In an incomprehensible pivot, the Bulletin attributes – without a shred of evidence – the adoption of a new cowardly council regulation to Troy Thompson’s social media activity … even when the law’s designer suggests will not affect him.
Do they ever really think what they are saying …. or does an official statement from the council openly admit they are incompetent And failing? In terms of a plain English balls up, it does.
The smoke and mirrors game with the Townsville housing crisis goes on, with deliberately misleading claims from our acting mayor and outright lies in the Bulletin. The ‘Pie has discovered a perfect new title for the paper.
And still they wonder why no one wants to be a teacher anymore, and more and more kids don’t want to be students. The education guidelines that call for indigenous history to be incorporated in the teaching maths and other technical subjects. basket weaving and song and dance are now in there with the times tables. No kidding.
An Amerika … The ‘Pie will let the cartoonists tell the story to summarise this historic week.
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Another Less Than Stellar Week For The Council … And For The Bulletin
It is fair to say that the two main items on the council’s agenda at Wednesday’s meeting enjoyed less than satisfactory outcomes. Not that you’d know it from the unmitigated gush and tosh with which it was spun, and as reported by the ever uncurious Bulletin.
And we have to translate what really happened from the paper and from TCC media releases, because of yet another basic incompetency by the TCC wire benders. As reported on the day.
| The Magpie |
Submitted on 2025/02/19 at 12:13 pm | In reply to Southern Comfort.
What hope do we have when this city council administration cannot get right the most basic of required tasks – an acceptable live stream audio of a council meeting? You have to believe in the convenience of coincidence that the live stream of today’s council meeting had almost unintelligible audio – which has never been the case before at any meeting – and just so happened on the day when several matters of heightened interest and importance to the community – council finances, variations to the budget, and a gag policy for people dissatisfied with council performance – were being discussed/explained/excused. It also appeared staffers was happy to speak more softly than usual, but perhaps that was just a perception aggravated by frustration. The whole meeting might as well have been conducted in Klingon … maybe it was. |
Anyway, even if it could be heard, plain speaking is not the preferred method of communication for this council, so from this subsequent media release we learn from Foodtrucks Greaney in full gush mode: “Not only have we improved our operating deficit by $5.3 million, to $19.5 million, but so far the team have found $1.4 million through a number of organisational reforms and efficiencies. This is just the beginning of a major reform effort to identify better and more efficient ways to serve our community, with further savings and service improvements still to come.”
Well, goodness me, as Garfield would say ‘Yippee Skip’. Financially savvy Nest regular Hee Haw put the bullshit into perspective.
 Hee Haw |
Submitted on 2025/02/20 at 8:21 am | In reply to The Magpie.
$1.4 m in savings???? $1.4 fucking million in savings????? (The other $3.somthing came from customers paying more for waste) $1.4 million?? To put that into context if your weekly supermarket shopping trip cost you $200 each week you would have to cut it down to $199.68 every week, you would have to save $0.32 or 0.16% of your budget. $868m budget times 0.16% =$1.388m I am speechless. |
What is particularly galling is Clr Greaney trying to put a heroic spin of minimal action while we’re in a dire financial situation which she was largely responsible for over the past ten years she has been in office. It’s like the heroine being praised for rescuing a drowning colleague saying ‘It’s the least I could do, since I pushed her in’.
Disgusting and devious, The Mullet’s spirit lives on in Foodtrucks.
But The Spin Doesn’t End There – In Fact It Becomes Outright Lying In The Bulletin
One doesn’t expect comparisons with other jurisdictions to be made in council meetings … especially if they are unflattering …. but the fact remains unremarked that Townsville is light years behind in building approvals next to Cairns and Mackay. But when the council and Greaney try a little word wizardry to hoodwink us and burnish her imaginary halo, only the Bulletin falls for it. First, here’s Greaney’s take on the question of housing.
OK, she a politician and can be expected to be a bit tricky without actually lying. Even Greaney was smart enough not to over egg the cake with an icing of outright fibbing.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Townsville Bulletin. 
Let’s ignore the usual stupid ignorance of English … a fire sale means lower prices because there is a surplus of a commodity, leading to cheaper prices … the exact opposite of the paper’s story, house prices are through the roof. A catchy meaningless headline.
But here’s the real problem … or should we say deliberate lie.
And this led us to the page 7 story, where the lie was deliberately repeated …
First of all it’s not good news for the city, it is devastating for the average punter. No reflection on those lucky enough to own their own place, but the thousands struggling with cost of living and seeking sky-high mortgages, it is definitely NOT good news. Thoughtless shit from the paper that’s all for us.
But the other blatant lie is most egregious … THESE ARE NOT HOUSING APPROVALS, THEY ARE APPROVALS FOR HOUSING LOTS ON WHICH HOUSES CAN LEGALLY BE BUILT … AND THAT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT MATTER OF FOOT DRAGGING RED TAPE APPROVAL PROCESSES – SIX MONTHS ON AVERAGE AT THE VERY VERY BEST. IF YOU’RE LUCKY.
And Greaney and the scrambling staff coven behind the scenes is delighted to let the Bulletin go uncorrected, innocently saying that it’s not their fault if people misunderstand.
This sort of cheap, sniggering dishonesty is not civic leadership by either the council or the paper which the latter BTW continues to overestimate its influence.
Both are outright liars in their own interests.
But Gosh, Is The ‘Pie In Trouble For Such Justified But Harsh Words?
When a CEO of a government organisation bans staff and officers from resident meetings where grievances may be aired, that is definitely a major news story in all. but a few places … Gaza comes to mind, along with Beirut and Ukraine …. and now Townsville. As per last week’s Nest, Joe McCabe made Magnetic Island ratepayers meetings a no-go zones for council representatives because of alleged threatening and stress inducing behaviour . The Townsville Bulletin has completely ignored the edict, not a dicky bird, nary one single mention anywhere about this significant development.
The robust behaviour at the December MIRRA meeting may not have met with the Miss Manners standards, of polite discourse and was possibly deserving of some sort of rebuke, but islanders have been frustrated with the duplicitous misrepresentation of their Division 3 councillor Greaney. (Next week, The ‘Pie intends to detail – with proof – an outline of her dishonesty regarding the controversial dredge dump proposal for Nelly Bay.) Many at the MIRRA meeting were frustrated by this insult and threat to their lifestyle, yet the councillor paints herself the victim in this, and her tearful complaint to the CEO no doubt hurried along the controversial council policy which is beefing up what could be best known as council’s preferred cuddle culture, ‘where nary is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day’.
There can be no argument that councillors and council workers are entitled to a safe and respectful environment in which to work. But what the public is entitled to is not become victims of vague, ill-defined and manipulative regulations that can close down legitimate debate. And the leading buzzword bullshit in all this is the ultra-woke wankery term ‘psychosocial hazards’ which TCC’s Sewell has chosen to misinterpret. This absolute nonsense should be dubbed the ‘Boo Hoo Clause’ because what is claimed to be ‘unacceptable behaviour’ is solely determined by the individual who claims – truthfully or otherwise – to have been stressed, offended or traumatised by something or other, either word or action. And the complaint in this case will be a public servant or a councillor, who all operate professionally in the cotton wool of politically correct, clenched buttocks workplace wokery. DSo flinching at shadows is to be expected.
This policy is wide open to misuse and abuse. The main flaw is the lack of any definition of ‘appropriate standards of behaviour’ and what is ’unreasonable conduct’’. This is so loaded in favour of council shutting down criticism that it should be examined by cooler legal heads. Or challenged if someone has a lazy $100k to make a court challenge – which TCC and Sewell know no one will. But, hey, if you’re pinged by some snowflake, there is an appeal process … only take a few weeks/months and a few (hundred/thousand) dollars.
But maybe this could come back and bite some councillors on their well padded arses .. couldn’t it cut both ways? Some of the social media posts on official councillor FB pages are in clear breach of already existing guidelines of reasonable standards of behaviour by elected officials.
Watch this space.
But The Bulletin Gets Tangled Up In Its Own Zealotry
Rather than highlight, and instead just mention in passing, that complaints against this council have spectacularly increased in recent times, the Astonisher ignore any questions about possible lapses in council performance, and has made it all Troy Thompson’s fault. TwoNames has been been dropping the occasional anti-council rant (yawn) which the paper chose to see his drivel as serious attacks on the TCC that the new Boo Hoo policy will knock on the head.
Which is a crapulent conclusion and wishful thinking. Even David Sewell has said prosecuting defamatory matters on social media is ‘very difficult’ not to mention horrendously time consuming and expensive. And Thompson’s pathetic grizzling cannot be the subject of this policy, because he has not engaged personally any councillor or officer with a direct complaint or accusation – he just throws mud at the screen and sees how much will stick. And he says his FB account is a private one, despite still technically being a councillor as suspended mayor. And that’s where he may be in trouble further down the track, by bringing the council into disrepute.
