And you can bet one local mover and shaker ain’t a happy camper, and both blunders probably have seen iditor Ben English’s arse kicked ‘til his nose bleeds.
Not that The Bulletin will tell you, but guess which Townsville millionaire businessman owns one of the CBD’s long standing derelict eyesores on a main artery into the CBD.
Join the dots time again folks … let’s see how convincing our new four and a half star (??) hotel is … and the very real dangers of a Townsville City Council Development Corporation.
And a state election within three months gets more certain.
Why A State Election Is More And More Likely To Be November 4 …
As if the fact that Labor had its state conference in Townsville wasn’t a dead giveaway that Anna Alphabet is in panic mode, almost certain proof has come to light for an early election.
Palaczszuk finds herself in a pretty little pickle. She and no one else in Labor have been able to see the blindingly obvious – that around, the community’s biggest concern is NOT water, jobs or crime … it’s politicians who do nothing about any of these things. Complete arrogant duds, one and all, with no spine to really stand up for their electorates. Adding to Anna’s fit of the yips, Treacherous Trad is forever prowling in the background, playing the factional card at will.
But most certainly most importantly is the real concern of Labor types, both local and in the seats of power, who have been appalled at Palaczszuk pal Jenny Hill slicing the legs from under the local Labor members. She has often made none-too-subtle self-serving attacks on them in her PR sheet, the Townsville Bulletin, and The ‘Pie reliably hears that patience is growing thin, even here in the ‘Ville.
Not that our local goof-offs don’t deserve it, with their incessant talk and no-action aloofness from community concerns. This week, Bentley has picked up on a typical example of the empty chatter from chatterer-in-chief, the self-serving Coralee O’Rort.
But the irrefutable giveaway that that we will go to the polls – probably November 4 – is because of this bloke.
Liam O’Reagan (on the right)
This is Liam O’Reagan, a former Palaczszuk staffer before moving across the office of Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm – Chisholm being the force behind Anna Alphabet staggering across the line in 2015.
Young Mr O’Reagan has been sent north from the comfort of Brissy to Cairns, from where he will run the campaigns for both Cairns and Townsville seats, those being being Barron River, Cairns, Mulgrave, Cook, Townsville, Mundingburra and Thuringowa.
But hang on – no party tends to send their professional hit people out into tiger country more than three months ahead of an election. So buckle up. Senator Chisholm is known for negative campaign tactics, and O’Reagan is known as his protégé, so things are likely to get down and real dirty, real quick.
The informed TropicNow site reports: With so many multi-million dollar announcements in the Cairns region in recent months – including the $120 million dredging of Trinity Inlet, the $176 million extension of the Cairns Convention Centre and $152 million Smithfield Bypass project – local political pundits predict the election will be held on November 4.
Given the three duds around here, the betting is that the baby-faced assassin will have his hands full making an impression in Townsville.
History Is Rarely A Simple Thing
But there are those occasions when history can be simplified.
But the clowning wasn’t restricted to the current deranged President. Lawyers for Donald Trump Jnr who were trying to defend the indefensible are tricked into telling the truth by accident. This report from the Washington Post. ‘Trump Jr. did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer, Alan Futerfas, told The Post that he and his client “were fully prepared and absolutely prepared to make a fulsome statement” about the meeting, what led up to it and what was discussed.’
Fulsome? That accidental truth is worthy of The Astonisher. Here’s what Merriam’s has to say about ‘fulsome’. The correct current meaning is ‘disgusting because overdone, excessive.’ The word is still often used to mean ‘abundant, copious.
Indeed, we can expect copious and abundant amounts of disgusting bullshit, from the Son of Trump. But another rule turned upside down by by the White House whacko is the old rule that history is written by the winner … but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to know who that might be, and poses its own questions.
by Peter Schrank
Bogan The Bewildered Must Be Wondering What Hit Him
Locally, let’s start with one of the biggest roll-on-the-floor-laughing mistakes Ben English could make as both iditor and as a member of the Gilded Few.
Ben ‘Bogan’ English (r) and friends put on the nosebag.
Reporter Bettina Warburton nee Giardina is an experienced journo and by today’s standards, a well trained one, with a good track record (you make a much more believable reporter than defence witness, Bets). But even she either failed to make some rudimentary checks – or had her story personally subbed by management – so as not to mention a very salient fact in this yarn.
The main building in this picture, 687 Flinders Street, less than 100 metres along from the Astonisher offices on one of the main entrances to the city area, has been an eyesore greeting thousands of visitors to Townsville for some time now … years in fact. So who is the owner of this derelict building which has been progressively deteriorating due to neglect on one of the main entrances to our city heart. And why hasn’t the council complained to him? Is it because it is this bloke, as seen in his company’s fanciful home page?
