Tick Teaser: So The Premier Has Exposed His Big Swinging Nick To Townsville, But Will There Be A Similar Unzipping In Hinchinbrook ?

Early counting seem to confirm preferences will decide the outcome. Whatever that is,  it will have been Crisafulli’s doing.  A bold gamble because a loss will strengthen Brutus Bleijie’s dagger hand, but a win will hold Castle Crisafulli for the moment.

But even before there was a lick of the pencil and a shaky X put to paper, one loser had already been established … the Queensland taxpayer.  How will the government justify their blatant $100k+ vote buying with public money?

The Premier’s memory suffers a senior moment on the campaign trail, forgetting the rule of pots and kettles.

TwoNames Thompson has just learnt one of life’s core lessons: karma might dawdle along sometimes , but it eventually arrives at its destination.  The man the Astonisher front-paged as King Con is gone from our public life with a blaze of shame in the national media. But like a fart in a lift,  his presence remains, although he’s got off at the basement..

Once again, The sensation-seeking Bulletin makes a total ass of itself,  this time,  making a spectacular show of the local ignorance that would be hilarious if it wasn’t so embarrassing.

If hanging from coat tails was a sport, Townsville Enterprise would be Olympic class … during the week, they made or implies two phantasmagorical involvements.

The stunningly stupid verdict of a NSW judge, who has done her judicial best to further sour police/indigenous relations.

And an AI video that is one of the best funny/sad potted history of the mob-boss US President, as seen through the eyes of the founding fathers.  .Enjoy the sensation of being being appalled and amused at the same time.

If Black Friday hasn’t completely vacuumed your purse, the Nest could do with the helping hand of a donation to meet on-going costs. The link to help out your favourite weekly read is at the end of the blog.

HINCHINBROOK.

Don’t be fooled by an 11% lead by Cheezy, ahead of Frothy. Check out your guess how preferences will flow from this, which is how things stood when counting closed last night shortly before The Magpie’s own deadline.

Here’s the link to check out the latest.

Richo Famously Said Of Politics ‘Whatever It Takes’ –  David Crisafulli Said ‘Where’s My Chequebook?’

Of course, The Ingham Kid meant   ‘where;’s the taxpayers’ chequebook’.

There can be no doubt that the taxpayers of Queensland have footed the bill for the LNP campaign for Hinchinbrook, and any snivelling justification when questions are asked will be the shame of the Chrisafulli Government.  How Ingham became host to so many government jetsetters (17) in the last two or three weeks than have graced their portals decades isn’t hard to figure out? The Premier’s almost maniac desire to bring his home town back into the LNP fold was a plan with many components, one of which turned out to be the morally dishonest power of incumbency.  Even the Bulletin was on to the brazen scam.

And for once, the paper not only asked a question, it was the right question.

This is a clear use of incumbent advantage, which is not illegal but is a cynical use of position, especially in a humble by election.   And for a seat that is ostensibly in no way crucial to our state government. I say ostensibly, because this is funding an internal LNP power struggle, with Bleijie holding the hard right majority numbers in the party room, and is waiting for an excuse for a spill. That seems unlikely any time soon,  Crisafulli is doing a pretty good job as far as the majority of the public is concerned – but it takes just one stumble that can be amplified to bring the leadership to a head – especially when there is a well planned strike waiting in the wings.

On the question of stumbles,  Crisfulli is running a fine line here.  KAP HQ have threatened legal action over this campaign ads comparing Molachino with disgraced former mayor Troy Thompson.

Tenuous to say the least, to compare the open knowledge and admission of once having been in the Labor Party (which is not a criminal act – I think) to the outright deceit and immorality of Thompson, it was really quite ridiculous. But the LNP smarties  figured when the KAP-leaning Lil Abners of the Hinchinbrook back blocks took time off from impregnating their sisters long enough, they’d buy this deeply flawed argument. But while that is as it may be,  Crisafulli had a moment of hyper hypocriticality when he said: ” It is important that anyone running an election has to be honest about record”.

