Les Walker Cries Over His Kids In Parliament, But Won’t Cry Over The Victims Of His Crime-Ridden Community.

A disgraceful display of political petulance from Walker this week was a disgusting stand-out in a week where our all local state members should continue to hang their heads in shame … come to think of it, just like any week like the last 200.

Fear and loathing in Walker Street: can it really be as bad as toxic one whistleblower claims to The Magpie? But there’s only one thing that can be done to remedy the situation, and that is unlikely.

They never said that: Townsville Bulletin catches itself out, making up scare-the-pants-off-them quotes from civic leaders, and mis-reading the temperature of the town.

A lesson for Townsville from the most unlikely quarter: the British Museum.

…and now it’s indisputable – he’s a traitor … will Donald Trump be punished for his incitement of riot and violent overthrow? Could well be.

But first …

Newsflash For Our Local Layabout MPs: Like Covid, Our Kiddy Crims Don’t Choose Their Targets By Their Victims’ Politics.

A call for a bipartisan local ‘summit’ to seek ways to tackle the juvenile crime wave has been summarily dismissed by out local members on political grounds.

With the emergence of daylight car-jackings in Townsville suburbs, it is now evident this city is under siege by both violent criminals and incompetent and cowardly politicians. One has to ask is there really any difference between the two. There is grim truth in Bentley’s take on the situation.

But the biggest kick in the guts was the performance of new member for Mundingburra, Les Walker, who, in typical state Labor style, airily dismissed an approach by Federal member for Herbert Phillip Thompson, who sought a round-table meeting of local pollies to examine the deteriorating situation.  Social media lit up with outrage, and even the Astonisher had some angry feedback from readers when Walker showed his callous disregard for both his electorate and for the truth when Thompson sought a meeting about local crime. This from a very pissed off Magpie on Wednesday.

The Magpie 

January 6, 2021 at 11:26 am  (Edit)

Well, you voted for him.

He cries over his kids in Parliament, but won’t cry over his crime-ridden community.

It hasn’t taken long for greedy goofball Messagebank Walker, the battler’s champion, to adopt Labor’s ‘let them eat cake’ mantra.

In an astounding response to Federal member Phillip Thompson’s request for a crisis meeting over crime, Walker took exception to Thompson’s description of the holiday season mayhem of stolen car, armed robberies, carjackings and vandalism as being ‘simply unacceptable’.
Messagebank’s dismissive reply, quoted in the Astonisher, is a wall-to-wall lie.
“It’s easy for the federal member to cause a lot of fear,” Mundingburra MP Mr Walker said.
“The police service is doing a great job, and you would have heard they caught another baddie in relation to carjackings.
“We are not announcing on a State Government level what the police are doing as a strategy to catch these offenders.
“The police are doing a very good job, they have got a plan, and they’ve got resources, and they’ve got more resources coming.”
Astounding stuff, but the kicker came with his punchline.
‘I call on Mr Thompson to stop using social media to create fear.’

Well, perhaps there is a the deal to made here, you time-serving, trough-bingeing party toady – Thompson will stop using social media to tell the truth about you if you stop using social media to tell lies about yourself. 

PS Yes, the cops are doing as great a job as they can with the resources they given by arsesoles like Walker, Stewart and Harper. The sterling and often courageous efforts of the often hamstrung police is never in question, but the courage of our elected members certainly is.

Cause fear? So it is Phillip Thompson that has the Townsville community fearful for the property, livelihood and personal safety, is it, you disgusting disgrace? This piece of jelly-backed sophistry from Walker came the day after the Bulletin featured this front page of a woman forced to repel an attempted car jacking.

But how could this have happened, surely there is an error in this account. Because Aaron Harper, who apparently misheard and took the Oaf of Office had demanded – yes, demanded – an end to the Townsville crime wave … in 2017!!