Yup, legal foghorn and sometime Noosa resident Barry Taylor. That Mr Taylor is responsible for 687 Flinders Street and has been for some time appears to sit at odds with his boastful puffery – which he himself probably wrote, who else would write this stuff with a straight face – which informs that he has quote:
‘ … specialist expertise in relation to corporate and property law, compensation, local government, strategic town planning, environment, native title and major project management. Taylor has been adjudged by his peers “with a quick mind, phenomenal memory and an easy going charm”. (!!!)
Bazza’s understanding of local government cannot be questioned, especially when a Mooney or a Mullet is in charge, and he could no doubt argue that his stewardship of 687 Flinders Street is a canny ploy involving ‘strategic town planning’ and ‘environment’. However, one suspects that yesterday, that the fabled ‘easy going charm’ was left at the Chez Taylor breakfast nook when he opened the paper. Has he called for Mrs Warburton to be sacked? Wouldn’t be surprised.
But That Is But A Cool Breeze Next To The Southerly Buster Bogan Copped
But while Ben Bogan may be able to weather that particular blustery wind, he has probably found more difficult the ‘please explain’ he no doubt received from Holt Street HQ over last Monday’s email to staff. In it, he in essence admitted that the paper’s policy is NOT about good journalism, objectivity or – God forbid – truth. He circulated this instructive missive to the Townsville Bulletin iditorial staff on Monday. Note the last two pars in particular.
When The ‘Pie published it – and was subsequently picked up by the national publication Guardian Australia – all hell broke loose in Flinders Street, and from sketchy reports, Holt Street went thermo-nuclear.
An upside though: that listing of priorities is probably the most truthful thing English has written in years.
Different Problem For Pinocchio Heywood Down At The Courier
The Courier Mail has a bloke named Chris Jones, who is tasked with the mysterious chore of ‘editorial production reforms’. He sure lived up to his title in an unexpected way, when it turned out a big splash story in the Courier was written by his high school student son. This was not acknowledged until Amanda Meade who writes the media column for Guardian Australia chased the details – she was bemused and not too amused by this interesting journalistic standard.
The Hinchbrook Horrors Continue For Residents
The Passage Holdings company which has been battling with angry Hinchinbrook Resort residents in Cardwell it has been trying to rip off ever since it took charge of the beleaguered resort after Yasi, has been ordered wound up and a liquidator appointed.
The ‘Pie doesn’t have all the details yet, but the order was brought down in a Brisbane court yesterday (Friday) following an action brought by residents. Where to now no one knows, but a new owner is presumably to going to emerge from somewhere.
Hey here’s a thought … Bazza Taylor’s Emanate Legal recently represented Passage in another Hinchinbrook matter in a Cairns court. Wonder if our old mate is now in the queue, taking the begging bowl up to the liquidator, and use some of that ‘easy going charm’ any owed loot?
A Song For The City – Time For Townsville To Have Its Own Tune
And The ‘Pie suggests we borrow that little foot tapper ‘Kansas City’ from Roger and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Come to Townsville City on a Friday
By Saturday you’ll learn a thing or two
Up ’till then you didn’t have an idea
Of what the mod’rn world was comin’ to.
Everything’s up to date in Townsville City
We’re goin’ about as fer as we can go
We’re gunna build a skyscraper seven stories high
About as high as a buildin’ orta grow.
Yup, this week we learn that the Hilton hotel people are going to think about thinking about (i.e feasibility study) building a 7-storey, strangely-rated ‘4 and a half stars’ bed and breakfast next to the intended stadium.
Now, let us put aside a couple things … first, that for some reason, we are yet again meant to go bananas about something that MIGHT happen – sure, it’d be nice, but for Chrissake, a bit of proportion purleasse – it’s a just a smallish hotel – but in the Townsville Bulletin’s usual sloppy way, we’re not sure how small … they whack up in a generic ‘concept’ drawing, with the totally spurious claim it is specifically drawn for the proposed Townsville project. We should also overlook that the paper’s famous wrestle with numbers is on display … it says seven storeys , but is caught out in its lie because the drawing is only of six storeys. (NO a basement does not count as a storey!)
But Maybe Our City Song Should Be The Theme From TV’s ‘Friends’
And let’s suspend disbelief when we learn that one of the prime movers behind this proposal is Focus Pacific CEO Michael Graham (whose name inexplicably morphed in to ‘Grahamaid’ in today’s online Bulletin). He is a close and long-standing mate of our old pal and Mayor Mullet’s advisor Dolan Hayes. Old huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ buddies, from way back apparently. And possibly have done the odd deal in the past, at least one in Mackay The ‘Pie is told.
The Focus Pacific Group owns negotiating rights on behalf of Hilton in this matter, a gig which will no doubt be a nice little earner for Mr Graham and crew. And nothing wrong with all that so far, as a weary-sounding Bulletin iditorial itself said, ‘the council (read Mayor Mullet) needs a get some wins on the board’, and the well-connected Mr Hayes is just the bloke to call on an old mate for that. Again, nothing wrong with that, that is the way things work around here.