But despite the Astonisher’s hyperventilating, the Boo Hoo policy has nothing to do with Thompson, it is a defensive maneuver by a council that is on the nose in a lot of areas.
An Hilarious Oopsy By The Council
It’s not just The Bulletin that has a losing tussle with English, the TCC parrots make the occasional cock-up when they just say things that sound nice but inadvertently end up as a devastating self-admission.
This piece of spin from Foodtrucks ended with this hilarious statement:
Councillors also voted on Wednesday to adopt the new strategic corporate plan entitled Townsville 2025 -2029. The plan, which aims to be a ‘road map’ for Council in the next five years, focuses on four key goals for Townsville including being a city for everyone, a sustainable city, a future-ready city and a well-managed city.
‘Five year plan’ and ‘four key GOALS’ … meaning striving to reach a certain position … is, by any measure of language, clearly and openly admitting that at the moment, Townsville is NOT a city for everyone, it is NOT a sustainable city (whatever the fuck that means) ditto it is NOT ‘a future-ready city’ and it is NOT a well-managed city. Some honesty by accident at last.
But since the Bulletin didn’t ask a polite question about this blithering stupidity, or about anything else this week, The ‘Pie as discovered the ideal new name for the paper – the Townsville Rogophobia Times.
Rogophobia: The fear of asking questions
If you are good at asking questions, you probably wonder why a journalist suffers from “rogophobia”. One reason some journalists hesitate to ask questions is that they do not know exactly what to ask, or how to phrase their questions. Or the journalist’s parents discouraged them from asking a lot of questions as a child. They were taught that asking too many questions is considered annoying or even rude. While there are many reasons journalists are reluctant to ask questions, sometimes it simply comes down to a fear of rejection.
Apparently is a must for a job at the Astonisher
Fatuous Fatty’s At It Again
As a variation on the old adage, a fool and his money are soon partying. In Clive Palmer’s case … again.
Tired old imitative gumpf from a man whose destructive repetitive behaviour raises suspicions of tertiary syphilis. His whole campaign is based on Trump adoration and slogans … it is fair to say that Clive is the Australian version of Robert Kennedy Jnr, brain worm and all. But the first initial weirdness was the Palmer approved party name – the hokey ‘Trumpet of Patriots’ and the new logo – a lion blowing a trumpet.
FFS Clive, get a better ointment.
That lion will be changing musical ends soon enough, but his candidates are ahead of him there, and will be carrying his message to the country in typical and truthful Palmer style.
Who needs Monty Python when we’ve got Clive Python.
The Three ‘R’s Of Readin’, Ritin’ and ‘Rithmetic Have Been Updated The Woke Era: They’re Now Righteous, Ridiculous and Rong.
Here is further proof that as a species, the end is nigh for humans.
But it won’t be any asteroid that does us in, it will be by our own hand. Trump and Musk lead the way to the cliff edge, but the maniacs responsible for Australian education curriculums are doing their bit with their loopy directive that could be called ‘Welcome To Country’ Education.
Latest evidence is this from Monday’s Australian.
The astounding premise is that cultural awareness (of 3% of the population) demands that aspects of aboriginal culture be used as examples (‘elaborations’ is their oh so apt word) in several subjects – primarily maths. Laugh or cry, these idiots are seriously disappearing up their own arses.
From the story: ‘The mathematics curriculum includes 37 complicated and at times incomprehensible instructions for teachers to use indigenous dances, storytelling, reconciliation plans and even traditional weaving to teach the foundational numeracy skills of addition and subtraction, algebra, statistics and trigonometry”. Just what kids need, eh, an extra layer on the already insidious torture of algebra. Here’s part of the explanatory(?) list. read it and weep for the poor bloody kids.
But those 37 instructions are just a part of the 2451 ‘suggestions’ contained in a door-stop document. When Senator Henderson requested a printed copy of the document during Senate estimates hearings last year, ACARA chief executive Stephen Gniel told her it would take too much time as “it’s thousands of pages … it’s an online resource now, so if you wanted me to print it, I’d have to go on to every page to print it out’’. The vowel-deficient Mr Gniel’s response showed that he had not majored in irony
But calling out this utter rot is not some racist, ‘abo bashing’ rant, it is a condemnation of the destructive effect this will have on students of all stripes already challenged by the reality of various subjects in this modern world. It will drive them further away from the urge to seek knowledge. It is woke ideologues that are threatening the learning futures of a whole generations of young Australians with what is no more than strained and desperate propaganda.
And to top it off, a senior government education official has bluntly said’ “This directive is impossible to teach’. Australian Government Primary Principal Association Pat Murphy asked” Are we over-complicating maths? Yes,” and he has called for changes to focus on literacy and numeracy in primary schools.
Mr Murphy is a shining beacon of simple sanity in a world being bullied by woke virtue-signalling zealots
But Then Again ...
‘Question 6: If Jacky steals a 120 horsepower SUV, and teams up with Johnny in his stolen 145hp hatchback, what is the combined horsepower will they have to ram raid the local bottle shop?
Question 7: ‘If Maurice is holding his knife at a 45 degree angle to the throat of the old granny who is leaning 17 degrees off the vertical, and if the Granny’s throat is X, the knife is Y, and her lean is Z, calculate why Maurice will only end up serving zero days in jail.
Bentley Has Popped In Comment On All This Tomfoolery
Our old mate was mightily miffed … along with many others no doubt … when he discovered the ABC has adopted the officially revised name for Lake Eyre, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.
Well, dunno, that seems to be a half sensible idea of keeping both names, and depending on your view, just use whichever one ylou personally feel is appropriate. But The ‘Pie doubts that’ll go down well with the ABC pontificators.
Headline Of The Week
Nice.
Oh, Dear, Dear, Mr Dutton …
It’s always nice to be supported in your political endeavors by prominent people. Well, maybe not always.
Who needs enemies when …… etc etc
Like A Snail, He Leaves A Trail …
The Nest’s old mate the Olympic standard liar, workplace bully and serial plagiarist Peter ‘Typo’ Gleeson, is yet again persona non grata, turfed out of his latest gig as a greyhound racing pooh-bah after just six months. From comments.
| The Magpie |
Submitted on 2025/02/21 at 9:24 pm | In reply to Alahazbin.
Have the auditors been called in? Seems from this authoritative report Typo was unceremoniously booted, with more than one hint of incompetence and the damning with faint praise. Love the line about ‘Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses’ from one supporter. When a supporter says something like that, you know something’s gone badly wrong. Had he been quoting to the board long passages out of Lassie, claiming they were all his own work? And Christ, it looks like he’s been using his master key to the Chum/Shmackos storeroom after hours …. and also has the same fashion advisor as Paul Jacob. |
Amerika
Trump calls himself a ‘king’, and calls Zelinsky ‘a dicator’ who started the war with Russia, and the world looks on like the bunny in the headlights.
The pen men tell the week’s story of a disintegrating USA, but the top comment goes to the always spot-on Matt in London’s Daily Telegraph.
In the long run, which will inevitably see the USA pay for its rank stupidity, perhaps Trump should take some age old advice about settling disputes.
At Trump is particularly at risk, because he is all balls and no brains.
….
So we have survived another week that again shrivelled our hearts and hopes, but we’re still here. Tell us what you think in comments, they run 24/7. The donate button to offer much needed funds to help meet Nest costs in below.
Good morning Mr Pie
On the “housing approval” story – we (builder I work for) had jobs ready to be submitted for building approval waiting from September, but land registration/titles dragged on so long, that some titles didn’t come through until 18th December. No land title, no building start. We work on 10 days from submission of paperwork to the certifiers to approval being received. Legislation requires jobs to start within 10 days of the approval, but the rain put the kybosh on that timetable! Every builder in town likely had jobs banked up waiting for titles, so might be a good couple of months for residential building approvals coming.
We’ll see.
It will be interesting to see how the TCC Boo Hoo policy will affect the next Council election when councillors seeking re-election are door knocking their division and are likely to meet disaffected voters who are likely to address them using words of one syllable.
12 months ago Team Hill ( Councillor Greaney team member ) stated in the Townsville Bulletin 26 th February 2024 that Townsville needed 9,100 additional homes by 2026 . So thats 4,550 a year since 2024 much less than Council and acting Mayor Greaney claims a 10 year record of building approvals delivering only 20% . Why didnt the journalist pick this up . Same as ” Council has found $5.3 mil savings ” but deficit is still $19.5 mil . Councils 2025/26 budget should be in surplus and any rate increase inline cpi.
New 4 hr parking restrictions Mater hospital Fulham rd and streets around with signs going up.
