is indeed a lightweight who sits at a desk and doesn’t get his hands dirty. . Best to leave him report on local golf scores.
Summary of the US election:
Shit Happens!
Shit doesn’t happen. It is caused by arseholes.
It appears you have a limited knowledge of biology.
Ummm? Limited knowledge full stop.
What’s the definition of Adult Crime again? It doesn’t include corruption does it?
https://archive.md/f1mcG
Missing your point. What corruption?
Integrity Minister hires ex lobbyist as CoS.
Seems to be a distinct lack of integrity. Perception is everything.
Why?
Do you really need this spelled out? I know you aren’t that stupid
Indulge me.
I’ve known plenty of lobbyists, some registered in Canberra some not. I worked closely with a lobbyist employed by a major finance company I worked for and it is an important aspect of doing business in Australia where we are full of legislation and regulation stopping anything getting done. Is there something particular about the (ex) lobbyist who has been hired that is controversial because I haven’t heard anything bad about her?