A group of leading business figures, most of whose businesses will be seriously affected by the planned introduction of parking meters on the Strand,  will meet informally tomorrow afternoon with councillors and TCC executives about the widely opposed move. The very fact of the meeting shows councillors know they are wrong on this socially unacceptable money grab, and they cannot fob them off with buzz word red tape double talk, so what will they do? Indeed what can they do? The Magpie pontificates.

But this little knees-up raises a positive idea, one which was proven possible by last week’s TCC meeting. Given the turmoil and growing distrust about the unsupported guff about transparency and accountability,  The ‘Pie has an obvious suggestion to dispel such negative perceptions, which won’t cost a single cent.

Our accidental mayor was at it again during the week, blithely flying in the face of reality as he real agenda bares its ugly and expensive bum to the world. And while in that territory, The ‘Pid will exclusively reveal a sad fact about Astonisher reporter Chris Burns.

It was like pre-school, a little lesson in fun with ‘naughty numbers’ with the beloved economic Wiggles, Colin, Clayton and Peter. But oh dear, it  turned into pointless squabbling tiff in the  sandpit, the outcome a big fat zero.

But a different and gobsmacking set of numbers totted up during the week will simultaneously disgust, amaze and infuriate you.

And our US Cartoon gallery is dominated by Donald Trump’s new American meow-menu featuring hors-d’oeuvre of hound and fricassee du feline.

Comments are getting more and more entertaining (yes, you will need a sense of humour), grab yourself a name and jin in, they run 24/7. And as always, a helping hand with costs for The Nest would be as much appreciated as it is needed. The appropriate Donate button is at the bottom of this week’s edition.

Coffee And Confrontation, Anyone?

Late tomorrow afternoon (Monday Sept 23), a delegation of business people – probably including a very pissed off Chamber of Commerce – is scheduled to meet with the mayor and councillors, along with TCC executives,  to discuss the growing concerns about the proposed plan for parking meters on The Strand.  nd the council’s obstinacy in continuing with a project that is almost universally rejected by the public and groups representing various interests.  Sure to be front and centre will be the man they call Major, Matt Richardson, the council’s socially indifferent Infrastructure boss. He is the architect of the nightmare meter idea and his accompanying torture chamber regulations that will go with it. At last report, the meeting, organised by prominent businessman Craig Stack,  will be held in the (closed) Tide Cafe  at 5.30pm.

Sure to be there will be this dubious “power couple’ … scheme architect and TCC infrastructure boss, Matt ‘Major’ Richardson and scheme’s  Project Manager, Ann-Maree Greaney. The Strand is in her division.

There’s not much point in navel gazing about the outcome, but a couple of matters will have The ‘Pie’s attention.

First, will the media – specifically the Bulletin’s council reporter Chris Burns, who has been making the excellent running on the mayoral mess – be allowed to cover it – or in the unlikely circumstances, anyone from TV/radio? And if not, why not? Are we back to more closed door, secret squirrel stuff, which the whole town is fed up with,  especially when these councillors prim and primp all the time about transparency and accountability.  Given how this issue has blown up in their faces,  it seems evident that once elected, these councillors barely communicate with those who elected them.  Otherwise, how could they not know of the outrage? Was it because they only talk to the great unwashed during campaigns, during which they  kept the issue as low key and secret as possible until after the election … and even then, it took The Magpie to fully expose the rort.

Greaney is just one councillor who has ignored the avalanche of emails received, protesting the idea.

If the plan goes ahead, the fallout is going to interesting indeed.

But if it is rescinded, and other ways are found to cover Strand maintenance costs, which Richardson says is the ‘user pays’ reason for the meters in the first place. His, and Greaney’s argument about the need to create much needed churn and turnover in spaces is utter, absolute and complete fucking bullshit … The ‘Pie has made a point of driving along the Strand every day at various times throughout the past two weeks (The Nest is nearby), and there has never been less than 127 spaces always available between the Rockpool and Tobruk pool every single day . And remember, the expensive out-of-town consultants who initially recommended this cash grab did not do a single community survey – business or residential –  on the issue. Not a single word, not a single question. Transparency and accountability my cloaca.

Since The ‘Pie is starting to come to the conclusion that our rorting, con man mayor and certain arrogant councillors deserve each other, so while they are at loggerheads, it is with a certain amount of nasty glee that The Magpie notes should the matter be rescinded,  the councillors will find themselves agreeing with the populist bandwagon jumping mayor, who has always opposed the proposal.

So, you ask, The Magpie now thinks TwoNames Thompson is OK? He may be right on this issue by sniffing the populist wind (without the merest thought to an alternative Strand funding source)  but if you think The ‘Pie has softened on this out and out fraudster, read on.