But there are those already asking whether this is a cosy inside deal cooked up by Hayes, Hill and Graham, all for their own different objectives.
So Let’s Examine That
Could it be that the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) would have been initiated via an unsolicited proposal which then sought out an exclusive mandate? Granting an exclusive mandate, which is what Council has done, is a very big decision because it basically accepts that there’s no need to test the proposal in the market due to some known “unique intellectual property” component that doesn’t exist elsewhere.
That’s easily provable hogwash. A global hotel chain is not a unique proposition for the simple reason that there are plenty of other major brands. But there’s always a good laugh at the latest insult to the intelligence, such as it may be. We read today Mullet’s words of wisdom:
The MOU establishes an exclusive four-month negotiation period to ensure the proposal stacks up commercially and “represented best value for ratepayers”.
Best value for the ratepayers? Is this woman deranged? Oh sure, Jenny, Hilton say yes but suddenly you say no because it isn’t the ‘best value’ for ratepayers. That’s the lamest of attempts of the tail wagging the dog from someone who clearly hasn’t a clue what the best value for ratepayers is.
But This Is Where Things Could Get Murky
Mayor Mullet has never denied her admiration for former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale, (who incidentally faced court yesterday on two new charges from his recent bizarre behaviour). The Mullet was particularly taken with Mr Pisasale’s creation of the Ipswich Development Corporation, which ultimately – unbeknownst to her – became an out-and-out rort for dodgy developers and, it seems, for Pisasale himself. (with a little nooky thrown in on the side).
Our mayor now wants to create our own Townsville Development Corporation, which Mayor Mullet says will be ‘primed to start unlocking the best development options for council-owned land within the Priority Development Area and other strategic areas,”
The very first question is why? Actually, that should be WHY FOR CHRISSAKE??
Why do we need this extra layer of decision makers on top of the very costly council itself – and at a stretch, TEL as well? Where’s the advantage? (Cue a blizzard of buzz words and empty phrases from interested parties.)
Allow The ‘Pie to put forward a possible scenario, which, before Bazza starts ringing around to see if he can talk anyone else into suing The Magpie, the old bird does not suggest this has happened, that it will, or that anything illegal has happened,
Imagine:
- Jenny Hill has been hawking the stadium site for more than a year. She’s been talking about carving it in half, and offering it as inducement to get someone in. She wanted to do a “land for equity” swap, and has also offered Council into the mix for a second casino license on the basis that having Council as an equity partner would looks good for the probity checks. (That is really spooky).
- D Hayes would have sniffed a political opportunity to cut a sweetheart deal which could get those ‘runs on the board’ for his boss. He could have approached Graham with the idea of Hilton having a look around, and together they concocted a proposal to Hill on the basis that Focus Pacific would have exclusivity, however limited that may be.
- Hill, being as desperate as she’s become for those ‘runs on the board’, would have leapt at the chance to have a “brand name” on the front page. There would have been a small number of formal meetings between Graham and Hill ( FOI-able); and many an offline chat between Hayes and Hill.
4. A confected MOU would have then been hashed up, delivering Focus Pacific an exclusive mandate.
Stuff You Need To Know
Really, even this early in this bullshit, we should be demanding a copy of the terms of the MOU, including details on which parcel of land we are specifically talking about.
The formation of the Council Development Corporation will see ratepayer owned land transferred to it by a docile puppy dog council, and once it has been transferred to a corporation, that corporation has no obligations to tell the public anything. Our old mate Commercial In Confidence will flogged within an inch of its life.
Under such an arrangement, the stadium site could be subdivided, the surplus half transferred to the Development Corporation and then the land chipped in for nix to a joint venture with Focus Pacific. Secret Mullet business one might surmise.
Alternatively, the land could be sold on a long settlement, Graham will get a fast tracked approval, and then on-sell the approved development at a substantially higher price. Because Council is on the deal, the settlement terms can always be set up so that settlement won’t be needed from Graham, until he sells the site.
The Magpie emphasises that this is all conjecture, but a council development corporation raises these sorts of questions, to which we are entitled to answers. Provable answers. And safeguards.
Jenny – Dolan – as political creatures, you may run with Richo’s credo ‘whatever it takes’, but this isn’t just politics, and whatever it takes has to be transparent to the ratepayers.
Other Matters
The dizzy array of modern apps for mobile phones may have come full circle. The latest gadget may have two legs, two eyes, two hands and a lot of patience.
Taxing Times
Many of you are probably putting off the annual battle of the tax return, but we can all sympathise with a pommy bloke who had a claim knocked back. But his cool response to the knock back is Pommy humour at its best.
That’s the old load of cobblers for this week, join or keep up with the lively chat on comments throughout the week. And if you’re of a mind to help a bit, a donation is always appreciated. How to donate button is below.