A lot of feedback social media claiming the Councillor for that division is not returning emails / phone calls from people who don’t agree with the paid parking restrictions . Nothing learnt from Councils Strand and Palmer St debacle .
Disengagement is not a proper option for an elected councillor, but The Magpie can understand the tedium involved in this fairly balanced issue. And as The ‘Pie said at the outset of the Strand blunder, the two other areas (Palmer St was the other one) are seperate issues with seperate dynamics. There is a strong argument for the amenity of ratepayers in the areas shown on the map … they have been disrupted by the random parking by Mater visitors.
If Mooney agrees, and doesn’t want to be seen as Messagebank Junior, perhaps a standard one click response along the above lines might save his face.
He was probably waiting for the BooHoo policy to be official. Now he has an excuse to not take calls or attend meetings as he is in fear of wetting himself.
What a security risk for nursing and other shift workers at the Mater Hospital walking to and from their cars during the hours of darkness, including those staff starting at 6 am during the mid-year months.
I hope that the Mater Hospital is going to either supply free parking to evening and night staff ( must be sufficient parking in the new multi-level car park during these hours) or security to walk staff to and from their vehicles.
Mooney Junior must not have asked daddy what the arrangements are for shift workers at TUH. If he had he would have found out that there are security arrangements in place for evening and night shift workers even though these workers are not parking on public streets but on TUH controlled land.
The other questions are who the hell is going to consistently patrol the parking in this area and are local residents going to get some sort of parking permit as thete is a number of unit blocks, including Housing Commission blocks, in this zone.
Perhaps ask you local councillor?
Nearly spilt my coffee laughing reading your suggestion.
No bloody point in asking my local Councillor, it’s useless Looney Tunes Junior (aka Liam Mooney) so asking him either by phone call, txt or email won’t even get a response from him. If I did get a response I’d probably be written by a council bureaucrat using language that I’d need a dictionary titled something like the Dictionary of phrases and words for politicians and bureaucrats who want to say something that means nothing to the electors.
The councillor is not ever available, both my wife and I have reached out to Mr Mooney, MIA. We did speak with Mr Thompson early on and got the maps, and information, but then it went cold when handed to Mr Richardson. Speaking with Steph Barwick office at the Mater, it sounds like a deal was done last term, but they’ve held off until the paid parking blew over. They are now using the smoke and mirtors hoping the suspended mayor wears it all. We never got a call, a survey, or advice, we did receive the letter of decision though. We live on Park street.
Resident maybe you could try contacting Les Walker
LOL HAHAHAHA he seems to be very active on social media, maybe a crack at the Mayors job is coming
There are, and have been since construction, two floors of the building reserved for staff. I believe that it is not free, but considerably less than fees charged to the public.
Yes, my impression nis that it is visitors or casyual day patients that have been causing the street congestion.
Get real, how many other businesses are obliged to provide free parking or security escorts to their employees at night?
Most hospitals.
The councillor should be answering calls because that’s a good outcome for the community and they should be proud of it.
You’d think so, wouldn’t you? Mooney Jnr is probably spooked by the unfair conflation of his issue with the Strand issue. After he was loudly standing up for residents in council on the issue, and Foodtrucks is no Mullet, given his dad’s history in this town, she knows she can’t do her usual backstabbing job on the council’s favourite song and dance man.
From the TCC Web Site .. the role of elected members includes
“As an elected person:
To represent the interests of the residents and ratepayers
To provide leadership and guidance to the community, and
To facilitate communication between the community and the council.”
Note dot point three in particular
If there is a body of evidence that proves actions or omissions otherwise then a complaint made in the correct manner may ( but who knows) get traction regardless of the lads pedigree
Strange, because The ‘Pie wasn’t sure who you are referring to. Because, although you are presumably referring to Mooney, The ‘Pie knows at least one other councillor whose social media behaviour may soon be his downfall. Through immaturity.
Brady Ellis’ FB page is rude and immature, his response to people shows lack of professionalism and he acts like a child. Mooney & Ellis are known to be immature by many, and both need a kick up the a**e
Ellis is under watch.
I’m looking forward to all the extra traffic on the roads with an extra 10,000 houses and all the problems that comes with more people. The people who cause all these problems won’t be living in the problem, they live somewhere nicer, quieter.
Interestingly some medicos are simply moving away from this nightmare around the hospital and setting up shop elsewhere.
Nightmare! Get a sense of perspective.
Cr Greaney appears to be an expert when it comes to gushing.
But she outdid herself, – and even TEL CEO Ms BS – when waxing lyrical about Townsville City Council’s new corporate plan Townsville 2025 – 2029:
“Council is furthering its vision of growing Townsville as a globally connected community driven by lifestyle and nature with Townsville 2025 – 2029. This strategic plan will guide our city’s growth and planning during the next five years and provide a roadmap for Council to build trust and confidence with our residents while delivering strong outcomes,” Cr Greaney said.
“Our goals will help grow Townsville into a city where everyone can engage in and enjoy our community and lifestyle, where we are committed to sustainability through climate change adaptation, water security and advancing a circular economy, where we have opportunity that embraces innovation and is ready for future growth and where our entire city is served reliably by an accountable, responsive and engaged council.
“As we work towards our vision of being globally connected city, we need to be future ready.”
This is just part of the buzzword-laden fairytale story about the future of Townsville, disguised as a council media release. If you’ve got plenty of time on your hands and want a good laugh, read the whole media release:
https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releases/2025/february/new-council-corporate-plan-townsville-2025-2029-adopted
Strangely there is no mention of what plans Greaney has for fixing our long-neglected roads, cleaning the drains, mowing the grass, or stopping the Poonami Tsunami.
But The Magpie does agree with Townsville having a circular economy, it is an ever descending spiral that will have us ending up our own arses very shortly.
There should be an email blitz to councillors demanding plain language information, instead of incomprehensible ‘consultant-created’ absolute insulting nonsense like the above. All that means nothing, tells us nothing and openly demonstrates that no one has a clue what’s happening.
they have never done any of the things they mentioned they just talk BS.
Sadly sounds like a own goal!
Maybe pull the plug, the only thing circling is the vortex, before the council goes down the gurgler. Greaney is a vile and nasty vindictive women, when my good friend won an award recently, she went off to anyone who would listen.
She hasn’t changed over many years
Pie , Councils 2021-26 plan outlines the areas of focus , priorities ,specific initiatives Council has committed to implementing , driving and advocating . So much for Council business going out of Town . Olympian Jon Sieben and his wife lost the tender of Northern Beaches Pool going to an out of town operator . Same as i believe Councils security contract as well as a big I.T. contract . Council staff are leaking like a sieve over how badly things continue to be run in Walker st .
Good news. Council should accept the best tenders, not prop up inefficient local businesses.
The maintenance services, civil and landscape of TCC at the ground operational level needs a thorough review towards efficiency and effectiveness
You so much in print on increased funding for councils, increase in rates, futuristic plans but next to nothing on cost effective operations of Councils workfoce
The next aim will again be at management structure ( how many will that be since amalgamation in 2008)
I’d love to see a comparison in operational wages and on costs over the last decade taking into account increase in areas serviced and results obtained
Without this review we continue to chase our tail in ever decreasing circles
Obviously the growth of city rate base is essential and cannot be ignored .. and that needs to be on the money in accordance with good town planning which goes well beyond parking meters in two suburban streets
The time for tinkering is well past .. I’m not sure if a hard but sensible review will ever happen apart from that which is considered politically acceptable to the masses .. something Hill had mastered to a a fine art and look where that has gotten this city
I’ve noticed two main issues with management reshuffles:
The individuals hiring new managers tend to pick people who are essentially the same, just with a different name.
The management is often made up of professional government employees who have spent their careers in the public sector, which means they can become too politically driven.
A better approach would be to hire individuals with private sector experience, especially those around 60 years old who have run their own businesses or have significant experience in private companies. These individuals bring valuable knowledge, understanding, and mentoring skills. They are also typically too mature to engage in internal politics or focus on climbing the career ladder. Instead, they are more likely to be motivated by a desire to make meaningful changes or leave behind a legacy as they near the end of their careers. After many reshuffles that’s what I have seen
With the council road map to 2029. Are we at “leaning in” or have we move to “standing up”?
Or falling over?
You’d be correct in considering that we are in an emergency situation .. just is not a cyclone or flood
“Squatting down”
Question 1: If in year 2000, aboriginal tribes have existed for 40, 000 years and in 2010, 50,000 years and in 2020, 60,000 years. How many years will aboriginal existence be in 2030?
Alahazbin, the answer to question 1 is easy – aboriginal existence in 2030 will be 70,000 years, a fascinating result, given that genetic data indicate that the ancestors of current human populations outside Africa did not leave that continent until about 60,000 years ago.