But Before You Do That …

Instead of tomorrow’s ‘off the reservation’ meeting, why doesn’t this ‘transparent’ council consider a great innovation to keep the public better engaged with the governance of their city – an idea  won’t interfere with their hallway politicking.

The ‘Pie was surprised, and honestly a bit put off, when the Wednesday meeting was given a flute recital by an albeit very talented young woman.  She was introduced by Clr Robinson, who extolled her talent and her future, which is no doubt deservedly bright. (She is Ms Jorja Pilkington, you may be hearing of her again.)

.After she had delightfully tooted her flute for a longish recital, the good councillor Robinson promised more of the same in the near future from some other aspiring youngsters. One wonders if he has a budding Marcel Marceau, maybe a magician pulling government grants out of a hat, or a stand-up comedian hiding just off stage with one liners ready to shame resident arseclown Brady Ellis.

But is it appropriate activity for council chambers currently engaged in extremely serious matters, one of which has created uproar across Townsville (even Robinson described Ms  Pilkington’s interlude ‘the calm before the storm’ . Oh, yukety yuk, good one, mate.

Before considering the following, The ‘Pie makes it clear that no government at any lev el can govern by referendum on every decision they have to make. But this off-the-wall flute interlude raised a genuinely positive proposition, and one which would not require our representatives to be skulking around to closed cafes to debate public issues.

Could the council not pass a resolution that if an issue is obviously divisive in the community,  or maybe just unusually innovative, and attracts a set minimum number of petitioners to the council’s E-Petition website (let’s say maybe a thousand or two) then the petitioning group can apply to have a spokesperson address the council from the podium where TCC executives, prayful wafflers and flautists currently inhabit. 

This is a serious proposition where protagonists can eyeball each other, but it is not suggested to be a two-way debate, just a time-limited opportunity (say, three minutes) to appeal directly to the councillors. Just imagine if, say,  Chamber of Commerce president Miranda Mears had been able to make her opinion of the parking meters being a slap in the face to business, instead of just saying so in the paper and this blog. Or Bishop Timothy Harris,  businessman Craig Stack or a spokesperson for the health professional, all parties who oppose the meters, could speak directly to the councillors.  It is an excellent way of bringing coherent and politely argued public opinion to the chamber.  And widen councillors sometimes blinkered thinking.

Many of our glittering elected  won’t like the idea of their ivory tower being breeched by commoners (unless they play the flute), but The Magpie suggests you all drop the fucking attitude,  councillors, and listen properly to the people who put your well-paid arses in to the comfy seats you occupy, in order to represent them..

If you don’t, shut your lying gobs about transparency and accountability. And get Clr Robinson to round up a banjo player for your enjoyment.

Thompson”s Aim Is Now Crystal Clear – A Big Payout From The Public Purse

from comments last Wednesday.

Select comment	The Magpie 17,673 approved email hidden; JavaScript is required 2001:8003:f362:8300:98d0:efdd:c737:e596	Submitted on 2024/09/18 at 6:58 pm If there was any lingering doubt, it has been dispelled by today’s council meeting that Troy Thompson is driving a deliberate campaign of disruption of the council while presenting himself as a victim of unfair treatment. But all he has done is create a personal cesspit of despicable behaviour that has no place in the governance of this city. This booze-bloomed egomaniac broke cover today towards end of a long council meeting, in the most pompous and disrespectful manner possible … without saying a word. Clr Kristian Price rose to make a statement in which he said he had been defamed by the mayor’s personal Facebook postings on which the mayor implied he was one of three unnamed councillors whom the mayor accused …without offering a shred of proof … had taken bribes from acting CEO Joe McCabe in relation to the vote on a permanent appointment to the role. Price agreed he had been on a yacht trip which had included the acting CEO Joe McCabe, but there was nothing sinister about it. “I accepted the yacht trip as part of the Townsville Multisport World Championships, which you (Thompson) were initially invited to participate in. As you could not attend, the invite then followed standard procedures to find a representative, which meant the invite was offered to the deputy mayor, then the divisional councillor and finally other available councillors.” “So in fact, me on the yacht was to represent council as a direct result of you, and your inability, to attend.” Price ended by demanding an apology and the offending post, still up at the time of his statement, be removed. Throughout this sometimes emotional recitation of the situation (Price is no public orator), Thompson had the effrontery to actually grin smugly from time to time, fiddle with his phone, write and generally look amused at the discomfort Clr Price said he had suffered, which included being shirt-fronted in the street by people questioning his integrity. And in response, Thompson trotted out one of the many versions of cowardly commercial in confidence camouflages available in local government, delivered with all the insincere smarm he could muster.– “I have been contacted by the OIA and I’ve asked for it to be reopened and reinvestigated with other items, so I can’t comment any further on that but thank you for bringing that to the attention of the meeting,” Mr Thompson said. All this from a man who wants to be a leader, and once boasted during his lying election campaign “I will bring councillors around to my way of doing things.” Thank Christ that hasn’t happened.