Oh, right, David, like how when you moved south and ran in Broadwater, you laid out all your murky dealings this serial shyster Rabieh Krayem, the collapse of a company you’d taken over from him,  unrefuted claims of trading insolvent, and the $200k payout you say you made in the wash-up. Of course, none of this was known until well after the election and you were rising though the LNP ranks. And while it may not put much of a cloud over your basic overall honesty,  might be good to stay away from the questions of transparency in others …  very shaky ground for you, some might say.

(Sigh) Our Bipolar Paper Was At It Again During The Week

Talk about highs and lows! In The ‘Pie’s view, the Bulletin made a pretty good fist of its campaign coverage,  and they even managed to keep the crowing to the lower levels of the upper decibel band about the long awaited Fall of Troy, a story that offered them a chance for a great front page  they’d no doubt been sweating on for more than a year.

They nailed this egregious shyster comprehensively, with statistics, timelines and damning quotes from the CCC investigation, many from the grub himself.  All round good work, but as the age-old saying in newsrooms have it, you’re only as good as your last story. So out of nowhere, we were treated to this bit inanity, as reported in comments on the day.

The Magpie

This is a serious question, not a cheap sneer.

Doesn’t anyone at the Bulletin, top to bottom, have the faintest idea of how utterly stupid this makes them look?

For those who’ve been here more than two seconds … make that, say five years, no, just this year, say last January … this is a mystifying head scratcher, the ultimate WTFF headline. No sleep is heavy enough to miss such an event.

But it gets even more idiotically puerile when we read the ‘evidence’ in the story …

Seriously, Bully peeps …. don’t you ever … oh, forget it, words really do fail us on this one.

 TEL Tells Us Another Whopper Or Two.

Has this bloody council not learned a thing about the disadvantages outsourcing services that rightly should remain within the council’s immediate purview? Like a mass staff purge, with vacated positions going to contractors at vastly dearer rates.

There is disquiet in the local arts community with the recent lily-livered council decision to ‘outsource’  responsibility for the creative community’s future to Townsville Enterprise. A move that shows they really are just toying with us, but it seems no amount of indignant complaint about the wasteful TEL support package will have any effect (such complaining rarely does unless parking meters are involved).

Regular Nest commenter ‘Bob’ posted this during the week.

Magpie, I can’t think of a Townsville mayor ever who wanted to ‘reform’ TEL. I thought the main purpose of TEL’s creation was to remove certain functions from TCC in order to distance the council from them, just as building inspection, road making, engineering etc. has been privatised and no longer resides as council core business. Quite recently arts/culture/tourism promotion has also been shifted out of council into TEL and another TCC office downsized – it looks like cost saving although it still costs council. Can’t think of a single reason why the new mayor would want to pull the scab off TEL. The more incompetent TEL is, the better TCC looks.

 Perhaps the outsourcing of the yarts and Kluchur is why  Clr Liam ‘Dynasty’s Child’  Mooney is now the TCC rep on the TEL board.

Meanwhile,  The Dudley Do Nothings blithely continue their conning of the public. Twice this week, they tried it on that they played a part in a couple of otherwise excellent coups for the city.  The first instance was when they carried on like a puppy wetting itself about something they tried to make suspect they had something to with – negotiating with the NRL (as fucking if!)

Now The ‘Pie welcomes this as much as anyone else, even if the opponents are the Cook Islands minnows( amazing they’ve kept their name, but maybe we speak too soon). But what is annoying is the very careful wording – especially the word ‘securing’.

From the release:  Our CEO Claudia Brumme said, “securing matches for the Rugby League World Cup 2026 is a tremendous win for Townsville and further cements our city as the Events Capital of the North. We’re proud to see global events of this scale choose Townsville and our world-class stadium as part of their destination line-up.” 

Like I said ‘securing’ is a wonderful ‘plausible denial’ word should anyone question this, but few would, and assume the suggestion is that TEL had something to do with the choice. They did not, and it’s laughable to think so.

