Well, if the Astonisher is to be believed (always a question), our mayor said her colleagues were ‘shitting themselves’ over the Belcarra political donation reforms… only problem is, she said no such thing (although they probably are). Enjoy a rare moment when The Magpie goes in to bat for our mayor.
Premier Alphabet brings her campaign circus to town, but there’s only some very unfunny clowns and nothing with teeth, just lots of the usual shoddy party tricks.
…and at the risk of mocking the afflicted, The Magpie calls on local raver Peter Newey of the Townsville Residents and Ratepayers Association to do the honourable thing. He’s really entered dangerous territory this week.
Also, The ‘Pie reckons he’s found the most appropriate company to get the naming rights for the new stadium.
All that and more, but first …
Memo Nick Kyrios: Yes, Redemption Is Possible
The tennis twerp they call the New Elliot Ness because he’s busted as many racquets than the legendary lawman, should turn his eyes to England for a life coaching lesson.
Bentley says it all …
The Bulletin’s Low Blow A Click Bait Fail
When anyone in public life uses naughty words, it’s certainly noteworthy. The outrage industry has a picnic day. So if Ministerial misfit Matt Canavan can describe a responsible decision by a responsible company board as ‘weak as piss’, lots of finger wagging naturally follows. So what are to make of this?
Now while the sentiment may be correct, the Bulletin is just being deliberately dishonest here. Because the mayor didn’t say any such thing when discussing the effect on the council of the state government’s ban on developers’ political donations. But you have to actually get to the story to discover this. And to get to the story, you have to be a subscriber. So if you’re not – and most aren’t- you are left believing Mayor Mullet was using language of the sort that her blue-rinse support base would find offensive – a very important matter in her current panicked election campaign.
What makes this even more snide and dishonest is who actually did make the comment to the Bulletin. Right at the end of the story, we learn that it was one of her most dedicated critics, , having a bit of a moan about the council’s approval processes.
In a nutshell, the Astonisher story was a campaign puff piece for the mayor who is trying to blame the state government for the piss-poor performance of her own making at the TCC. What the story said was: Cr Hill said the implementation of the Belcarra recommendations had negatively impacted council decision-making. She said the State Government had also gone above and beyond the CCC’s recommendation. “Council’s aren’t prepared to take risks any more because they’re never sure whether or not they cross the line in the legislation,” Cr Hill said. “Because a lot of this legislation hasn’t been tested and no one wants to be the first councillor to test the legislation.”
So, clearly a big blow for those who have invested in brown paper bag futures.
And as we troll through further, there’s a whole load of self-justification from Lozza Lancini, and Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe comes close to a frank admission that the developer ban is a tit-for-tat for actual or proposed bans on unions’ financial support for Labor when he said” “State Government has a strong view that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.” Then, right at the end, we read: Parkside Development director Peter Tapiolas agreed with Mr Lancini and said the Belcarra laws had made the council “s**t scared”. “They are s**t-scared of making any decision, so frightened, that they don’t make any decisions because it’s so strictly administered and looked at and retrospectively looked at,” he said.
So it turns out that it was developer and dedicated Mullet foe Peter Tapiloas who contributed the phrase which the paper so cynically credits to the woman he so vehemently and publicly criticises. Piss poor effort, Astonisher – you lot obviously still think ethics is a county in England.
Hey, perhaps iditor Jenna Cairney can expect to forced to put a dainty footsie on the fabled mayoral mat, the Mullet’s place for dressing down enablers and miscreants.
Which reminds us …
…the mayor’s bullying boast last week was that she was going to put a couple of charities ‘on the mat’ because they ‘enabled’ the homeless to stay that way by giving them to a feed now and then, and thus stay out of homes they don’t have anywaySo what was the outcome of this highly publicised threat of carpeting?
Not a dicky bird … straight through to the keeper.
The ‘Pie’s bet is that our mayor, startled by the outcry this bit of bombastic overreach created, retreated to the darker interior of her Walker Street bat cave and hung upside for a while so her tears of rage at being so ‘misunderstood and misreported’ didn’t fall on her latest Best and Less frock. Of course, if anyone inquires – we again await the tough questioning Townsville Bulletin for this – we won’t be allowed to know who was carpeted and with what outcome because it will be ‘connivance in confidence.’
Anna’s Technicolor Dream Circus Drops By Briefly
In what can only be described as one of the greatest rorts of this current government, Anna Palaszczuk used public money to crank up her own re-election campaign by having Queensland Parliament spent a pointless week sitting in Townsville, a city she fruitlessly hopes will not soon be the home of three ex-Labor MPs. This insulting ‘pat-on-the-head’ caravanserai was staged on the condescending and spurious grounds that it was a show of caring for the regions. But the very first day set the tone. Sure it was expected that since her government stumped up so much dough, she would tour the problem-beset stadium site, hard hat on head and JT in hand.
A digression: Here, The ‘Pie tried to inject a note the merriment by suggesting the most suitable company to get naming rights for the trouble plagued project.
But back to Anna, we also hoped for some solid breakthrough moves to ease our chronic community problems of crime and unemployment. So what did we get? First the jaw dropping news that the 53 extra coppers promised as an election plank two years ago to confront our tsunami of youth crime, was to be ‘fast-tracked’.
… in a triumph of bureaucratic alacrity, the extra boys in blue will be here AT THE END OF NEXT YEAR. That would be AFTER the next state election.
But the most galling bit of patronisation was straight out of Mayor Mullet’s lithium battery factory playbook.
Hydrogen industry? That seems to have appeared from nowhere, and says absolutely nothing for any medium term – let alone short term – help for a city dying on its feet.
Honestly, this takes some beating. The ‘Pie has never read such tosh in this newspaper ever. The qualifiers are mind boggling … ‘high on the list’, ‘potential investors’, (none named) ‘potential export hub’, and the bit about having access to the necessary water for such a water reliant industry makes one wonder just what dimension you people live in.
Reminds one of the battery factory – same old pig in a new prom gown. But there was a sort of loopy aptness for the story, though, when Mr Google tells us hydrogen is the lightest of gases, so highly suitable for sending up some balloons. Indeed, the serious description of hydrogen sums up this dishonest, cruel and crude bullshit when we learn that hydrogen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, highly combustible gas.
In other words, it has all the properties that a kite-flying premier could ask for. And most of the properties of the average politician. Particularly tasteless.
Here’s a Reality Check If The Premier Would Care To Note
All that a day or so after we read this.
But all the while, what do we get from the Bulletin.
This paper has a lot to answer for.
Speaking Of Nasty Jokes
There’s been a lot of hanky wringing from both sides over the government’s intended deportation of a Tamil family, whose claim for refugee status has been knocked back by a series of courts. Someone in charge of page layout of news columns and advertising spots down at the Sydney Morning Herald appears to have a warped – and biased – sense of humour.
Bats In The Belfry Can Sometimes Be Expensive Pets
As can kangaroos loose in the top paddock.
Peter Newey
The latest post on Peter Newey’s Facebook page raises some very serious about questions the poor old coot’s mental wellbeing. There is nothing new in the foam-flecked rant about reds under the beds (for instance, the planned equestrian centre for the northern beaches is secretly planned to be a ‘gated Chinese community of CCCC-approved residents’) but the screech level has been upped to a dangerous degree. Pete trawls over well trodden and now tedious territory of previous Facebook posts, but this time around, is desperation to garner some sort of relevance and recognition (memo Pete: The Magpie blog is about as good as your going to get on that score) he now directly names people he accuses of specific crimes, without offering a single shred of tangible or even circumstantial evidence. These include Warwick Powell, in charge of getting the appropriate approvals for the equestrian centre on behalf of the project’s Asian backers – Newey says Powell organised arson attacks in the Bluewater area to somehow further the project. He also makes a non-specific charge of unscrupulous and dishonest conflicts of interest against a named member of the TEL board, and similar broad brush smears of ‘secret deals’ and ‘corruption’ against the mayor and a councillor, as well as the state government.