So Thompson has done a Trump, and refused to accept the umpire’s decision, and do the decent thing.

Colour The Magpie completely unsurprised.

TCC Media Releases – Weird Or Subversively Subtle.

Not surprisingly, The ‘Pie regularly checks in on TCC media releases, which are often just news stories they lift because they somehow relate to the council. But the media goblins had The Magpie stumped at first when they reprinted this one (which appears to have been removed since last Wednesday) then he greatly tickled when he thought about it..

There cannot be any connection between the issue that has raised throwing arms of some old cranky guts in Atlanta, Georgia, and the operations of the Townsville City Council in Queensland, Australia. But then, is this just the Walker Street website goblins suggesting there is an almost non-violent way which we here in God’s Zone could express our feelings on certain issues.

The Magpie does not see this being received well by the sacred elected, but maybe they’d get the message if we substituted the ping pong balls with cricket balls.

 Funnily Enough, Here’s A Story Those Goblins Didn’t Pass On

Are you listening, David Crisafulli?  Mark Richardson? Ma Greaney?

The TCC may have to rethink their impersonal ways of raiding your wallet, no matter what the Strand outcome.

But while we’re in number plate territory,  maybe there’s gold back thar in the dark recesses at the back of your shed.

And while we’re about, we;ve always known that the military has a dark sense of humour, especially for unpleasant tasks, but The ‘Pie thinks the cops have gone over the top a bit with this number plate spotted in the Coles, North Ward car park during the week.  Is this some sort of messaging gone wrong, it sure doesn’t look right.

Quote of the Week:

And the winner is …. our old mate and the Bulletins pet economic poodle, Colin Dwyer!!

There is an old saying that if you put two economists in a room together, you will end up with three opinions. This came to mind when reading this mind-numbing, and ultimately pointless,  story on the Astonisher’s website.

The three economists were arguing over these statistics.

… with Adjunct Prof Colin  Dwyer saying things were dire (jobs down by 2500, unemployment up), and Clayton Cook of TPS Human Capital offered no actual opinion or analysis, but quoted stats that supported Dwyer.

But one of North Queensland’s most consistently sensible economists, Conus Business Consultancy boss Peter Faulkner, directly disagreed with the Dwyer’s assessment “because it was not based on seasonally adjusted  figures, which showed ‘employment was actually up 4500 for the year to July and 700 in the past quarter’.

But Mr Dwyer (sorry, Adjunct Professor) Dwyer was having none of it, he’d done his in-depth research. He told the Astonisher:

“My data was supported by what he saw on the ground in Townsville in July.

“I could see that cafes and restaurants weren’t as busy, and those particular business owners were telling me that they weren’t busy and that they were putting staff off,” he said. It was a cost of living issue … having to pay higher electricity costs … higher insurance, and there were fewer customers coming through the doors.”

Which, Col, old mate, is the equivalent of the man from the weather bureau looking out the window and making a forecast.

Perhaps you’re on a caffeine high?

In The USA, Just Another Week Of The New Normal

As usual, there’s a great deal of scepticism surrounding this ‘attempted assassination’ hokum. The story is pretty implausible, but hey, welcome to Trump’s America 2024. At least the cartoonists have been well fed.

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But The Dark Humour Of The USA Was Suddenly Eclipsed By Israel’s Surprise Tech Tactic 

Intercepting shipments of terrorist bulk orders for walkie talkies, pagers and other devices, loading them with small explosive charges that can be set off by remote signal,  and pressing the button on Lebanon-based terrorists was as unexpected as it was unusual. It certainly was for the Hezbollah mob. The Israeli’s have done this before with individual phones, but every jewish businessman knows wholesale is the way to go. Some innocent people – if there is such a person on either side in the medieval middle east – died in the scattered small explosions. Unforgivably, this included a number of children.  But it seem social media certainly approved of the terrorists getting a bit of their own. Photoshoppers, cartoonists and tweeters had a field day. Including Spooner in the Oz.

And this one sums the exact effect the IDF was aiming for. Mental health in this region has always been a maybe thing, but this is likely to drive the entire population up the wall.

And there was this. You know you shouldn’t laugh but you will. The punchline is rubbing salt into the ummm … rectum.

(Hope the link works for you, there has been some dispute about ownership of this little masterpiece.)

……..

That’s it for the week. Keep an eye on comments, we’ll see if we can get any intel on tomorrow parking meter meeting. Meanwhile, comments are alive and kicking … mostly kicking … your welcome to lace up the bovver boots and join in, it is, as always and ever, free. The Donation button to assist with much needed costs for this weekly ad-free site is below.