Therefore, I must add a rider to my question 8. At what speed would the early Aborigines have had to walk across the globe. This question tests the student’s ability to work not only with negative numbers but also time travel.
It could be argued however that the aborigines are indeed the remnants of one of the earlier failed attempts by humans to leave Africa. But I don’t think so.
More than ever, all these anomalies point to a clear possibility of space travel and alien tinkering …. we have been fooled by the pyramids and stories that they were inspired by alien visitors, thus because of its cleverly disguised shape, no one has thought to drill into Ayers Rock-Uluru, who knows what we might find besides cave paintings. And the near-by Bungle Bungles arrangement has always looked suspiciously like a intergalactic communications hub, secretly build by our one known extraterrestrial, Elon Musk.
As there seems to be an acceptance of these dates then maybe we could conjecture that there were in fact several episodes of new “arrivals” of ex-African migrants!
Which means that the current mob are not first nations people after all, but third nations people!
Dorfus, It just goes to show that indigenous story telling can’t really be taken seriously. I have heard the story howCape Cleaveland and surrounding’s came to be. Apparently the rainbow serpent chased the kangaroo from the Mulgrave out there and that’s its body laying out there. But lo and behold a story popped up from W.A. the other day and the rainbow serpent popped up in that story. All these many hundred tribes all can’t have a rainbow serpent.
And why can’t they all have a rainbow serpent? There’s hundreds of religions around the world who all claim to believe in the one true God.
Many a religious person has invited young acolytes to view … and if they’re true believers – touch their rainbow serpent.
It’s obviously a joke, Ducky, no one would seriously say that different cultures can’t have the same legends.
This is pretty dopey. There are snakes all over Australia, there are going to be myths about snake gods all over Australia.
C’mon, really, guys? Think about what you’re saying, think about what you’re talking about, FFS.
Question 8:
‘Genetic analysis shows that Aborigines entered Australia from the north via
Question 8:
‘Genetic analysis has shown that Aborigines entered Australia from the north no earlier than 40,000 years ago and Mungo man specimens (from south-east Australia) are dated at about 40,000 years. At what speed would the early Aborigines have had to walk southwards across the country?’
The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe. The axe was clever, he convinced the trees to vote for him – after all, his handle was made from wood.
But then that nasty chainsaw arrived…
‘Pie, I notice you gave the ABC credit for using the indigenous name and the historic name for Lake Eyre. I guess you have noticed that they don’t offer the same courtesy for Sydney, Frazer Island, Ayers Rock, Gove, etc., etc. Unless the LNP or some other body with balls puts a stop to this woke nonsense we will all be lost, literally. And boiled alive.
“the LNP or somebody with balls” lol like Fatty Palmer?
Oi, Ducky. Are you flying or driving down to Sydney this week?
This week Grumpy, I shall be enjoying the delightful weather on offer in Townsville. I believe there’s going to be some light rain. Good weather for ducks an all…
Yes, Fatty Palmer. He has balls, balls of fat all over his rotund body.
Oh! please don’t give them ideas, it will only take one of their hoards of loony freaks to notice that omission and they’ll jump through hoops to have that reversed and probably stippled in two different fonts and letter size.
Bentley complains that history is being eroded because … a few places are having their historic names restored. Doesn’t make sense.
Bentley is correct. The line of woke fuckwits are the ones pushing for locations to be renamed with Aboriginal names. Why fix what isn’t broken. Do we rename Australia (what is the Aboriginal word for Australia?)
* rename the Great Barrier Reef?
^ rename Sydney harbour?
* rename Point Piper?
* rename Brisbane?
I’m sick of it……..
What are aboriginal words for turning a blind eye to do domestic violence, rape of children and drug abuse in Land Council communities?
Republican Party
Bugger that, I’m moving to the Gulf of America.
I pledge my allegiance to the ponzi scheme of southern economic zone 1
Old blokes gotta whinge about something. The weather, kids these days, the music, changing the name of my pub, treating women and aboriginals as equals.
Stupid last bit, doesn’t stand up to logic. How about indigenous folk treating the rest of us as equals?
So you’re saying you’d like to be treated the same way indigenous folk are treated?
Simplistically silly boofheaded baiting. Yours is the cry of the blended indigenous elite who prey on their own claimed people for self-interest.
How are they not?
By disrespecting our very existence in a country which was ever destined to be taken over from a primitive, stone age culture and refusing to accept the vast benefits of western technology and culture. And by inculcating each generation with the cloak of militant victimhood, denying the reality of the here and now in a fruitless quest for an imagined return to a barbaric, backward culture toon unsophisticated to protect itself.
As regards the matter of the out-of-whack education syllabus – itself a deeply disrespectful strategy insulting to both sides … this from another article on the subject.
It is important that all students learn about Indigenous culture, history and perspectives, and that Indigenous children can embrace their heritage and learn in ways they find interesting and relevant.
But Indigenous kids live in a Westernised world so they have the right to be taught without condescending attempts to incorporate their culture into every lesson.
“Disrespecting our very existence” You poor hard done by old white man.
Thanks Ducky, I knew you’d understand.
Note that he doesn’t provide any examples of his existence being disrespected or refusal to accept the benefits of western technology and culture. It’s all resentment on his part.
FFS, don’t use logic on the Bigots.
Who is the deputy mayor, and who is the deputy chair?
There hasn’t been any annoucement on that matter that The ‘Pie has heard.
The elected deputy is also the acting Mayor. Same with the Deputy chair. To elect a new acting Deputy Mayor they have to give notice for a special meeting, with relevant timeframes, before they hold it. If the acting Mayor takes leave of absence, we have no Mayor or Chair.
Great … the city might start come first on the priorities of the remaining councillors.
Deputy Mayor was Jacob, Greaney was voted acting mayor in June. Since the change, no acting has been elected in Thompsons absence. They are 2 separate roles, meant for 2 separate people. If Greaney goes down, they do not have a replacement
‘Goes down’? What are you suggesting?
Would she have the flexibility?
Here in lies the problem. Greaney was voted in as Deputy Mayor with the spill. It meant nothing to most until she was holidaying in Japan and we had a flood. Then miraculously she returned out of the blue because there was no plan B.
Not having a deputy is poor leadership, but we are used to that under the current mob.
Would the council’s new Boo Hoo policy apply to Scooter Mooney’s foul-mouthed abuse of that resident who ordered him off his property in the lead-up to the last election?
I see you are on Twitter Pie. Get rid of this Musk addled site and join Blue Sky. 32 million users and growing rapidly. It’s a lot more sane.
Recommend for all centre right to left leaning people.
Prickester,
You may be interested in the writings of Watkin Tench, an Office of Marines with the first fleet. Below is an extract from the article with link below. His journals were published. He had a fascinating life. His writings expose that pre 1788 aboriginal society was a dangerous place for women and girls, and in many places, still is.
Let’s start in 1788 when Captain Watkin Tench of the First Fleet noticed that ‘savage violence’ towards aboriginal women was rife. In his work, A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson, Tench describes how an Aboriginal, Woollarawarre Bennelong was observed bashing his second wife, Barangaroo, with ‘blows and kicks and every other mark of brutality’ — for which Barangaroo received no pity from on-lookers.
This was the first official account of domestic violence in Australia and was, apparently, rife in Aboriginal societies and culture at the time, and remains so to this day.
Yet, Woollarawarre Bennelong is revered by some, and some even demand that a statue of him be erected in NSW alongside the likes of Captain Cook and Governor Arthur Phillip — neither of whom had a history of wife-bashing.
FINDING TRUTH IN THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT https://donaldwilliamtate.medium.com/finding-truth-in-the-black-lives-matter-movement-c2bbd4a3075c
Sadly Bennelong is “immortalised” by having the peninsula on which the Sydney opera House stands bears his name; Bennelong Point
And was the wife who got the stuffing belted out of her named Barangaroo, who has given her name to the mega casino money laundry just around the corner under the bridge.
TCC new policy was not developed with the LG Act in mind, very self serving if anything.
4. Local government principles underpin this Act:
(1)To ensure the system of local government is accountable, effective, efficient and sustainable, Parliament requires—
(i)is consistent with the local government principles; and
(2)The local government principles are—
(a)transparent and effective processes, and decision-making in the public interest; and
(c)democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement;
The meaning of: in the public interest, democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement may have been voided by the new rules. It was interesting that the Legal Chief Sewell could not name a QLD council in this only NSW, so it’s a new set of laws, or attempting to cover the arse of councillors perhaps.
More so staff.
Townsville ratepayers are funding 2 TEL “initiatives”:
1. The 50% local travel discount
2. The just announced Major Events Advisory Panel
Can Ms BS please advise if this funding is coming out of the $750,000 ratepayers donate to Wishing Well House each year?
If it is extra money, can she or someone on the council tell ratepayers how much?
After all, it’s coming out of our pockets.