Here’s a list of names who may find the post interesting reading, but not all have been directly defamed, Pete just loves throwing in a few names in the hope of boosting the dwindling interest in his ramblings.:
Warwick Powell
Patricia O’Callaghan
Jenny Hill
Sandra Harding
Kevin Gill
Michael Cossens (Rural Fire Brigade)
Moya Steele (TEL board)
Jackie Trad
Michael Keir
Clr Margie Ryder
The Magpie most certainly will not be posting or linking his sad gabbling FB maunderings, because that would make this blog just as culpable as a third party to defamation. And defamation it undoubtedly is, unless poor old Pete has got some sort of actual evidence of what he alleges.
So here is where Peter Newey should do the honourable and decent thing.
Pete, you may be cavalier about your own exposure to civil legal action, but you should be honest enough to ditch the title Townsville Residents and Ratepayers Association (TRRA). You should have the decency and responsibility to make it clear that the site on which you regularly bark at clouds is your own loopy and dangerous one-man-band. Your ravings if they are in fact noted anywhere (doubtful) are detrimental to Townsville generally, but they most certainly do not represent those of the general population of ‘ratepayers and residents’. Be a man and just call it Peter Newey’s Lost Plot Page.’
But Wait Pete, There’s More …
There’s another two crucial reasons you should cease and desist with the TRRA name … Your oft-mentioned boast that you can’t be sued because you have no money or assets is a thoughtless and silly thing to put out in public. Why? Because although TRRA members are dropping off the site like fleas of a swimming dog, if it happens that they have any paid up membership or other legal affiliation with the site, or indeed just re-post your claims, they could be equally liable for what you post. And that would be a great concern for those who own property and have assets and cash. Deliberately fucking yourself over as some sort of inverted ego trip is one thing, knowingly doing so to others is unforgivable.
And that leads us into the second and far more serious matter, as succinctly summed up by one Nester who said of your latest post …”
‘Yet another crazy round of invective, vilification and contrivance. However, words are not without consequences both in terms of how others view the city and its merits as an investment destination, as well as the potential risk to the personal safety and well-being of those he names. His I’ll-informed and slanderous characterisation of all sorts of people raises concerns about the extent to which his conduct is straight-down-the-line cyber bullying and incitement. Anyone linking to his diatribe or reposting it are at real risk of action. His lack of material assets is presently his only defence on a “civil front” but it won’t protect him on a criminal front … that’s what cyber bullying is.”
It is with genuine concern for Mr Newey that The ‘Pie again falls back that great parliamentary quote from Robert Menzies: The tour of the honourable gentleman’s mind would’ve been far more enlightening had it not been conducted in the gathering darkness.’
Now OverseasAnd , An Update On Brexit
And Across The Atlantic, The Chosen One Pulls A Swifty With A Sharpie …
Much of the week was given over to what we have wondered in the previous 150 weeks.
Trump’s New Book about to be released: The Art Of The Feel.
When the President tried to cover up (yet another) fucked-up fact regarding the path of the latest hurricane, he did so by making alterations with a marker pen, which Americans refer to by the popular brand name Sharpie. This started an avalanche of social media Sharpie send-ups, and cartoonists had a field day.
And some on social media are still remembering his boast of being The Chosen One … but the phrase has resulted in the inevitable ‘What would Jesus do?’ Some gave this answer.
……………
So … we’ve all survived another week of holding insanity at bay, you can let of steam in the comments section, always good for a hoot. And if you give a hoot for the Magpie’s Nest, your support with a few dollars would be greatly appreciated, the Donate Button is below.
After reading about the potential goldmine I was sitting on in the bully, I engaged messers Taylor and Byrne, property valuers, to value my trove. Alas, I was to discover that the property values have officially dropped 30% in the past 10 years according to their numbers and the report shows a “low confidence” of improving in the near future. Just goes to show that the two remaining believable items in the bulletin are the date and the price.
Don’t know about that last sentence … the Townsville Bulletin is the paper that has actually got the date wrong on three issues in the past few years. And the price is a moveable feast, too.
Waiting patiently…And you needed a property valuer to tell you that ?
I was so sure that the bulletin was telling me the truth about my property values, and that nasty ABC was fear mongering. I’m truly shattered.
The Mullet attracted attention in the Courier Mail on Saturday 7/9/19. In the George Street Beat column there was an article entitled “WHERE’S JENNY?”
For those that missed it I quote”
”Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (above) and Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill were once as thick as thieves.
But it appears Jenny’s head-nodding services at the Premier’s press conferences were deemed surplus to requirements this week.
It was a conspicuous absence made all the more curious coming after the mayor’s comments about dastardly do-gooders feeding the city’s homeless and “encouraging” them to sleep rough.”
Looks like our Mayor is on the nose everywhere. Even her best mates have dropped her.
Actually, you have that back to front, because in the Virtual Unreality of Jennyworld, she possibly wanted minimum exposure with her erstwhile pal because Jenny doesn’t realise just how deeply she is in the electoral shit, and guesses (rightly) that pal Anna is accelerating towards the cliff edge … and Mayor Mullet doesn’t want to be Thelma to her Louise. On the other hand, it may have been Premier Alphabet’s minders who decided to sideline the mayor. Either way, on the honker big time.
I see Lancini’s reading of the Townsville economy has spiked the predictable response of civic leaders “talking up the city”. It’s an Astonisher article so I can’t read it, won’t bother providing the link, as an aside I’ve noticed everything they publish is premium now and it will be a very cold day in hell before I give that rag a $ of my money.
But back on the economy, there’s a fine line between being overly negative and telling it like it is. If these so called “civic leaders” keep donning the rose coloured glasses and refuse to acknowledge how bad things are they aren’t going to improve anytime soon.
And as far as these things go, you can pull all the statistics on employment and investment you like, the real measure is property and it’s been in decline for over a decade now.
Why the ABC decided to run with it this week I don’t know, maybe because state parliament was in town, but any casual observer of our market can tell you it’s been moving backwards for a long time.
Personally I thought I bought into the bottom of the market back in 2011, how foolish I was. I’m now stuck because I can’t afford to take the loss I would incur if I sold my property, valuers and estate agents tell me it would be around $100k less than I paid.
This isn’t the sign of a healthy economy by any means, look at all the hand wringing over small % movements in capital city house prices. If Sydney property had dropped 25% in 8 years I’m sure we wouldn’t be thinking how wonderful it was.
So very true, price will always effect demand and the level of wealth to pay for that demand, and Townsville has neither, a shrinking population with more leaving than arriving, that is compounded by the fact that most who are leaving are those who have the $$ this town needs to thrive, so what’s left is a growing population of paupers and those on the margin just struggling to survive, who wants to be part of that.
It’s not rocket science, we don’t need lobster farms, battery factories or any of the other multi decade brain farts that they think we will be conned by, but that is all Jenny Hill has got, bullshit and spin, and nothing in this town will change whilst she is Mayor.
Careful Cranky, you’ll upset NMD.
Dutchy, the ramblings of Cantankerous about Townsville’s ” . . . shrinking population with more leaving than arriving . . “, come without a skerrick of evidence – although there was a national Census with pretty dodgy compliance and all sorts of technical difficulties if I remember correctly. News that the official voter population of the seat of Herbert increased from 104,815 in 2016 to 108,434 in 2019 have been dismissed by Cranky with apoplexy so I won’t be going there. The next population count will come when the rolls close for the 2020 Local Government elections.
As mentioned previously, Townsville current I(latest stat) is 194,000 and growing at a spectacular ….0.6%.