Now, there was a time if a politician went to his or her leadership and ‘demanded’ something that the party had shied away from, such a move carried the implicit threat to otherwise resign and go to the back benches. But honourable Aaron Harper, one of the biggest-ever blood sucking burdens on the public purse, is still there. And you who voted for him, offer up a small prayer for the man who demands safety in your name as you stare at your empty driveway or garage.

Fear And Loathing In Walker Street

 

Tricky business, this blogging caper. The ‘Pie gets a good deal of – shall we say – questionable mail each week, which he has to sift through to decode, read between the lines, decipher implied meanings and get past some grammar that would be frowned on even at the Bulletin (well, maybe). Most of these emails are deleted, some after a preliminary investigation, but the occasional matter seems worthy of some cautious attention.

Such as the following email that wafted into the Nest during the week, which began:

“Can you please send me your email address so I can forward an email I sent to TCC mayor Jenny Hill I am a current employee concerned about all the recent departure, the promotion of incompetence and the new CEO with no clue.”

Although The ‘Pie takes these things with a pinch of salt, it sounded interesting enough and since it had a name signed to it, invited further info. What landed was both interesting, but unsubstantiated, and disappointing, in that the whole thing points to an underlying problem about tackling what many report to be a toxic culture within the council.

The forwarded email apparently send to the mayor began:

From: Means end

Sent: Sunday, 20 December 2020 7:41 PM

To: email hidden; JavaScript is required <email hidden; JavaScript is required>
Subject: Confidential help required

Good evening Madame Mayor, Jenny Hill

I am a current (who knows for how much longer) employee of Townsville City Council and to be fruitfully honest, I am at a loss as to who I can contact about this so this is why you’re the recipient of this email, i would sincerely appreciate your help. Which speaks volume of the culture in this place.

Apologies in advance for using a pseudonym email as I am simply too fearful for the repercussions of speaking out.

We have gone through significant change in the last few years, from the departing CEO to the acting arrangements and promotions of some, in my opinion, questionable talent.

I wanted to highlight some serious area of concern that I confidently say is felt by all team, and general managers and even banded staff out on the floor.

What then followed was reads like a tabloid reporter’s wet dream, a paradise of accusations of professional incompetence, sexual harassment and victimisation, revenge sackings motivated by a lovers’ acrimonious split and another because of professional jealousy (the termination of a recent CFO was cited in this respect), other extra curricular hanky panky, and even instances of drug dealing. Names were named – one in particular which raises questions of motivation on behalf of the informant – dirty deeds detailed.  And although the writer did supply their own name to The ‘Pie, and suggesting they were a mid-level executive, but insisted on anonymity. The writer then says this in the mayor’s email:

“As I write this, I also feel perhaps the appropriate course is to also submit this to the CCC to ensure investigation, and that’s no disrespect to you madame mayor but we can all see just how much (executive x – Magpie) is calling the shots behind the scenes and its scary! (Executive x – Magpie) is under-qualified but over resourced and connected and will significantly impact the performance of this council. Finally, I will say, I am going to forward this to the CCC and please please please look into this and uncover some of this madness.”

 

The Magpie’s initial reaction to all this was a sober, professional and measured ‘Cor fucken blimey, you liddle bewdy!!’ But following a bit of a thinkette, certain other aspects became apparent.

In the end, The Magpie decided that while much of the detail offered points to this being a genuine concern, and if true, certainly demands to be investigated, the whole things collapses on one crucial point – the anonymity. Because if the mayor is approached by someone using a pseudonym – on any subject, let alone one that may have unpleasant repercussions for her – she, or her Executive Assistant, the acting mayor and/or the CEO, are all entitled to ignore the whole thing. It is unimaginable that anyone would act on such bombshell allegations from an unknown person, there isn’t even proof that it came from a staff member (although it obviously did). When is the last time you responded to an email that contained allegations that, apart from anything else, could implicate or just reflect badly on yourself? So not a realistic expectation, and it’s a penny to a pinch of poo that there won’t be any reply.