According to a TEL media statement the MEAP is “comprised of accomplished professionals from diverse fields who bring extensive expertise to the table”:
Jamie Fitzpatrick – Chair: With over 23 years of hospitality experience, Jamie is an industry leader, known for excelling in high-demand managerial roles and as an owner-operator. Jamie also serves on the board of TEL.
Jacqueline Cowell: A dynamic and results-focused executive, Jacqueline has more than two decades of success in managing arts, cultural, sport, and recreation programs. Jacqueline is currently the General Manager of Community and Lifestyle at Townsville City Council.
Claudia Brumme-Smith: CEO of Townsville Enterprise, Claudia drives the organisation’s mission to secure Townsville North Queensland’s economic future and position the region as a premier destination.
Bridget Hart: An executive director with expertise in creating impactful human experiences through partnerships, relationships, and communication.
Jess Keir: A commercial litigation and employment lawyer at KSW Lawyers, Jess brings legal insight and expertise to the Panel.
Four vertical smiles and a sausage … can you imagine the cacophony of nighties being ripped up if the gender count was the other way around? Seems gender imbalance is a one way street, especially with drones like this. Or qualified blokjes wouldn’t touch this poisoned chalice with their 40 foot barge poles.
Jacqueline Cowell is a long-serving TCC drone, do the job that Foodstruck Greaney did before getting otgo council. If she was essentially useless on council, what’s she doing on this panel?
We are told that Bridget Hart is an executive director, but of what? A kindergarten, a teapot making factory, a rocket launch start-up, maybe a manufacturer of plastic clips on packaged bread? Look, for all The ‘Pie knows, Ms Hart may give sliced bread a run for its money in the ‘best thing since’ stakes, but we shouldn’t have to Google her, wouldn’t it be a good idea to say up front exactly skills she bring to the table to be entrusted with OUR money? Instead, we get the insulting, anodyne piffle-talk of “impactful human experience through partnerships, relationships and communication’. COM-MUNI-FUCKING-CATION!?! Four faults at the first hurdle in the Communication Jump Off Final.
Jess Keir poses a descriptive challenge. She’s a lawyer, someone had to be, and well, that about is it, and gilding the lily is just annoying and rude. So of course she will provide legal insight and expertise … THAT’S WHAT FUCKING LAWYERS … ALL LAWYERS … DO.
Claudia ‘Ms B-S’ Brumme-Smith is … no, no, don’t get me started. But she is proving to be a more accomplished con artist than Troy Thompson, and when it comes to achievements and qualifications, she’s a bigger liar than him.
It seems that the lone sausage in this gas chamber of estrogen, Jamie Fitzpatrick is the only known quantity here, and that is that of a successful businessman who actually employs people … plenty of them in his various venues … and is the only one with actual business experience rather than just a piece of paper from a correspondence university. Whether running a bunch of bars and restaurants and building up a nice property portfolio will actually translate into useful experience in this vague amorphous potential money pit is yet to be seen.
Competing in the events market in Australia is a savage arena of contacts and backhanders which requires specialised experience and skills, which none of these amateurs possess.
Really disgusting.
But guess what? TEL have got their tits really caught in the wringer this time, because while they shy swell away from KPIs in all their other endeavors (whatever the fuck they actually are) they cannot escape them here. Ms B-S’s deeply stupid waffle about attracting 20 or so events in the first year gives until next January to show that this cobbled together rort has achieved its goals. She hasput the noose around her own neck, but will anyone have the guts to kick away the chair next January if she doesn’t reach her performance boast?
Its ok
They can put up rates another 10%
Doug, it’s all very mystifying!
We have this piece in the Bulletin…
https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville/halfprice-holidays-mates-rates-sells-out-in-seven-days/news-story/e7e9d9e1211ceb4d2807a607d9a2a987
Which states…
“Tourism operators have seen nearly $500,000 in bookings made in just seven days thanks to the ‘Mates Rates’ promotion, which offered half-price staycations to anyone quick enough to book.
Advertised only in the Townsville area, the half-price bookings were launched on February 17 and sold out by February 24.”
This half a million bucks worth of bookings included a 50 per cent discount making a grand total of a million.
Are the tourism operators out of pocket to the tune of $500,000?
Apparently not because…according to the Bulletin…
“The Mates Rates sale allowed people to book anything on the Townsville North Queensland website at a 50 per cent discount within six weeks.
Funding from Townsville Enterprise then paid the tourism operator the missing 50 per cent, resulting in full payments for the operators.”
Can someone please tell me where TEL can get its hands on a lazy half a million to pay out these operators?
The whole thing makes no sense at all, but then, the absurd utterings that come out of Ms. “Bullshit Baffles Brains” mouth never make any sense.
And don’t get me started on this load of bollocks!
https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville/major-events-advisory-panel-joins-townsville-enterprise-to-promote-townsville/news-story/fe4e0efb043102bf3f0780eaf634c08a
We have this…
“A new panel focused on bringing big names to the North has officially joined Townsville Enterprise in hopes of making the city a ‘must-visit’ for visitors and touring events.
Townsville Enterprise CEO, Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Major Events Advisory Panel (MEAP) transitioned out of Townsville City Council on January 1, a decision made to improve the process of securing popular acts.
“We know that ultimately when we want to attract those major events to town, we do need the agility and the speed that Townsville enterprise can bring,” she said.”
“Agility and speed” eh? Dangerous more likely!
TEL’s job is to promote the city resulting in tourism, NOT to bring supposedly “popular acts” here, which, really, at the end of the day, drain the city of millions of dollars.
I just wonder how many millions of “Townsville” dollars left the city in Pink’s and her promoter’s wallets?
And Doug, analyse the backgrounds of the members of this “advisory panel.”
After you shudder in sheer amazement at their lack of expertise in this endeavour, go and have a stiff drink…I am!
Well, I’ll be hornswoggled, as Gabby Hayes used to say.
Hey, is that actually you, EB? Well written, well reasoned, all in all, very Magpie-esque. Indeed, the old bird was wondering whether to hold off to the next Nest or write something along the same lines immediately. Especially the bit about the Dudley Do Nothing forking out that sort of money. The inane Wolverine woman really is a waste of space, being either stupid or a liar.
Townsville Enterprise remains an on-going swindle of the ratepayers and the state government, it will be interesting to see what will happen if and when we get the administrators in.
TEL increased their “Transactions with Key Management Personnel “ by 42% in 2024 from 2023.
An extra $277,000 for their “Key Management” including the Chair rhymes with Dill.
EB, If you keep posting comments such as this I think I may start liking you.
While Council seems to be suffering from insurmountable debt and are looking at revenue raising alternatives such as increased rates and metered parking, TEL’s budget seems to be swelling like Troy Thompson’s member when he discovers a new rort! How the fuck can this be??
Whisers abound thaty TwoNames will now looking to Tinder or Grindr for said member fluffing, because ‘Meeshell’ is no more under Mrs Thompson’s roof. Usually no one else’s business, but in this instance, Michelle was a major enabler and fellow crackpot, so if it’s true, it’s interesting. If it’s not true, then it is right that there’s no accounting for taste.
Very interesting Magpie. Perhaps Meeshell was sick of living a lie with Twonames, pretending to be a couple when they in fact aren’t? Oh well, live by the sword, die by the sword.
Might explain why he has been absent from Facebook most of today, and in recent days he hasn’t been posting his anti TCC polava every day. Maybe the author of most of his rants (Michelle) is too busy moving out all the furniture?
Twonames, r u ok??
He has been neutered via his own weapon of choice, Facebook. That new fb group dedicated to meticulously examining, debunking and mocking every single thing he posts has impacted his online behaviour. He is well aware of the group and will often edit his posts once called out. There has been some talk that the partner has shot through following extensive investigations and alot of fun speculation. (It seems ole Troy was a bit of a tomcat when first courting Meshell) The woman who runs the group seems to be meticulous, intuitive and generally right on the money. Scrolling through the group members list is a surprising and altogether a pleasant experience. It is worth watching.
HEADMISTRESS!!! HOLD OUT YOUR HAND FOR SIX OF THE BEST.
It would be even more worth watching if you had provided a link!!! You don’t even give it a name, FFS. Naughty girl.
The reports on the Blocked page are now that they are back between the sheets together. Oh, Headmistress, I’m glad you find me a “pleasant experience’ – maybe you’ll earn that tee-shirt yet.