Spot on Pie, 0.6% tops, and that is not enough to even cover the births v deaths gap, about 200 short actually, we are going backwards. That number is also compounded when you add in that Townsville has received no migration gain over the last few years of which Townsville should be receiving just over 2000 per year on average, but we are getting zero, a very sad state of affairs. ,
‘Pie, not being pedantic but is there some sort of typo in your last? Townsville population 94,000 doesn’t look right.
Makes one wonder where the one has wandered to. Fixed, thanks.
Not as good as the (7 or 9, can’t remember which) TV reporter last night – and their graphic artist – in the story about the missing helicopter off the NSW coast, lost, we are told, in water that is 30kms deep.
NMD, the electoral roll is a pretty poor substitute, a proportion of that increase relates to existing residents inside the electorate becoming of voting age, or at least enrolling for the first time.
Media release prior to the election confirmed an increase in enrolments.
https://www.aec.gov.au/media/media-releases/2019/04-23.htm
The stats in Queensland were an increase from 93.8% to 95.2% of voters enrolled, that would be around half the increase you are showing, with no actual change in the population.
What this also fails to account for is other movement in and out of the electorate.
But regardless, if the population is on the upswing they sure as hell aren’t causing a massive change in demand for property either in the Herbert electorate or Townsville region as a whole.
Cranky and Scientitian etc, so we agree that the population of Townsville is increasing very slightly. Maybe young and old, maybe 0.6%, maybe new enrolments etc. But we agree that it is increasing. Therefore, can we stop fucking arguing that it is decreasing? Whatever source Cranky is using for his info is wrong. Just stop it.
Thought it was TEL’s job to promote and “talk up the city”
Ah…Belcarra… such a shame. It doesn’t go far enough IMO.
Let’s be honest Jennay.. the kind of risks that council has been taking are the kind that require significant oversight. And the kind of decisions council makes require scrutinizing.
It’s far better you stop that shit and just run council in the best interests of the city and the community… you know… like you’re supposed to. Instead of all this dodgy pocket lining, jobs for the boys, brown paper bag deals, bully boy tactics you’ve been doing for so long.
Another good blog Pie . Attacking people on social media by a few usual subjects needs to be outed and by the social media they use . Aaron Harpers facebook post after Labor learnt that many local business people (he says developers) went to an LNP fundraiser last week was “If you lay down with dogs you get fleas ” and that he will feel dirty shaking hands with the “so called ” at future functions . No link provided as i suggest Aaron will be pulled into line and the post deleted . Are you kidding Aaron, your electorate has the highest crime rate , the highest unemployed delivering some of the highest drops in real estate values . Yesterday Aaron posted comments about Shari Tagliabues Saturday feature and Shari returned serve with a few home truths about promises Labor has failed to deliver . So in summary Comrade Aaron wants to dictate which Political party business talks to and what the media says . Aaron is such a supporter of free speech any negative comments are deleted on his facebook . As they say Aaron, every Dog has their day .
Astoundingly juvenile and demonstrates not only poor cognitive skills, but Labor’s delusional ignoring of reality. And our Aaron isn’t too hot on ‘rithmetic, either … ‘investing billions’? Billions, Aaron.List please.
This is why Aaron only plays in the late groups on Sundays at rowes bay golf club as to avoid being in between too many voters. Also the fact that nobody wants to play alongside him either. He thinks hes king shit. I feel sorry for David in the pro shop having to talk with him without alot of people around before tee off. I see him in the bush alot looking for his ball, I hope a snake dosnt bite him, it would be slow and painful death for the snake!!
David is far too nice of a bloke to say anything, but neither is David a dill, just in case Harpic tries to indoctrinate him. BTW nice big 7 foot black living in the scrub just off the 3rd. Saw him the other day, as expected slithered off, but now we’re into breeding season, may not be so accomodating for a couple of months. Does Harpic hook or slice?
And he should feel at home around 12/13 holes, that’s where the geese gather. Meet Magpie mates Donald and Melania, come flying when I clap my hands, they get a slice of bread every day but still hiss and carry on … so Harpic will be at home with the hissing, he probably couldn’t even say boo to a goose.
It’s hard to tell if he slices or hooks. I have have a draw!! It always is towards trees no matter what side unfortunately. I’m sure he has a good putting stroke because he’s always got his hands around the club at home all be it a smaller version. I’m calling the mayor to dob you in for cruelty to animals with the gease. Not point calling RSPCA Jenny already put them on “the mat”.
Positive this guy doesn’t actually want to be reelected……
Also funny to see that one of Harper’s cheer squad was one Shaun Newman who “wouldn’t subscribe to the Bulletin if it was the last paper on earth”. That wouldn’t be the same Shaun Newman of Deeragun whose missives were until recently a quite regular fixture in Letters to the Editor?
I attended the ‘feeding time at the zoo’ last Thursday – AKA our State Parliament’s visit to Townsville. Question time went for an hour, the insults were flying, the speaker told MPs to behave – it was all politics as theatre.
The local school children were coming and going in 5-minute increments. Even they looked bored, but they couldn’t get out their smartphones to fire up Facebook as no phones were allowed inside.
It was an education for sure, especially when Anna Alphabet pointed out that the LNP side of the house, did not ask ONE question in regarding anything to do with Townsville.
So – was it a waste of taxpayer’s money? Nah, it gave me a good laugh for the price of the ferry fare from Maggie Island. Oh, and my other half bought me lunch in the Casino. Result!
Fake news? If you’re going to lie, make sure you didn’t root the cameraman’s girlfriend last night.
https://www.flixxy.com/fake-news-on-the-weather-channel.htm#.XXRW7q23XZQ.gmail
You can add upkeep of council roads to crime, unemployment and real estate values.
At a time when Jennny has handed over millions of ratepayers funds to the V8 Superpests to prop up their dwindling crowd numbers and keep them in town so rev heads like the Mullet can get their snouts in the trough in a corporate area, potholes get deeper and deeper all over town. One close to my place has been a traffic hazard for more than two months and has had hazard posts around it for three weeks, to prevent small cars disappearing into the caverty. Don’t start me on how much we’re paying to get aging Elton to Townsville to open Lancini Stadium.
If only Olive Scott Young was still about to sit in the pothole to make the council take notice
So heartened to see comment on that TRRA site and I hope it is ok to speak up here on this ( first time poster). Frankly after finding it deep in my own facebook recently (I cant even recall when I liked it?) I unfollowed it with alicrity after reading some of the absolute bollocks posted there
I was particularly shocked by the slurs about Moya Steele and Mick Keir since you don’t have to ask too far around the business halls of town to know how untrue they are. Many outside that may not know they both stood up to your favourite legal friend when he cut and ran from the firm he sold his old S&T too and are cut from very different cloth to that guy. And that when Kellie Keir (Michaels wife) was given a tragic terminal cancer diagnosis, it was Moya Steele who stepped in and stepped up to run the local office of the statewide Macdonells on her own during the toughest economic climate we had seen in years so he could be with his family (blocking the big firm from closing the TSV arm down in his absence). Even more recently in a time when many others wouldn’t touch us, these two actually INVESTED ( god forbid!) in our town and opened their own firm here again keeping many local people in work. Even more – I hear they have recently invested again to keep an Ingham law firm (Spina Kyle Waldon) and its staff going when Jason Waldon needed some help of his own due to medical issues that may have risked the business continuing to operate.
One would think both of these people could have taken the easy path down south like many others and a Brisbane paycheque, and yet here they are doing what many of those in power fear to do – putting themselves out there. And doing so quietly. Moya Steele in particular is respected as a straight shooter by many political persuasions and she’s no dope either as far as I can tell. Even the mighty Lozza listens to her and has done so for many years.