Then there was the announcement of a Rugby Union match much further up the world pecking order. And any TEL claim was wisely watered down.

This time, the general suggestion of TEL involvement was more muted but the inference was there, although not attracting the attention of  the CEO. this time,  it was TEL’s new Director Major Events Acquisition Chelsea Cavanah who gushed that the announcement puts Townsville firmly back on the international sporting map. (Were they ever firmly on it, one asks?)

‘We’d like to thank the Crissafulli (sic) Government for securing this opportunity for Townsville. Their ongoing support highlights our region’s capability and proven track record in delivering major events that captivate Queensland and the world.”

Yes, they actually did manage to get the Premier’s name wrong … great look when you’re thanking someone.  But this raises a question or two …. why is the CEO and a middle management executive of this ostensibly private outfit announcing anything, especially things they absolutely fuck all to do with? Don’t recall the ratepayer and taxpayers electing them to speak on our behalf.  Seeking undeserved reflected glory is a dangerous route to do down, (just ask Troy TwoNames) But here’s a more serious question for Ms Cavanah. When the TCC handed over the million dollars+  of government money and responsibility for ‘event attraction’, if memory serves, the boast was that there would now be a dozen events valuable, money-spinning events within ‘the next year’.

Well, Chelsea, m’dear, the year’s almost up. care to mark your score card?

No, I didn’t think so.

Widening the Gap – A Grossly Irresponsible Judgement By A NSW Beak Is As Damaging As It Gets

One of the most misleading factors in this story is the fact that the dead boy was indigenous, a fact that had nothing whatsoever to do with his self-inflected death or the manner in which it came about. But his family and  the usual suspects in the Aboriginal Grievance Movement managed to apply plenty of pressure on this woman … although she would never admit it, and she did not make any pivotal observations about race in her loopy judgement..

And one would think think in any semblance of a sane world, this absolute dimwittery will certainly to be overturned on appeal.

Unasked and unanswered questioned abound in a judgement bound to bolster that sector of the indigenous community who insist on continuing their  campaign of ‘no responsibility victimhood’.

The ‘Pie will ask some of those questions  but first the background detailed in this balanced article in the respected National Indigenous Times.

And here is a brief overview of what happened.

In brief, in February, 2022,  this teenager, 16-year-old Jai Kalani Wright stole a trail bike and sped away from police, who, following safety protocols, did not give chase. Two other car thefts had happened in the same inner city area about the same time, so police were told to remain in the area.

This man, Sergeant Benedict Bryant was told the bike was being ridden along a well-known bike path.  So in order to protect the public from a dangerously speeding motor bike thief, he parked his unmarked vehicle across exit of the bike path at an intersection. He turned off his lights, and sat waiting. Wright, travelling at speed, refused to stop and tried to take wild evasive action, but crashed and became airborne. He landed on the police car in which Bryant was sitting.. Wright died of head injuries in hospital the next day.

After a coroner’s inquest, the DPP decided to charge Sergeant Bryant with – can you believe it? – dangerous driving occasioning death. One supposes reasonably cars deemed to be parked dangerously are covered by this charge

On Friday,  after a judge only trial (this surely a matter that demanded a jury?), District Court judge Culver came to the incredible conclusion that Sgt Bryant ‘should have known placing his car without its lights and sirens activated could have caused a collision which posed a serious risk to the 16-year-old.’  Yes, folks, this judge put the safety of a fleeing lawbreaker above the  serious public risk posed by a motor bike thief speeding at up to 70kph along a public pathway.  The thief, she implied,  should’ve been allowed to to see a police car in plenty of time to avoid it, and get away.

Give us a fuckin’ break, lady.

In essence, – speaking in the real world –  Jai Wright killed himself through irresponsible and criminal misadventure,  and Sergeant Bryant did his duty in protecting the public from injury or death.