Sorry that this may appear in the wrong spot. But you ran out of REPLY buttons. You should purchase some more Mr Pie. The link to the new Anti-Thompson page is-
https://facebook.com/groups/896775858998447/
The page is very much single topic focussed on Thompson. As Headmistress described, the young woman running it is thorough in her dissection of the con man. They also seem to work the page as a crowdsourcing effort on aspects regarding him. And so far, they are winning at fighting him on his own turf on Facebook. The con man sits watching the other group for anything he can use against other councillors, which he has already tried, but he is also busy spinning his own head at every mistake, even spelling, that the Townsvillians page uncovers on his page So he is finally losing his edge and usefulness with Facebook. And it seems for a while, and could go longer, it’s definitely had an impact on him and the girlfriend. I believe her Mother recently visited the page for a good look. you need to be a member, and they noticed, and within days the girlfriend had disappeared. And her presence on Thompson’s page has also disappeared. Leaving it loaded with poor typing, spelling mistakes and no marketing strategy, in as much as it could be called that. Seems him without her is even less worthy than we should expect.
I just have no words so this will have to do :- https://imgur.com/gallery/same-as-old-meep-UcrgkVp#/t/meep
The ‘Pie has not the foggiest clue what that’s about. But OK, it';s out there now.
“Major Events Advisory Panel (MEAP) transitioned out of Townsville City Council on January 1,”
Yeah I’ll tell you where some of it comes from. The disappearing pay early discount on my rates. On $1900 rates I get $34 discount if I pay before the due date.
I don’t know how long they’ve been around but I’m seeing new Hi Viz uniforms too covered in embroidery, some sort of Aboriginal art and those stupid 1 line slogans.
An observation for a mob crying poor they don’t act like they are short of cash.
Not paying my rates early, I’ll take the late fee, make them wait a few months. If we all did that it may send a message, desperate times, desperate measures. $35 discount not worth it, $80 late fee is worth the hassle, if it means they hear us. But the majority need to not pay.
$61M in the overdraft on the 19th feb, what will they be on the 19th April $100M! The revenue lasts 3 months only, it’s on shaky grounds. Cut the mayor and the gaggle, wait it out until it stabilises.
It is well known that The ‘Pie is no financial genius, but isn’t borrowing money to pay day-to-day expenses and wages a really big no-no? Isn’t that the very definition of insolvency?
Apparently not if you have $6B in over valued assets. The Queensland Treasury has no issues loaning more, the interest component on 13 loans is well over $19M per annum. FTE Payroll $171M, water $240M seems there’s not much less to maintain the city. I’d like to know Mike from Annandale’s view, he’s the figures guy. From a lay man, it’s insolvent to me
This was being discussed at the water tax group back in 2010/2011. It was being seen even then the council could be borrowing to do this very thing. A debt in tvl of 400 + million must be the tipping point where the pain is felt ( sort of).
The rate rises we are seeing now every year might be purely to
1 pay off the interest
2 demonstrate the council has the will to increase taxes when necessary to pay the lender.
The council could increase rates above 10% but this would only help pay the interest and by rights you’d need at least a 5 -7 % extra to help pay the increasing wages bill / TEL/ mates rates. the debt itself won’t be scratched.
Oh Mr. Pie, I’m all aflutter!
Hope you’re not trying to get under my wings?
Your granny pants are safe, m’dear.
Does anyone at the council or TEL realise that the millions of ratepayer funds being paid to southern promoters to prop up (they call it “attract”) pop concerts and other events (like the dying V8 Supercars) are benefiting only a relatively small percentage of local residents?
Most people either cannot afford to buy tickets or have little or no interest in attending these “events”.
Take the most successful entertainment event ever to come to Townsville – the Pink concerts. Of the 60,000 who attended at least 50% were from out of town, meaning 30,000 locals benefited. That means around 160,000 didn’t.
And who decided that making Townsville the “Events Capital of North Queensland” was a priority?
The ratepayer’s money donated to ticketed events should instead be used to fund free major attractions that everyone can attend and enjoy.
Like a Skyshow every 2 years, and maybe an annual Buskers Festival featuring not just locals, but the best sidewalk entertainers from throughout Australia and overseas.
As for the TEL 50% discount promotion, just when did ratepayers become responsible for filling up hotel rooms?
If that $500,000 ‘prop’ for tourism businesses is a fact, then it is a disgrace. But is it a fact? Did TEL actually hand over cash money or is there some sort of promotional spin going on here? Has the TBulletin quoted someone from TEL or just dumped some ambiguous gumpf behind the paywall?
@Doug
V8 – $1.8M
TEL $650k pa + $4.8M events funding + as required
Dance North $180k pa + $2M city fund
AFCM $85k pa + $2M city fund
India Fest $55k pa
Cowboys $250k
Fire $150k pa + $20k finals
SPNQ $65k
Chamber $35k
PBR $65k
Elite Rodeo $30k
Cotters $2.8M
Mother Hen – Council needs a DOGE at worst a Council efficiency committee before the 2025/26 budget . Councillors read the magpie so the efficiency committee would require one of Townsvilles Commercial Real Estate Directors . Why , appears Ex Mayor and Prins did the 2 large Council depots on Webb Drive meaning the old Cranbrook , Aitkenvale , Garbutt are closed or not used . Enterprise House , previous development centre at Condon , Council building 143 Walker st( additional to Chambers ). If asset sales are unpalatable then rationalise agencies and space and commercially lease it out including unused space opposite Library cbd . All the Council entities closed down including training or rationalised . $Mils in savings vs lazy local Government ramping up rates . Transparency on Lansdown .
Mike – what’s your beef about 143 Walker Street? It has a high profile tenant in the Commonwealth Courts’ Registries and is otherwise completely full of council staffers, it being handily adjacent to Council offices. It was also designed and built as an emergency centre (next time you drive past, have a look at the design of the exterior widows), so properly operated by a government authority. It started life as a commonwealth-owned building, was then sold to private interests and then to council. Oh – and it leaks like a sieve.
People are idiots about asset sales when it comes to land. It’s fine to sell land! (We should start with the showgrounds which developers would snap up).
Privatising services is the real concern, especially if you’re delivering a monopoly to profit seeking corporations.
The show grounds don’t belong to the council, but they should be sold anyway and new grounds built further out of the city.
Eventually, economics will force that issue. Maybe Chris Condon, who is more protective of the show grounds than a plover of her nest, might like to think laterally and propose a water park there.
As far as I know, the Showgrounds are Queensland government reserve land in trusteeship of the TCC. This means the land can’t be sold bt council.
And The ‘Pie is told it woukd take a new act of parliament to even put it on the auction block.
In a related matter of government/council powers, Chris Morris’s plans for th land next Ardo won’t be held up by pettifogging council red tape and chest thumping …. that whole area operates under a separate act ov parliament which freezes out the council as a core decision maker.
B.M.,
Forget about the show grounds, what about the site in Cranbrook, labled on the map as aboriginal reserve, supposedly owned by an aboriginal land trust, where, since I arrived in this town in 1974, fuckall has been done.
21 hectares; are they paying rates on this land or are the owners special and exempt from rates? The near bankrupt TCC would welcome that rates money.
If they are paying rates on 21 hectares how are they earning the money? Oh, that would be the Australian taxpayers.
At least they could do is mow the grass to control vermin.
The council bailed out the showgrounds some years back because they couldn’t pay their rates. So I guess ratepayers bailed them out.
Not sure that’s true, more info pls. It would be.s state government matter, wouldn’t it?
Why on earth would that be a state government matter? It was a rates matter. They were in default. It was around the same time the show grounds offices were deliberately burned down. Mr Condon took over a few years later. Perhaps he could tell you more.
Not sure that analysis stands up Ducky. Unless the show ground operates under a separate company entity, they are state government property, and if rate fall due and are defaulted, then it is of course a state government matter. So just what is the operating set-up? Chris Condon doesn’t strike The ‘Pie as the public servant type.
The beginning of the dark ages for us starts with a corporate takeover
Nobody, anywhere, needs a DOGE.
Why not? No telling what a general audit may achieve. I vote NDIS providers be first on the list.
@Mike
You just need to look at the Smart Precinct NQ lease, and wastage, funding given it’s absurd.
Mike, Regarding the two depots down Webb Dr. Fleet Workshops and Waste Truck Depot over the road. Brad Webb is raking the dollars in. As he says “money for jam”
Just turn off the money tap to everything
DougK, is it possible the 50% discount promotion is actually funded by the Federal government’s resilience program announced just days before?:
“Townsville Enterprise welcomes today’s announcement that the Albanese Government will invest $84.8 million through the North Queensland Resilience Program to 18 local government areas including Townsville, Hinchinbrook, Burdekin and Charters Towers.
North Queensland will benefit from 77 new resilience initiatives to help reduce disaster risk across road and transport networks, in communities, and throughout the environment.”
No, it’s not possible.
This is a recurring annual-ish thing for TEL, and this round was announced and promoted way, way ahead of the floods and any Albanese announcement. Anyway, Albo would be dicing with political injury if any ‘resilience’ money went to this smoke and mirrors nonsense and not to practical help of those in rewal need, not in need of a holiday.