Any person with a semblance of sense would have to see that the conspiracy TRRA claims to have exclusively uncovered is simply impossible in this day and age wouldn’t they? I mean Trad cant even by a house without being found out and this guy thinks he’s exposed that the Chinese communist party has worked through intermediaries and with Jenny Hill over 20 years to secretly try to move to Toolakeah (of all places….) under the cover of a resort and everyone involved has kept quiet about it including coverup by every corruption watchdog and media outlet in the country??
Check, Unfollow and unfriend good people. This TRRA site is not worthy of OUR name or to rely on forgotten likes to say he speaks for us.
I know Mick Keir and I totally agree with T.MistIFID’s opinion of him.
You’ve got to wonder about the integrity of the CCC haven’t ya. Mayor Mullet and TCC (nothing to see here). Jackie Trad purchase of Gabba property, sorry, her husband, went to get milk I think. (nothing to see here). Very apt they are call Crime & Corruption Commission, Criminal and Corrupt themselves.
Absolutely,the whole thing is f&@$ing beyond a joke!
Why would anyone with even half a brain want to demolish one of the few pieces of great architecture this town has, the Townsville Courts of Law building , one of the few genuine recognisable buildings Townsville has and one of the few examples of brutalist architecture in the North . It was only last year it won the National Award for Enduring Architecture at the 2018 National Architecture awards, it is a wonderful building, if the lawyers and judges don’t like it then piss them off somewhere else and get someone who appreciates the building to move in.
Hear, hear, fully agree, leave this building stand.
Why not build a new Courts Annexe building on the adjacent vacant state government reserve land and refurbish the existing building interior to overcome the short comings of the existing Townsville Court building. Just seems a logical solution.
Cbh,
You have got to be joking or on drugs! The Tsv law courts building is a soulless concrete lump designed by someone toilet trained at gunpoint.
The truly beauiteful buildings of Townsville that identified the place from anywhere else in the world were demolished or neglected to death in the 1970s or thereabouts. Remember Buchanan’s Hotel, or howabout the old council chambers in Flinders St. Shops at ground level included Lucky Harold Phillips. Sold a great range of pipe tobacco and snuff. The original court house on the hill in Nth Ward. Not sure, but understand heritage listed. Easy, do nothing, deros move in and eventually place burned to the ground. Problem solved. Once Townsville had a built environment of colonial charm and suggesting optimism, a foundation upon which to grow with an identity.
And what have we got now? Developer instigated destruction of all that is ‘old’ replaced with the likes of North Town and the bloody Law Courts.
Clearly Cbh, you are a new arrival to this town, therefore I cannot criticise you ignorance of what achatectural heritage we once had and is now lost!
Law Courts building, strewth, it is there now. Leave it there if we have to, or improve by knocking it down and planting a gum tree.
And the Buchanan’s Hotel site remains vacant 44 years on. Bloody marvellous!
You forgot a major voter base for the ALP, the crims, they don’t like it either.
Another set of buildings you may not have noticed are set to rot away out at Pallarenda. What used to be the regional HQ of the state Dept of Environment and Heritage and, a long time previously, the Quarantine Station (at the very end of the Pallarenda road) is now standing empty with the tattered remnants of a once productive staff now located in the Verde building in the CBD. Those beautiful colonial Queenslanders were originally erected about 1886 at West Point on the Island and later transferred to the mainland during WW1. It’s a worry that the state government does not have a plan for the buildings which must be about as ‘heritage’ as you can get in Townsville.
Yes. The Army’s 4 Camp Hospital was located there before it eventually moved to Lavarack Barracks.
Mick Keir is an Honourable Man from Fine Local Breeding Stock
Ha ha ha Aaron. What a buffoon! “Billions invested in Townsville”!!! Really? Billions of what; Venezuela dollars??? Hopefully next time he is playing 12 holes at night time one of those big arse sinkholes opens up and swallows him whole…..muppet
Sometimes I actually think Harper is mentally ill. Either that or he lives in a methane bubble.
I see Lambie is making her presence felt in the Senate. First, she was going to back the drug testing trials for welfare recipients, now she’s not.
Next, she has decided she will support the “Ensuring Integrity Bill,” unless Setka resigns. If he resigns she will withdraw her support for the Bill
I just hope the Government can get support from the rest of the cross bench, thereby effectively silencing the lamb.
‘ …silencing the lamb.’ Your a budding headline writer, tomorrowman.
Today is the tomorrow you thought about yesterday ‘Monday’!
And this is the blog you lot will think about how you used to have comments published, if you keep this up. Wouldn’t mind if any of you had an inkling about existentialism, then we could broaden the boredom.
Where’s your sense of humour gone Musta Pie? Pluck off………
My dear Plucka, you have misread the instructions pertaining to this blog. YOU are the one that must ‘pluck off’ if you do not agree with The ‘Pie that you sometimes indulge in tedious juvenalia. Hey, Pete Newey’s short of a few readers, maybe you could chum up and get him slapping his thigh. Make a change from his readers (both of them) slapping their foreheads.
Pie, it wasn’t me who roused – can folks hack us, or post using our moniker???
Many moons ago, years in fact, we started a code system to stop that very issue. Some still use it. Simple: preface your comment with your own chosen code – i.e bob 10 or S40 or whatever) , known only to you and then The Magpie. The ‘Pie will then delete the code before publication so only The ‘Pie and the commenter know it, but in this way, The ‘Pie will know it came from you and not an imposter. Also ensures you can’t wimp out sand say it wasn’t you.
EXISTENTIALISM. Yep, know all about it.
A feature of a very useful sort of ladder, advertised on late night TV.
“Call now, buy one now, get one free!”
Yep, I know all about existentialism!
Found the word in the small print on my bottle of little blue pills.
I am a fan of existentialism.
While I enjoyed your article re that mendacious prick Peter Newey you have failed to mention the role his mate, enabler and user Cameron Richards plays in all this bullshit. This ( Bluewater/Olera Ck) is a case study of cyberbulling of the first order enhanced by a manipulator with a laptop in a coffee shop on the Gold Coast.
I suspect the reason behind Newey’s dedication to the erroneous and absurd is for a tilt at Council, “any publicity is good publicity”, time will tell I suppose, meanwhile all the public will remember is a name and someone interested in local politics, yeah he’ll do, pub open yet?
Can’t wait to see him go for council considering how well his ghost campaign mate Paul Jacob went. Promised the world but all we got was a chance to not vote him in to state politics and he kerps his 100k job to try out. Look at his legacy in nth beaches, new fucked up roundabout on my low parkway ( more accidents now then before) one bike path, a skate park for try Get up kids and the closure of the Jensen tip. With that resume how can he loose?? have a go peter your in with a chance
Sorry for typo, should have read, “the druged up kids” not get up.
Is that referring to poor parenting, who drug up their kids real bad (as in ‘look at what the cat just drug in’), or did you mean drugged up kids?
Lord help us if this is the only type of candidate the city can drag in I mean, this guy thinks its ok to slander the reputation of an adult female business person with smutty comments merely because she was seen having a few coffees in a public place! Seriously? that would be called a business meeting if two blokes did it wourldnt it? And don’t get me started on why this region doesn’t need more division and the racism this site trolls on about…
Ahem … The Magpie will assume when you say ‘this site’, you mean Mr Newey’s site, don’t you, not the Magpie?
Absolutely that site I no longer wish to name, not this one!
Peter Newey standing for Council. That would be ‘electrifying’ and a bit numbing.
Most likely the plan for toolakea is to burn the trees/ vegetation down and build yet another vast housing estate. It’s the story of Townsville.