But weirdly,  Judge Culver accepted the prosecution case saying  “The accused so seriously failed to properly manage the vehicle that he created a real danger.”   And the fucking kid didn’t? FFS, what planet are you from,  Judge? With this skewed conclusion, Judge Culver will be a big hit on the Eastern Suburbs dinner party circuit of woke wankers.

The ‘Pie should point out here that nowhere that he can see was Wright’s aboriginality ever referenced, it was not part of the case, it seems.  You’d think if the it would’ve been had there been any evidence of racism or police targeting. But there wasn’t single mention relevant to the matter.Yet guess what happened?

When it was revealed that Wright was indigenous (apparently), his father, his extended family and some of the usual professional activists made sure the court was packed throughout the trial,  even requiring a spill-over room, putting some very unsubtle pressure on the judge.  We will never know if this played a part in her findings.

It is impossible to believe that this won’t be chucked out on appeal, but let’s get to the real problem in this whole situation.

A copper being charged with dangerous driving while sitting in a parked car in a manner designed to keep the public safe from a motorcycle thief is one thing, but here is an interesting question – did Sgt Bryant know the identity of the thief, and that he was aboriginal? Or was he just trying to stop and apprehend a vehicle thief?

Not that it matters, EXCEPT for one thing.

That whole cohort that packed the courtroom rallied outside after the verdict to claim police racism had caused the death and justice had been done.  Led by Wright’s father,  they claimed the boy’s death  was another example of police unfairly targeting aboriginals. But if the sergeant was unaware of Wright’s ethnicity, or even if he was, how in any sane world is this race related?

So 97% of the population might see this as a police officer taking prompt and reasonable steps to keep the public safe from an out-of-control motor bike thief travelling at dangerous speeds that would likely to kill innocent members of the public.

But because this kid, who in essence, killed himself, was part pf the blessed blended three per cent, activists (and the father) jumped in for a bit of copper bashing, doing untold damage to their constantly trumpeted desire for ‘reconciliation’, whatever they mean by that. And yet again, not a single word that the parents took any responsibility, for their boys actions,  adopting the usual the general victimhood attitude promoted amongst aborigines.   NOT-A-SINGLE-WORD.

But hey, you can’t keep a good, blindly biased activist down, so we also got this:

In a statement after the verdict, Principal Legal Officer of the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) NSW/ACT, Nadine Miles, said it is “rare for police officers to face criminal charges when they are involved in the death of a community member, and even rarer for a court to return a guilty verdict. We are not aware of a previous instance where a police officer has been held criminally responsible for the death of an Aboriginal person in custody or in a police operation in NSW,”  Ms Miles said.

You are a deeply dishonest person, Ms Miles, because in this case he was a motor bike thief behaving dangerously… and just happened to be an aborigine – apparently.

There deep and systemic problems in police/indigenous relations,  and in all states, the police and governments are addressing the issue.  It just seems that no action for solving the issue falls to the indigenous community except blind, stupid insistence on total victimhood.  People like you Mr Wright are part of the problem, but you stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that reality, despite the terrible lesson you have been dealt.

Amerika

Came across something clever during the week, it is both funny and appalling at the same time.  How have Americans allowed themselves to get to this? Hope this link works for you, if it doesn’t have a poke around the internet for a format you can watch, It will be worth it. Much of the rest of the week had cartoonists concentrating on turkey pardons, thanksgiving,  and the peacemaster explaining his boss Putin’s wishes in Ukraine.

 

Finally …

… a few blasts from the past,  to lighten the mood. For reasons known only to my computer, a few archived bits from old Nests popped up, and thought two or three were worth a guffaw again.

First up …. run, don’t walk.

And a message from Ergon: Never attempt to fix a power sockets, especially with a fork.

And there was never any mystery …

It was Monty.

…………..

Ah, can we now head to the sunlit uplands of an election-free future?  The ‘Pie’s sure going to enjoy it while it lasts.

The donation link is below, if you’re of a mind. see you next week.