On 11 February, in relation to a ‘Build Back Better’ program, which I thought was a one-off connected to the NQ floods, TEL had this to say:
““The construction industry has been hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in clean-up costs, project delays, and a month of lost productivity. Our manufacturers have been unable to receive raw materials from the Northwest due to prolonged road closures. Meanwhile, our tourism sector is forecasting $40 million in cancellations, with leisure visitors not expected to return until after Easter.”
Less than a week later a heap of federal money was tossed into some coffer or other and TEL had $500,000 to spend on 50% discount tourism tickets. Seemed like a mighty coincidence.
The Mates Rates campaign also happened last year. It’s under the Destination Queensland funding and occurs in other areas of Queensland. Here it is a partnership between TEL and Tourism and Events Queensland. This year it was originally set up to run at Easter but was brought forward to help with disaster recovery
https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/99748
https://www.townsvilleenterprise.com.au/mates-rates-gains-support-of-tourism-and-events-queensland/
actually out of town visitors @ 50% is seen as a good thing for raising revenue for the city. Donating $50000 for 500 locals to have a survival day march is seen as a poor return on investment.
It would be more efficient to combine the events and bring those 500 Survival Day protesters to participate in the Australia Day ceremonies.
Troy Troy where art thou. You’ve gone quiet on Facebook. Perhaps some of your self inflicted bullshit has finally bitten you on the ass? You feeling the pressure,
Possum?
A better bet is that he has suddenly realised that he has shot himself in the foot with his rants, which may well come under the provisions of bringing a council into disrepute as a councillor, albeit a suspended one.
He has assured himself that he will never be re-elected. It’s now just how much he will bilk the public purse for in his conning campaign.
The multiple issues unfolding are a problem, but he will see through 12 months paid leave, spoke to the ministers aid, the state did themselves no favours injecting their opinions, which hadn’t helped, given there was no legal outcomes. The complaints are now being handled by his lawyers, Guest Lawyers, very respected criminal lawyers down south, I’d assume he’s gone south for a better chance, and those guys win more than they lose. You can bet it’ll be high profile, which is exactly what he wants. Higher outcome, financially. We have a way to go yet, it’ll be extended at every turn for sure.
An overly optimistic view which seems to be based on wishful thinking.
@magpie
Just looked at today’s latest bulletin story, (4:46pm) the Premier has said to councillors, ignore him, he’s just a citizen, and nothing more. Even stating, disagreeing with council ‘how democracy works.”
That’s not how democracy works for the average punter, according to David Sewell.
Upper House has transitioned to Mother Hen… weird but hello Troy
Good try, but no cheese. I pay my rates, and have owned my home for 36 years, unlike others. Thanks for the comment though
If Hee Haw is right, and ratepayers contribute $277,000 for TEL’s “Key Management” including Chairman Kevin Gill, some questions need answering:
1. Has the constitution been amended to allow someone who is not the head sherang of a local company to act as TEL Chair?
2. Is Mr Gill being paid?
3. If so, how much, and what does he actually do to earn it?
Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong, but as a far as I’m aware the TEL Chairman wasn’t paid in the past.
I’m almost certain even the most effective and respected in TEL history, the late Graham Jackson, wasn’t on the payroll.
Gill gets paid, his trips are all paid for too, every time there’s a trip south, him and Claudia are on it paid by the ratepayer. Now they have more funds for event management, they have new roles, all living off the public’s teat.
Doug
I think you misunderstood my comment I apologise for that.
Tel do not pay $277,000 for Key Management, they pay $929,818 for Key Management the increase was $277,000 from the previous year which was $652,522.
To quote the annual report (way back in the financial notes) “The chair of the board receives remuneration for their role on the board” it then goes on to name him. (Page 68 of 70 if you are interested to look)
Yes Magpie here is the link https://issuu.com/townsvilleenterprise/docs/tel_annualreport_2023_24final
As Shrek would say, good donkey
Is anyone interested in what I’ve been doing, since my loss for re-election in Thuringowa?
One assumes it is eactly the same when you were our memeber … absolutely fucking nothing.
The Magpie wins the comment of the week award for that reply to Harpic. Love it!
So what reward are you going to give the ‘Pie?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/spike-in-magpie-deaths-concerns-perth-wildlife-carers/104984404
Malcolm,
Take care lest this comes to Townsville. The vector would be a Mullet or a Food Truck.
It’s official! The women’s fashion colour for 2025 is apparently purple. Mullet’s wardrobe has just gone up in value.
Won’t last ! a real estate company in Australia called Purple Cow was launched a couple of years ago and after 12 months went down quicker than Monica on Bill Clinton !
KP . Debt to equity ratio to assets . A few years ago
whilst there was no increase in valuations across buildings in Townsville Councils assets increased 21 % meaning they could borrow more . $19 mil a year in interest Council is paying . Based on projected losses it could take 30 yrs + to pay off the $600 mil in loans . Ratepayers could be forking out over $300 mil + in interest alone unless State + Feds grant the City some big $ just to pay debt vs infrastructure . I don’t see that happening . Cairns and Mackay arnt burdened with these financial problems . Thanks Team Hill .
@Mike
The LG Minister has received multiple complaints about the councils solvency, the CEO is certainly protecting his arse. That said, the interest, job backlog of 40 years and the loan redraw, all have to add up to something. There’s a lot not being completed, and kicking the can down the road to make the financials look good is poor form, just delays the inevitable. Just saw the meeting agenda for next week, more overspend on community grants, no mention of the smaller grants, there’s many of them.
Its ok
According to the tvl council corporate plan townsville is a welcoming city now. Exactly what tvl will be welcoming is debatable , more crime more taxes, more division/ fractured communities across racial, ideological, religious lines, traffic jams, dysfuntion ? – the mind boggles. Higher rates, higher wages for management so they can devour you. That’s the problem of people voting stupid when they walk in to vote. The council and the vultures that sit as “councillors” represent perfectly the direction for tvl : over a cliff.
The council had the opportunity to pay off its debt for years but decided instead to destroy the city with debt, management wages and golden handshakes given to departing commissars to the next bureaucracy that devours its host. Government as we know it in Australia can be likened to a chronic and debilitating mange that wastes the body of the host.
There’s no end to this scourge now. The major cities of Australia became open air lunatic asylums, that’s the big plan for tvl.
Genuine query…does Two Names have any siblings?
Dunno, never inquired, doesn’t seem relevant.
Or, good grief, children?
Two brothers, living, and one deceased. He also has two children, step-daughter Ashleigh and son Jordan.
I know the Magpie does have rules about relevancy when it comes to family members. Personally, I think it is relevant. With all the stories TwoNames has told, I think it is quite telling the complete absence of family members to back him up or support him in any of this mess. Or most importantly to corroborate any of his tales. He’s certainly been happy to exploit the family’s existence to his benefit, but that also should bring with it the need to ensure they can corroborate the “facts” he puts forward. And this is something he knows they will not do. No, it’s not a requirement that a “Politician” (if we can call him that), parade their family onto A Current Affair with him. But then he should also not be allowed to essentially put forward stories of their presence in certain “fictional” events he has spoken about.
So, fair game question from Grumpy I think.
Magpie is right, family should be off limits, they shouldn’t be dragged through his shit. The only reason people bring family into it is because they are lacking moral fibre. Let him rot in his own shit, his family should be left out of it. Thompson will fall, of his own bullshit.
In principle I would agree. But in practice, with TwoNames I disagree. Primarily on the basis that he is the one who has brought them into the story. I’m just highlighting some portions for you:
-Why TwoNames? He’s gone on the record repeatedly, that the reason he used the surname Birnbrauer was that he married his wife, she was the last of her line, and her surname. He “nobly” took on her surname, rather than she, his. All very “WOKE” from somebody who despises a lot of that so called behaviour. Except, that’s another one of his lies. His wife already had a child from a previous relationship carrying that surname, his step-daughter. So he didn’t need to take on that surname for it to carry to the next generation. That had already been accomplished.
-The Son? One of his earliest campaign posts from last year was about his son. And how proud he was about his Son’s lifestyle and career choices. I’m not going to go into the detail here, and let people pull his son apart. For TwoNames many lies, it was a rare, honest and endearing account. Until it wasn’t there anymore. We know that TwoNames is the King of Delete, but when he deletes his own post about his Son, you need to ask why? What electoral demographic was he trying to appeal to when all of a sudden his Son’s story goes from being part of TwoNames narrative, to a liability he had to hide.