The plans for Toolakeah are easily found. It’s an Equestrian centre, stables and a country club. See the State Coordinators generals website: https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/coordinator-general/assessments-and-approvals/coordinated-projects/current-projects/north-qld-country-club-resort-and-equestrian-centre.html
I read that site as they will be going through the same process as Adani to get approved at state and federal level, which is what makes the TRRA’s position on it so crazy – this is the most assessed, most consulted and most public process a project can go through in this state. We should all be crossing our fingers they have the patience to keep going and do something for the region, frankly if that’s the hill they have to climb, not slagging them off!
Just dug up some interesting info about the troubled Bank Nightclub.
Reliable information is that the rent on the Bank nightclub was an eye watering $320k..plus outgoings..
The nightclub model is fucked..the Bank worked 2 nights from midnight till 3am….and turned over some numbers on a Tuesday with cheap drinks and no net profit…
The ‘Pie’s deep throat asks, could anyone make that work?
The thing about all Flinders Street East club and pub spivs (with rare exceptions a truly unsavoury lot) is that rip-offs are passed on down the line, with the end user often too pissed to notice the gouging and sometimes – quite often actually – outright theft. But The ‘Pie has little sympathy for anyone involved in any way with the chew’n’spew culture of Via Voimitorium.
Hey, hang about … is this some sort of treason?
The situation: Meghan Markle, a marginally attractive B grade actress who struck the mother-load by marrying Prince Harry and now an English duchess, in New York rooting for (in the yankee sense) her pal, the boring temperamental Williams woman at the US Open. Williams is of course, an American. The Palace must be puce with rage …. a duchess who may one day be the first lady of whatever is left of Great Britain and the commonwealth supporting an American? Bad enough, BUT AGAINST A CANADIAN??? Last we heard, Canada was part of the Commonwealth and still tugs the forelock to Meghan’s granny-in-law. No pass mark for Markle then … it would be like Prince Harry cheering Steve Smith, or his brother, the chubby fingered Prince Andrew, signing a petition in favour of hanging pedophiles.
Er?…..
That’s Jaquie Lambie.
Where’s the kid? Is this the first case of Helicopter Parenting via carbon offsets?
What?
Was Harry left holding the baby? Helicoptering (now jetsetting?) parenting, basically, drop, and go, back later. Oops sorry darling, almost forgot, kissy kissy, bye.
Also Harry and Meaghan justify their frequent jetsetting by claiming carbon offsets. If they are so concerned about the bloody environment stay home and spend these bullshit credits on less frivolous pursuits.
Hi Pie, So this propaganda just landed in my letterbox
This photo made me angry as I was one of the about 50 people that got made redundant from Phosphate hill where this photo was taken during a so called restructure.
This included the entire maintance team that included myself only to be replaced by contractors.
I would assume that Mr Stewart did not know about this.
Phuk knows what they are pointing at.
Dooly, they are pointing to a big steaming mound of political BS. A massive pile that Mayor Mullet, Nanna Anna and Treacherous Trad have been laying.
Private Cupcake has just spotted Jackie Trad buying another property, or it could be Jamie Durie landing in his AEC sponsored helicopter.
Perhaps he’s pointing at at the spot where he left his gonads.
I looked at the TRRA Facebook page once (or four times) and it was too sensationalised and hard to read for my old eyes. Why don’t the defamed people simply take him to task legally and shut his damn site down for good? By the way, like anything in life if you’ve been around long enough, some of the names being defended by other readers, I’ve seen their ‘bad’ sides as well. Make no mistake about that. They’re not all angels.
The ‘Pie takes some responsibility for this whole hoo-ha … and giving oxygen to a dying site run by a sad old codger who has turned vindictive. But operating under the name Peter employs is the nub of The ‘Pie’s objections to his public moon howling. There are no doubt dozens of other sites floating around with similar toxic and unsupported tripe going around, but no one cares about them because they don’t falsely purport to represent the views of a group they clearly don’t represent. The’Pie is now in possession of further reliable information which seems to make Mr Newey and some of his urgers complete hypocrites. Will be working out what to do with the information, probably save it for the blog next weekend … gosh, hope the Bulletin doesn’t scoop us!
Looks like you can add your name to that trra list in your blog now.
Why, has Pete spat the dummy?
Oh, crikey, have now had a look, and crumbs, have I been told!!! And talk about an eye-opener … Pete’s site grandly tells us his site has been visited by ‘tens of thousands of visitors in the past few months’, which is pretty good for a site with 4000+ followers, but sadly, an educated guess would make about 98% of those visits if they actually existed would be from lawyers.
Just for the record, The Magpie does not intend to keep giving Pete a platform for his mental meananderings until next weekend, when he will clearly demonstrate his utter venal hypocrisy and a look at a couple of his puppet masters.
But more to the point, The ‘Pie has just posted this on his FB page.
Townsville Magpie
Published by Malcolm Magpie · Just now ·
Poor old coot Peter Newey, recording his wide-eyed panic under the name Townsville Residents and Ratepayers Association, claims that he posted his latest foam-flecked diatribe about The Magpie on this page, so people could compare his pristine words against my suspected selective editing, should anyone else want to lose five minutes they won’t ever get back and compare.
Let it be known nothing has been posted here by Mr Newey, nor has anything from him been edited or deleted. I am a tad ignorant how FB works, but haven’t seen anything, so imagine the poor old chap is having a nana-nap before creakily arising, pulling his plaid dressing gown about his pallid shanks, putting on his tartan slippers and tottering towards the keyboard.
We wait with bated breath.
There is no limit to the graft and cunning of the Mullet.
The management and payment of Jamie Durie’s fat fee (with ratepayers funds) for doing nothing has been handed over to a private company to avoid scrutiny.
Pure Projects must be in the Mullet’s bad books because the cover up job has been handed to another of her “preferred” business pals, Carey Ramm.
Don’t bother complaining to the CCC though. The Mullet is a protected species, until the next State election at least.
What we need now is a corruption inquiry into the CCC.
Looks like the Bulletin Editor has grown a spine. Today’s editorial is scathing of the Council’s latest machinations with the Durie contract.
Rather than good governance, I suspect that Jenny is trying to distance herself (read hide the truth) from this stinker of a project. Back in June Magpie correctly connected the dots and brought the truth about Durie’s debts, the lithium battery factory, Bill Moss and the Mayors patronisation. https://www.townsvillemagpie.com.au/uh-oh-hes-back-and-the-magpie-offers-a-possible-reason-for-jamie-duries-renewed-smashngrab-on-townsville-councils-coffers/
Jenny is obviously ridding herself of excess baggage as she moves towards the “election she deserves to win” (if you can believe Peter Lindsay). The next ploy will be more bread and circuses to distract the great unwashed. You’ll probably need a little more Manpower Jenny.
GREAT NEWS for those of you suffering Dynasty deprivation … Bridget Wong, co-owner with husband/chef Ming, tells The Magpie the grand old lady of the Townsville restaurant scene, Ming’s Dynasty Seafood Restaurant, will re-open tomorrow, after a fire forced it to close for the past two months.
A place of local legend, myth and many, many a long lunch has been sorely missed by its army of regular devotees, but we can all whack on the bib again from tomorrow.
And no, to smart arses, this isn’t a paid ad, love it or otherwise, Dynasty is part of the fabric of this city, where The ‘Pie has been dining for the past 30 years. It is also probably the oldest continually operating dining place in Townsville. And easily the best Chinese food in NQ.
Pie Agree 100% Took James Strong & the Flight Deck Manager (Named that at the Time ) to Dinner after a all day talk Fest The boss was amazed….
I see everyone on here is still warbling on about the next Mayoral Election when the really big election is to see who will be the next ChairPerson of the Cowboys now that Lozza Lancini has decided to call it a day. Looking at the current board does not bode well for the future of the Cowboys as none of them can stump up with a spare $1m each year to keep the cows on the paddock like Lozza has had to do regularly.