So you may now ask why has The Magpie bothered to put it out there in public?

Two reasons.

The complaints fit into the pattern of claims of staff abuse and behaviour that have been reaching The Magpie since the infamous reign of Adele The Impaler Young, so on the balance of probabilities, they could hold some water (no pun intended).  But the other and main reason for writing about this is to point out that there is only one solution to getting any action on these claimed abuses: that sooner or later, someone in the council ranks is going to have to put on their industrial strength undies, slip in a cricketer’s protector and be willing to step forward to openly make such claims. And also to provide evidence. Perhaps a better way would be if a group – as many as are willing – adopted the strength-in-numbers approach and send a collective email of concerns.

So here’s the deal the Magpie offers to his informant. If you are willing to re-send the email under your own name, or under the names of a collection of like-minded colleagues, The Magpie will undertake to publish it in full, redacting only some names and identifying words if deemed legally necessary.

Folks, The Magpie can only do so much. Over to you.

The Bulletin Expresses Its Opinion … Of Us

From comments.

The Magpie 

January 5, 2021 at 10:38 am  (Edit)

Seriously, could this fucking paper be more patronising?

According to Ms Charles’ above report, the council did not use the demeaning phrase ‘no need to panic’, a cliche that insulting suggests we are prone to lose at the first bit of rain. And nowhere in the story was acting mayor Molachino ‘call for calm’, as though we are all running around like headless chooks. It is clear whoever wrote that headline doesn’t know Townsville at all. Piss poor headline, you ‘All For Us’ wankers.

The Magpie 

January 6, 2021 at 12:32 pm  (Edit)

THEY’RE AT IT AGAIN. You nitwits are just making this up.

ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE IN THIS STORY DOES THE MAYOR SAY OR EVEN HINT AT ‘STAY CALM’.

Then we have the two backpackers at Rollingstone who were ‘left shocked as flash flooding gripped the Northern Beaches’. Turns out they were fascinated about how puddles quickly grew bigger while they were having breakfast.

And quick, call an ambulance, our backpackers were so ‘left shocked’ to need treatment for trauma, as clearly seen in these two pics.

Then the reporting team tends to knock down the drama a notch when they quote a local stating the bleedin’ obvious ‘it was just another summer event, and is an annual occurrence.’

This juvenile shock-horror reporting is not only demeaning to yourselves, but also is an insult to the intelligence of the not-surprisingly dwindling number of readers of your paper.

AND MEMO TO OLD MAGPIE MATE EVAN MORGAN: excellent snapper though you are, Evan, you have form for enticing your subjects to break the rules so regularly honked loudly in your own paper urging everyone to stay out of floodwaters. You have followed up last year’s kids standing in fast flowing water on the wall of a weir with these efforts of ‘shocked’ backpackers. One can only hope for your sake Evan, that nothing untoward happens from your eagerness for an ‘interesting’ pic.

But Iditor Craig Warhurst Has His Finger on The Pulse …

… or something that’s throbbing anyway.

Cyclone Bailey?!?

Yes, indeedy, seems Cockwomble Warhurst was into the festive Bailey’s Irish Cream a tad too enthusiastically over the festive season., ESPECIALLY when cartoonist Harry had it exactly right on the very page opposite.

Now that really is fake news.

But Ya Gotta Larf

The Astonisher’s annual trip down the whimsy mine has delivered us the usual lode of fools’ gold in the form of the 50 Most Influential People in Townsville over the past year. This is really just a collection of adoring colonoscopies of those whose nether regions the iditor and sales manager of the Bulletin feel they should glue their lips to.

It’s all arbitrary and pointless hokum, but always good for a laugh … especially loved the line about Mayor Mullet ‘springing into action’ to create a pandemic task force.
“Cr Hill, with the help of other key members of the community, sprang into action, creating Taskforce NQ which was designed to lead the region’s economic recovery.”

And what do this dynamic conglomerate do?
“The taskforce developed a document that detailed key projects which could drive growth across North and North West Queensland.”