-The Mother and the Brothers? With all of the lies he’s told, you’d think he might want to stand up some people who could corroborate his many stories. It would be the easiest way for him to gain some credibility, if they were willing to go on the record and back him up on his SAS days, his Uni days, etc. well, shucks, that might just mean he’s telling the truth. Except…..the sound of crickets. Nobody stands beside him to corroborate those stories. And you’d think family is the quickest and easiest way to do that. And even if they have a relationship with Truth and Facts the same as TwoNames, and come forth and lie for him, well then you at least know there is loyalty within the family. Well, with the absence of truth or lies from the family, that shows there is no loyalty to TwoNames. And if you can’t get loyalty from your own family, well that says a lot in and of itself about someone’s character.
The list of reasons why, with TwoNames, the family component is important, even by their absence, is much longer than this. But that’s the starter course. In this case family matters. And over time, that will become evident.
Two names is like the city’s very own budget Scarface. Thought he could run a town the way he runs his mouth, recklessly and with zero accountability. Guess those gold chains weren’t just a fashion crime. they were a preview of his political career, flashy, tacky, and completely worthless.
So much for the humanity, dignity and respect of the highest office on the planet!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2025/feb/26/donald-trump-shares-bizarre-ai-generated-video-of-trump-gaza-video
I’m not sure what you expected from Trumpistan.
However this was pretty funny. Expect the guy behind this to be publicly executed.
https://7news.com.au/news/deepfake-of-donald-trump-sucking-elon-musks-toes-broadcast-on-government-building-tv-screens-c-17840001
It is an amoral, perverse, and disgusting post by the orange barbarian. Doesn’t get much lower than this. These disposable humans should be ashamed of themselves.
For the first time in ages I found myself in the CBD (?) for an hour while the love of my life was at an appointment.
Unbelievable. I had seen photos of the CBD but being there was altogether different. Cigarette butts in every garden bed and planter box. Periodically a clump of empty booze cans on the footpath, and scrunched up tissue paper suggesting something vile. Worse still was the smell. Flinders Street, vicinity of Woolworths stunk like the drain running through the main market at Phuket when there in 1977. Then there were those few people about. Some dressed up like the pox doctors clerk, many others on hard times. It is time to cut the CBD lose,
let it die with what dignity it can muster. The TCC is broke and bereft, developers are not fools and the opportunity that is TPAC has been spurned. Let it decay and as such the buildings and the creatures that inhabit the area will become a fascination for curious visitors, who, hopefully, are up to date with their vaccination.
What a bloody, bloody disaster! When I arrived in this town as an 18 year old Flinders Street on a Saturday was an exciting place to be. Now it extrudes the odour of excrement.
Ben R…Your last paragraph makes no sense at all. When I was eighteen, in the mid sixties, the asphalt finished at The Vale Hotel. Flinders Street was the centre of town.
Great idea using Suncorp stadium as the Olympic swimming stadium. Fifty thousand people in the audience and a pool that will be bumped in and bumped out, then the venue used for other sports and Paralympics after the first week of the Olympics. Rugby sevens, soccer, 20/20 cricket, modern pentathlon come to mind (they did that in Japan)
That idea sounded feasible to Kerry Packer with cricket pitches for th World series era. Sounds like a good, economical plan.
It’s wonderful to see so many fellow magnets of the ‘SAME POLARITY’ so to speak, coming to Magnetic Island to live!
A tropical Lesbos By The Reef, eh?
looking forward to you sending some Sappho-ic poetry!
Mr. Pie, we all know that the Bulletin is a fourth-rate “newspaper” and, I use that word loosely…but the powers that be have outdone themselves with this load of absolute bollocks!
https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville-mother-of-aspiring-soccer-player-blasts-marty-sheargold-comments/news-story/4eab12c3f4cef3c1da44f881927c9b67
And the front page lead, no less, amplified by a nonsensical editorial!
Bye, bye Cas…Tasmanians beware!
EB, The ‘Pie will give you the points for beating him into print, your comment landed while he was tapping out the following.
In one of her final hyperventilating iditorials, the departing Gas Carvey parroted popular and incorrect conclusions about a massive media beat-up about a obscure southern radio coprolite named Martin Sheargold saying nasty things about the Matildas and womens sport in general. (The ‘Pie will put his view in this feminist hi-jack of free speech in Sunday’s Nest).
But it appears despite her experience in Townsville – what was it, a couple of years or so … Garvey has not gained any awareness of irony, when she ends her own iditorial rant with this line:
“A man degrading sportswomen on a drivetime show is not the voice Australian media needs.’
HA!! Getting ethical advice on the moral needs of Australia’s media from an employee of News Limited is like getting bushwalking advice from Ivan Milat.
The irony of Sheargold’s on air comments is that he was correct. The Matilda’s are as boring as watching grass grow. Give me men’s sport any day.
No he was correct, he just expressed an opinion that happens to agree with yours. For The ‘Pie, this whole thing is about ‘compelled speech’ – being told what we can and cannot say – and history has plenty of examples of compelled speech transforming eventually into compelled thinking. It’s insidious when certain groups have the media in their thrall.
Sounds like Israel Falou all over again…. Freedom of speech is dying
Sorry to point out, but the Editorial doesn’t carry the byline of an individual And isn’t always written by the Editor per se, but by whoever might be filling that role on the day. So potshots at a person, rather than a position or just the paper itself, seem way off mark. In fact sound personally vindictive without any facts to back them up.
A remarkably ill-informed comment. It is well established industry fact that editors have always taken the responsibility for anything written or broadcast by their team, but especially more so the editorial – it is always the view of the editor, the only person authorised to speak for the paper or organisation. And any criticism of an editorial goes towards whoever is responsible for the paper as appointed by the publisher/owner, and, in the scenario you envisage, has authorised the writings of another. This is a very reasonable targeting because, as you say, editorials never carry a personal signature. And they are by their very nature, anonymous opinion pieces, not hard factual news alone, which are designed to state the position of the publication on important issues. And, therefore, no matter about your your addled hanky wringing, the named editor is a legitimate person at which direct any criticism.
Some papers, like the Australian and a lot of American papers, have an editorial board which has input, and is named as such, but that is a different matter to your ignorant view.
No rubbish collection for northern suburbs today. No reasons, warnings or even notice by txt msg.
Google tells me yesterday it was Annandale.
Lets see if it becomes a habit but borrowing from Peter to pay Paul is going to come apart sooner or later.
(It will be interesting to see how The Bulletin reports the following contemporaneous account of today';s MIRRA meeting on Maggie Island. If in their lofty judgement, it merits any mention at all.The Magpie)
We’ve just returned from the MIRRA meeting. Greaney turned up, bringing the muscle boys with her: Matt Richardson and no less than CEO Joe McCabe. When McCabe got up and began speaking like a dignatory ( but one who says “somethink” for something) an old fella from the floor called out “Excuse me, but who are you?” There was great ceremony applied to McCabe’s presence: the first CEO to EVER visit a MIRRA meeting!
There was high farce : one resident called Mattypants a liar, Cameron Turnbull tried to evict her but she said she wouldn’t stay anyway in any meeting that allowed lying. John Wayne-like, Mattypants visibly stood to his full height and told the meeting he was “highly offended” at being called a liar;and he stood on his record of 27 years of service in the ADF.
He later lied through his teeth about the Kelly St dump, describing the harbour spoil as an all natural topsoil-like product. So, he said “that means it’s not heavy industry.”
Greaney’s looking a bit worse for wear. She said she wanted to dispel some rumours doing the rounds on the island: 1. When her husband visited the Brewery on the island he paid for his own drinks. 2. Yes, she was in Japan on holiday when the big wet came, but she came right home and she paid her own way. The ratepayers did not pay for her flights. She waved her hand like a queen and said words to the effect “So if you think I’ve done anything wrong go ahead and refer me to the OIA”.
The mood from the floor was that they weren’t fooling anyone; same old, same old. So I think their charade has done them more harm than good.
9.32pm Saturday.
Massive explosion somewhere in North Ward. The floor of our flats shook for about five seconds, and the noise was definitely explosive so not an earthquake I’d say. But some others are caiming it was a tremor, but it didn’t seem to have that characteristic (been in a couple in my time … knocked clean out of nbed in Sydney by the Newcastle shock way back when.)
My phone buzzed as the floor was shaking telling me a 4.7 magnitudes quake was detected with 10km of my phone.
4.4 magnitude earthquake within 20km SW of Townsville
https://earthquakes.ga.gov.au/
I have lived through hundreds of earthquakes in my life, with a wide range in characteristics and magnitudes.
It wasn’t an earthquake. No way.
As and when it occured, it was centred smack bang in the middle of Townsville regions military ammunition dump up there.
By the next morning (that’s this morning as I type), the official epicenter had ‘shifted’ away from that location.
Now today the area has been declared off limits for no logical reason.
The 3 statements immediately above are facts.
Nothing like a good conspiracy theory.
Ok, I’ll ask the obvious question: how can you confrim these facts? Links, press releases, news bulletins, FBI, special delivery by little green men?