I hope Lozza has learnt a lesson from the Crocs – Carmichael handed the baton to Colbran – both of whom had deep pockets to top up the $$$ when needed as well as a genuine passion for the team. But as we know after Colbran it all went to shit when the seat warmers put their hands up without having the $$$ to back up their talk.
There are very few people in Townsville that have the skills, passion and most importantly the $$$ to take over from Lozza.
Mayors are two-a-penny but Cowboys Chairpersons aren’t.
Will it be Clive Palmer to the rescue?
The Dentist’ s wings and bank account have been well and truly clipped. Even before his misadventure it is doubtful he would have the $$$ in loose change required.
Webb is not in great health and doesn’t have a passion for the game – rarely do u see him at the game. His management style would be very interesting in almost a Tommy Raudonikis way – some knuckle sandwiches for those that don’t perform.
The Cowboys old guard of Goicoechea and Ramm have all done the ride into the sunset which is what Lozza is wanting. Regan is a maybe as he is still a big supporter. Ireland is watching the sunset also. Maybe Big Bazza Taylor will make a triumphant return?
Gleeson, Tapiolas are all busy hanging onto their investments in tough times and have not shown any interest in supporting the cowboys previously.
DalleCort could be an option as he is a passionate fan and has the $$$ but he seems to keep a low profile in town and this is hardly a low profile position especially when they sit at the bottom of the table.
TCC still support the Cowboys to the tune of $500k or more and if this were to disappear with a change of Mayor’s the finances of the Cowboys which are already doing it tough due to the poor local economy will take a further turn for the worst.
The Leagues Club provides $$$ support but this is unreliable as looking at its annual reports over the last 10 years shows big swings that are obviously due to management and the economy.
Most people don’t even know who is on the board – Sandra Harding from JCU, Kerry Boustead ex footballer, Steven Titmus who is Lozzas in-house lawyer, Joe Carey an accountant mate of Lozzas from Ingham, Cam Charlton from Cairns and Michael Gilbert is the Company Secretary. None of these have the $$$ or Lozzas ability to pick up the phone and twist sponsorship dollars.
Losing the Cowboys would be a disaster for the region in terms of not just profile but also confidence and liveability.
Chris Morris maybe???
Most likely we will end up with someone from Sydney moving in a year or 2 after Lozza leaves.
News Corpse redux?
What is Sandra Harding doing on that board – other than for the appearance money – believed to be $5-600 per meeting?
Down here at Melany at the moment. Seems the locals are not real impressed with a big mansion being built by Lozza. Looks like he got the plans from Webby.
My Sydney informant reckons Peter “Dentures” Beattie is trying to change the Australian Rughy League constitution to get Lozza Lancini a gig as an ARL commissioner before he stands down next year. Not that thete’s anything wrong with that but rival NRL clubs are unlikely to buy it. As for the Cowboys, the smiling dentist was odds-on to take over from Lozza until he had his wings clipped earlier this year.
My choice, if I had one, would be I Brad Webb. Heaps of cash, super smart businessman, and has friends in the right places.
Just hope they don’t get all gender equality conscious and go for a female. Strewth we could end up with the phantom JCU boss or worse still, Little Patty.
Is Belcarra shaking the apple tree still? Morton Shire Council’s CEO pulled the pin today. Add him to a growing list of local Government CEO’s and Counsillors and Mayors to either get shown the door or quit before they get punted. The interim CEO is a narcissist who was CEO at Gladstone Council and he served on a central Queensland hospital board and the Gladstone airport board, even though he lives in Redcliffe. Don’t forget Logan, Ipswich, grey clouds over the Gold Coast Council, and we haven’t even started on isolated Queensland Councils and of course the Mullets playground of Townsville. What a mess. What a bunch of buffoons, what incompetent muppets.
I bet Morton Council regrets the day they lost Ray Burton and Jenny wishes she never had him as CEO.
Townsville has won the licence to hold one of 6 events of a Worlds Veterans Tour for the sport of Table Tennis, and competitors representing 13 countries are converging on Townsville to start the competition today.
Yesterday, Townsville Stadium (Annandale) was transformed in preparation for the event, and the official opening ceremony had to be delayed for 20 minutes, due to the late arrival of, go on, have a guess………. Our Mayor Jenny Hill, being fashionably late for the umpteenth time for official events.
Fortunately, it did little to take any shine from the ceremony that did include a couple of World Table Tennis officials and a Welcome to Country ceremony performed at the end.
Rather than the separate State push for North Queensland, a better solution might be to reinstitute an upper House (Legislative Council) for Queensland.
If we had an upper house (abolished in Queensland in 1922) we would have the mechanism to review the government’s decisions. We wouldn’t have situations where governments can make decisions that favour themselves without fear of criticism.
Currently our house of review in this state is the press.
Time to keep the bastards honest.
Perhaps in an ideal world, but more politicians to solve the problem of backroom dealing politicians? How’s that gunna work?
In the same way as the Federal Senate shines the spotlight on the Federal Government.
I admit there is a lot of rat baggery in the Federal arena however a well structured upper house in Qld would ensure that we don’t have rule by fiat and Teflon coated politicians like we currently do especially with four year terms.
My issue with the Senate is that it really lacks muscle. I’ve seen countless Senate inquiries in which the Senators attempt to ‘keep the bastards honest’ by holding an inquiry was only met with obsfucation, stall tactics, and no worthy outcome. The Governemnt gets slapped with a wet lettuce leaf, if that, and all that is achieved is more tax dollars are wasted on a fruitless inquiry. All levels of Government are untouchable, thanks to a 100 + year Westminster system that has been built, designed and engineered to prevent accountability.
Indeed. Just ask Boris Johnson, who The ‘Pie is delighted to see rejoices in the blended acronym of BoJo. So apt. And of course, here in Oz, we have not only ScoMo but also AnAl and in the Senate, PaHa.
Re an upper house – the simple way is reduce the size of the lower house and pushing those numbers up to the upper house. There are 91 MLAs in total, so drop this to say 61 and create an upper house with 29 members elected across 8 regions. In effect the total number is reduced by 1.
That sounds feasible in terms of representation, but watch out for the howls of self-interest when claims of overwork and under representation of constituents start being hurled about … the buzz phrase would be ‘proportional representation.’And of course we can see the argument there … just look at the current and constant badgering and championing of Townsville constituents’ concerns and desires constantly presented to Brisbane parliament by Harpic, O’Rort and Cap’t Cupcake.
Senator Mullet?? bad enough she gets to inflict her misery and failure on the people of Townsville, imagine how she could completely screw an entire state, no thanks.
Pie, Cupcake is is fact a Private now – he has been rank busted several times for political incompetence and continually deferring to the Brisbane line, at the expense of his Townsville constituents.
The ‘Pie has referred your claim to the Dept of Alliteration and they confirm that he remains Capt Cupcake, until his dishonourable discharge late next year.
Who needs a senate? We’ve got Newey and Richards, and only for the cost of a few, alright a fair few, reputations.
No damage to any reputations, you have to be sane and respected to do any damage.
Who needs a senate to keep an eye the government? We’ve got Newey and Richards, and only for the cost of a few, alright a fair few, reputations.
I love the idea of Senator Mullet – at least she would be away from Townsville with less potential to directly stuff things up for the city, and as we have seen time and time again, adding “Senator” to the start of someone’s name means that they just go to sleep in their piles of cash.
Win, win!
As I have mentioned to you and many others in a paper I wrote some time ago, ‘Pie, the introduction of an upper house into the State of Queensland could be effected with little or no increase in the total number of parliamentary representatives, if there was sufficient will.
Wednesday, while it’s easy to write “abolished” in relation to the Queensland Upper House the fact is it took several years of manoeuvring, some shifty practices and a few shenanigans to get the politicians to vote themselves out of a job. Re-instating an upper house would be like asking current politicians to take a serious pay cut ‘in the community interest’ – a proposition that’s as likely as a new state of North Queensland. It ain’t gonna happen, no way!