In other words, yet another bullshit wish list.

Always good to know we’re safe in the hands of Jenny and her visionaries.

How The British Museum Has Shown Townsville (And Australia) A Just Solution To A Divisive Dilemma

 

The Magpie was much taken with this recent article about Hans Sloane, because it showed us a way forward on the question of historical accountability.

The Magpie was delighted to see that he was no longer alone in his suggestion of how we can reconcile the sins of past pioneers without erasing their contribution to modern Australia.

The British Museum was under particular pressure, because the Sloane, the physician and naturalist was largely responsible for founding the institution with a bequest of his collection of artefacts. Sloane was linked to slavery because he owned plantations in the West indies which used slave labor. The Museum decided rather than meet obnoxious demands to ‘erase’ him from history, they moved his bust to a new area which featured artefacts and links explaining his connection with slavery. (Of course, the woke folk are in a tizzy, saying this is not enough and he should be obliterated, but – well, basically … fuck ‘em, it’s our unwoke history too.

Now, isn’t this the ideal solution to the (largely confected copycat) ‘outrage over the Robert Towns statue in the CBD? In a blog several moths ago, The Magpie suggested exactly what the British Museum has done. Why not create a new plaque for the statue, explaining in direct terms Towns involvement in ‘blackbirding’ and other perceived unacceptable behavior, as well as pointing out he is the reason for this city’s name. And this is a rule that could apply to other sites and memorials. ‘Cancel culture’ is a cancer that tries to play God with our history, but The ‘Pie for one doesn’t want the broad links to this point in time decided by sme fashionable cancel twaddle. The woke folk aren’t trying to re-write history, they are trying to say it didn’t happen … or at least not so that the general public should be aware of it.

This rule should especially apply if they ever erect statues of Tony Mooney, Jenny Hill or Snooze Reynolds. And now, Les Walker.

So Now The Mobster President Has Shown His True Colours

His dreams of Donald The Dictator are now in ashes, impeachment will surely await him this time, and hopefully, jail. But even if he doesn’t get a spell inside (Geoffrey Epstein’s cell in vacant), impeachment will mean that he cannot run for office in 2024.

It now remains to be seen what others will be held to account, particularly his leeching family members. It’s going to be a long and winding road down to the door in the wall.

History will a show a litany of ‘too little too late-ism by many people and organisations of the last four years , particularly the role of social media and Fox News – they both offered the Trump zanies various platforms to gas light the entire globe into thinking we were all actually mad. Except, that is, for the woke folk of politics and deep state conspiracy theorists. In the Guardian, Marina Hyde summed up belated moves to muzzle this evil bastard in her usual swashbuckling language.

And so to the founding fathers of this level of mass delusion. It was nice to hear from Mark Zuckerberg, who grandly announced he’d blocked Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. This is not so much a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted as doping the horse, whipping it into a frenzy, encouraging it to bolt, fostering a world in which humans are subjugated by horses, monetising every snort and whinny, allowing the very existence of “humans” and “horses” to become just one of a bunch of competing opinions, and then – only when that one particular horse has outlived its usefulness and seems destined for the glue factory – gently closing the stable door with a self-satisfied little “click”. Marina Hyde in The Guardian

Trump will be the catalyst for sweeping changes in the way Big Brother social media behemoths and corporations are allowed to interfere in our basic rights.

His failed coup will live in infamy in all history … and so should those who supported him.

If 2020 was a maths problem it would probably be like this: If you’re going down a river at 5 KPH and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to re-shingle your roof?

And Finally, In A Peaceful Place Far Far Away From Our Everyday World ….

And good luck to you, little fella.

…..

Gawd, what a week … and we’re not even two weeks into what we hope will be our year of salvation. Keep an eye on comments, our readers keep up with matters in real time … and so can you. And of course The ‘Pie has put some WD-40 on the donate button, so you will no problems helping your favourite weekly vread to stay aloft.