NMD, the will I talk about in my reply to the ‘pie’s comment is not just aimed at pollies and their advisers, but at the voters who in their collective inertia in this town in particular and the State more generally are not interested in carrying out their side of the bargain in relation to democratic responsibility.
Aaron Harper is on his Facebook page singing his own praises over the installation of a security fence at Willows State School.
Several large shade trees at the entrance to the school were removed during the installation of the fence, which has caused a bit of an outcry amongst some of the parents.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Besides the school now looking like a detention centre, I find it somewhat ironic that one branch of government is telling farmers they can’t cut down trees while another is actively removing them from schools. I imagine if a farmer removed a grove of trees to put up a fence they would be prosecuted.
Classic opportunity for some bum polishers spin, who will no doubt claim that the trees had to go, because they could have been used by pedos to snatch some little snots as they tripped merrily homewards. Seriously, kids safety is paramount but shade and amenity are also important. New trees will grow but those removed looked well established and attractive and surely removing them was just a lazy option.
Pie, don’t forget the politicians like to quote ‘safety’. No doubt the tree branches were too heavy and had sharp pieces, borer holes were discovered in the root system, the leaves attract hornets, Magpies (furry type) might nest in the tree and attack the kiddies, Crows might shit on the kids and so the list goes on…….. At the end of the day it does now look like a prison. A beautiful shady tree has been removed and left a sterile bland piece of dirt. Another screw up to add to the list
Bore water might stain the fence…
Would have had fuck-all to do with Harper. Every State School in Queensland is going to eventually have the same fence around it. Cheaper than rebuilding the school after snots have burnt it down.
Sad to say that most buildings (public and private) around town probably need at least this level of fencing.
The guys over at ARC – this is their “Garrison” fence which is designed for high risk facilities – must be making a motza!
Highly unlikely, probably a southern contractor and the materials trucked in and not purchased from a local supplier. Would really like to know who did the fencing.
Did I read/hear that there are plans for a similar thing at Town High? They better leave those palm trees along Boundary Street. They were planted in memory of students who were killed in accidents.
Noel Walsh. Stephen White, Gordon Moore & Phillip Kwan. Always remembered.
It seems to be a News Corpse thing, a special kind of unthinking idiocy.
But it raises a big question of whether the paper could be hauled into court.
Fair enough story, should be reported, but like the Bulletin has in similar circumstances, the Courier then not only prints the sprayed slogans which the paper itself terms a ‘sickening attack’, it reinforces the anti-Muslim messages by putting up a photograph of the offending graffiti, which seems to mean the paper is happy to reproduce a’sickening attack’… so the question now is, if the people who sprayed the slogans are caught and charged with hate crimes for disseminating slogans against the relevant legislation, ISN’T THE PAPER GUILTY TOO, AND PERHAPS MORE SO BECAUSE OF THE MUCH LARGER AUDIENCE?
It is surely exactly the same as when someone on Facebook makes defamatory statements about someone and then others re-posting the defamatory statements: under current law, that makes the re-posters just as guilty as the first party.
WTF Aaron Harper, does some work and Chairs the inquiry into the closure of Earle Haven Nursing Home. Gets a mention at the bottom of this news article.
https://www.9news.com.au/health/earle-haven-ceo-sends-sick-note-to-qld-mps/6d35df1d-7268-4236-9aad-406bd591ea92
Gosh, the man’s a superman, how can he fit that in with all the work he’s doing for Townsville 24/7? BTW, don’t MPs get an extra $10,000 or more for such onerous extra duties. Roll on next October … after the dress rehearsal of next March.
Perhaps he was the only MP (still) doing nothing at the time of the appointment; or it’s indicative of just how much importance the Government is attaching to this shocking/disgusting situation.
People who live in bushfire danger zones around Townsville take note.
Local fire fighters have done a great job in protecting us from the bushfires in recent days, but yesterday Mayor Mullet decided to step in with her Disasterous Management Group. Last time that happened most of Idalia was awash with raw sewage.
Love him or hate him, Andrew Bolt has done a great service to Australia by interviewing the Liberal MP for Chisolm, Gladys Liu.
Liu’s poor memory, vague and evasive answers cannot help but raise suspicions about her truthfulness. Labor, quite rightly, has raised the question as to whether she is a fit and proper person to sit in parliament.
The Libs have tried to differentiate Liu from Labor’s Sam Dastyari by pointing out that he was a shadow minister and “money changed hands” Yesterday Dastyari tweeted “She should be held to the same standard that I was – a standard the PM set. I resigned. I took responsibility. That was the right decision in my circumstances.”
Maybe Morrison needs to understand that sometimes that’s the way the fortune cookie crumbles.
Entirely agree. And not surprised to find one of the Libs most arrogant backroom boys Kroger was behind her pre-selection, a close examination of his off-shore bank accounts would be interesting.
Kroger always thought himself to be the second “ colt from Kooyong” but reality is he is just a brown nose who has resided over the collapse of the conservative vote in what was once blue ribbon Victoria, why anyone would ask his opinion is beyond me.
Its alright Glad. The Hillsong Hoist will see you right. How good are Chinese connections.
Morrison is too busy speaking
in tongues in his Pentecostal church.
How good is that?
The labor candidate for Chisolm was also of Chinesse origins and most likely had the same connections as Lui, so they can’t throw too many stones.
This is the kind of racist smear against Chinese Australians that the LNP is claiming in Liu’s defence!
This has nothing to do with race and everything to do with behaviour, in particular, the behaviour of the Chinese Communist Party.
Tend to agree, this is Labor accusing the govt of ‘playing politics’ while it is playing the race card. And the Australian electorate is still spooked by the spectre of China … and it would slowly be becoming apparent with very good reason. The fact that Liu is of Chinese descent actually is irrelevant, Dastyari wasn’t Chinese … it’s her contacts and transparency about her personal history about same that are the very fair (no pun intended) questions. This will become Labor’s new ‘don’t stop the boats’ Achilles heel for the next few years.
Maybe I wasn’t clear: Alahazbin’s comment about the Labor candidate was an unsubstantiated racial smear, the questions about Liu are valid and based on her verified connections.
Hard to see how the Liu issue is an Achilles heel for the ALP though?
That’s because, Steve, rightly or wrongly, you have an entrenched view of things from set convictions – which is fine, that’s how most people approach a debate. The Magpie is solely talking about how the electorate will react to this Labor strategy. A vast majority of the electorate, particularly potential Labor voters, would not admit to their lingering White Australia prejudices that they take into the secrecy of the voting booth. And will agree with Morrison’s overall stance.
I have more faith in the electorate: I think they’ll see that there are legitimate questions about Liu, and that the LNP is just deploying the race card as a smokescreen.
RUBBISH!
As ,in the past being the recipient of comments in my younger days in PNG that I was “going against my heritage” by having the audacity that it might be better for that country to get its Independence earlier, rather than later (the efficacy of that suggestion can be argued at a different time), and post Independence being called a jack booted remnant from the colonial era by mostly Moresby based youngsters when I was an elected member of the Milne Provincial Assembly and the only white vote I could have got was my own, I feel more than somewhat qualified to comment on matters of racial discrimination and in this case, I must agree whole heartedly with both Dave and the ‘ Pie.
It’s not racist to draw attention to matters which could be of vital concern to our national security, which is what this issue is about and unfortunately our PM or his advisers got it wrong..
There are a number of Government jobs that require a security clearance. Vetting is part of the application process. Fail the vetting, no get job. I think it reasonable that all political candidates at State and Fed level are subjected to security vetting, at their own cost.
That would have filtered out Miss Liu. Probably would filter out other space wasters and no-hoper ratbags.
There is also this thing called the Official Secrets Act. Once you sign, it applies for life. That could be useful also.
ABC as well ‘Pie
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-11/brisbane-mosque-vandalised-with-christchurch-references/11501684
What is wrong with these people? If not professionally then ethically, morally, intellectually? And The ‘Pie is talking about the journalists, from reporters to editorial production, whose mealy mouthed virtue signalling tut-tutting outrage makes them totally complicit with the grubs they criticise. And there can be no argument about the dangers of self-censorship … this is surely BREAKING THE LAW.
The religious discrimination bill proposed by the government prohibits discrimination in certain areas of public life on the ground of religious belief or activity. The bill also proposes a religious freedom commissioner, who will promote religious freedom.
Despite lofty aims, the proposed legislation might shoot the government in the foot;
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/sep/04/religious-discrimination-bill-could-legalise-race-hate-speech-law-council-warns
Religion has been the cause of the untimely death of more “true believers” than all other causes added together.
As a long-standing atheist, I think what we need in Australia is a religious prohibition bill instead.
Nothing like aiming at the stars, eh?>
Friday, do you even begin to understand the sheer fucking stupidity of your last sentence?
Of course I do Grumps but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming.
Just remove the tax exemption and Darwin will prevail
Those bloody damn southerners, what the hell would they know about Townsv …. oh, wait a sec. Hmm … seems someone’s been reading The Magpie – for the last nine years …
The same thing many are asking, I was in Brisbane today for business, a casual lunch conversation turned to the familiar question to me, “ so what the fucks the go with Townsville, I can never understand that place, all that money being spent there, the army etc, yet the place is still screwed”. Even people who don’t live here can easily recognise what a wasted opportunity this town has become.
Hold on, hold on! Is there not a 4 1/2 star resort going up right next to the Total Tools Stadium, to be finished, lock, stock, and barrel, for the opening of TT Stadium. That will bring progress to all. Can’t wait to see the benefit here at Kelso.
On another matter, seems that the rebuild of the Rasmussen shops into lar-de-dar Riverside Plaza has stalled before it started. All we have is temp construction fencing and dangerous traffic in the pot-holed car park. Bloody marvellous!
Was wondering the same thing myself, Dave. Those dongas have not been used since they were dumped there.
When did this article appear in the Courier Mail
Yesterday.
Indeed, Townsville has turned into a complete craphole. That’s what happens when a local with no real world experience is given too much power and authority. A disaster……..
What a nasty way to talk about Ms Azzopardi.
Rumour has it that all is not well within TCC management ranks. Lots of broken promises about lots of projects. A few bums quivering at the potential fallout.
Maybe not as smart as the TCC managers were hoping it would turn out to be?
The whole place needs an audit. It’s getting beyond just rumors, mullet can’t hide everything. Now any staff that could blow the whistle can contact Steve at courier mail and spill the beans.
Or, of course, The Magpie. But The ‘Pie would need the same proof and informant’s name (whistleblower) as Steve would.
You know I think that’s exactly what Townsville needs on the strand row after row of monstrosities of unbridled development, a true visionary. Assuming they can be sold and can get insurance.
But what if they were elegant structures winning architectural awards … and all using recycled water from the that new company, Guy’s Gushing Geysers?
Are we putting more stadiums on the strand now guy?? Your vision is why Townsville is so fucked. Labor is dead weight everywhere. Can’t you lot open up your eyes and see your not representative of anyone who matters.
And anyway my opinion doesn’t mean anything, I failed twice to become a councillor and to be honest very few people care what I think and say.
And you wonder why??
Yep, unlimited highrise on the strand.
https://images.app.goo.gl/ABqZxD9z536AbS8A9
That will improve the the life style and leasure of all Townsvillieans.
Townsville’s economic recovery is not as simple or isolated as more high rise on the Strand or CBD. Indeed Townsville consists of more than the Strand and the CBD. Will someone tell the Mullet. And while your at it, tell her that the Riverway Swimming Lagoons were ruined during her disastrous flood, and we, who do not live in Nth Ward or the CBD would like it fixed.
As far as I knew it , whilst in the watchgroup ( years ago) the riverway was discussed, the water filtration and disinfection system isn’t big enough anyway ( another legacy from team tyrell). There’s been problems with the actual structure leaking ( last time I was there a small section between the upper and lower pool had been permanently shut).
Developing the CBD with high rise makes more sense to me rather than building massive breeze breaks that will stifle the wider community. As I keep saying we need to stop further expansion and return to send development back towards the centre.
Really Dave, so you take one particular point and disregard the context of the whole article, and he didn’t mention high rise, he mentioned lifting height restrictions, two totally different things and one of the greatest thing holding back Townsvilles appeal to many people, particularly those in retirement. One only has to look at Cairns to see what can be done with moderate height buildings on their foreshore, a wonderful place, how about Redcliffe, despite the lift in medium density projects it still retains the village type atmosphere many people love about the place. If the people of Townsville want to continue sticking their heads up their arse and ignore the fact that medium density living in quality places is where the future lies then it can continue to struggle and die the slow death it currently is, and people will just keep packing up and leaving.
You need economic stability to make things better now. Cheap water, rates and power is going to be the bedrock of that stabilisation process. Make water and power cheap and business will come bringing investment with them. Build more dams, recycle water, encourage solar on roofs and maybe battery systems. It’s not perfect but it’s a start.
I feel the need to check… but RUOK Guy? That’s the most sensible comment I’ve ever seen you make. Well done mate.
Now you know the Labor Party can’t deliver any of those things don’t you?
Was listening to a fantastic radio interview on Radio National this week. Globally western populations are growing tired of the “spikey architecture” that makes them feel kept out, ie what we’ve seen going up around our schools here in Townsville. And are looking for more welcoming, village like communities that provide a sanctuary. IMO big high rise precincts don’t achieve this. But smaller urban developments, parks and community facilities might. Townsville has this all wrong to the detriment of society. We have large irban developments. We push for inner city. We create sprawl. And we fail to invest in public transport, instead spending on colossal white elephants that rely on public transport
see the Alan Jones’ show is to be put under review. Not before time.
To quote chairman of Macquarie Media, Russel Tate speaking about Jones’ comments in regard to Jacinda Adern;
“This incident has brought into sharp focus the need for all Macquarie Media broadcasters to ensure that the debate they bring to microphone and the words they use are, at all times, respectful and reflects the standards expected today by our listeners, our clients, and the wider community,”
Jones is currently paid $4m per annum and he is on a two-year contract – nice work if you can get it.
Personally, I hope Jones gets the boot and disappears into irrelevance. He has well and truly passed his “use by” date.
So what did Jones say that was so wrong? He wants Mrs Ed to butt out of Australia’s affairs. Good. He wants Mrs Ed to concern herself with her own countries problems rather than make public comment about Australia’s problems. Good. It’s a storm in a teacup. I dont support murder by any person, race or country, but the foolish NZ PM dresses in a Hijab which basically says; ‘I support you and your religious beliefs’, which incidentally includes converting the entire West to Islam and undertaking a holy war of murder to achieve that. And that’s taken straight from their holy book. And don’t forget the Prophet Muhammad married Aisha, a 9 year old girl. Look up the Islamic practise of ‘thighing’ and you will see how disgusting their practises are. Yep, Mrs Ed truly is an idiot, and again I ask what did Jones do that was so wrong?
Note to readers: Pork Sandwich’s comment is published simply to alert you to the fact that terrified xenophobia and serious cognitive disconnection remains a serious problem out, even within Mensa, to which PS clearly belongs.
As much as I can’t stand Jones, a shirt lifter from way back, jacunta is a whole other story, a kumbyah singing hippie who suddenly met the real world.
Jeez, they’re out in force tonight. Full moon? No pun intended.
YES INDEED