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The Magpie

Sunday, March 3rd, 2024   |   134 comments

We’re Used To Election Bullshit, But This? Jenny Hill Adds Actual Shit To Her Re-Election Campaign.

There will be plenty of puns about the re-appearance of raw sewage in Wulguru backyards, but this is far from funny – this continuing council fail is a serious public health and safety issue,  criminal in its negligence.  So what went wrong with the promised plumbing fix? The Magpie has the likely answer.

Mayor Mullet’s re-election campaign pitch is an alternative reality straight out of the Donald Trump playbook. But will enough people be deluded by it? Sadly,  because of the lack of viable, funded opposition, the answer seems to be yes.

The lists are back!! Tired of the everyday ‘cutest bub’,  ‘best hairdresser/hamburger/proctologist’ and guff like ‘Townsville’s top spots for accidental up-skirt glimpses’, the Daily Astonisher,  bereft of actual news, this weekend gives us ‘Ranked:  Townsville’s 50 Most Influential And Inspirational Women.  But although it may be light-weight flummery  there is one big problem,  which raises a couple of questions.

Are we facing a con just as big and just as damaging as the Voice To Parliament had it succeeded? The report released this week about a perceived gender pay gap is exactly that, a con job, with the possible outcome way more damaging than any other recent socio-economic issue.

And speaking of con jobs, conning the conners American style – a TV show does a street poll with an hilarious and clever twist that is both funny and deeply disturbing at the same time … how can so many people be so obviously nuts?

The Nest has been a bit of a battle this week. It was put together over three days using two ancient shonky keyboards … features that didn’t work on one (back space, certain sticky keys, taking screen shots, copying and pasting etc) worked on the other one … bit comical but time consuming and frustrating, something that The ‘Pie  trusts won’t have to become a habit.  Both the Nest’s hardware and software need upgrades, – we’ve been knocking out this blog on them from October 2010, 14 years – and since 80/90% of the usage is Nest related,  I am personally over my embarrassment of seeking a bit of financial support for this alternative Townsville voice. Better software will mean a better, more entertaining and visually diverse offering – can’t guarantee the writing will be any better though.  So any support you can offer with a donation (which will only ever go towards blog-related matters) will result in a better weekly read. The donate button is at the end of the blog (no, sorry, not tax deductible) – and a sincere thanks to those who have already lent their generous support to keep us flying.

Now onward.

Putting Her Foot In It

The campaign trail can get a bit boggy at times, as Mayor Mullet and her latest pet poodle (sorry Team Hill candidate) found out during the week, when a number of residents in Wulguru had – yet again – a ‘brown out’ that had nothing to do with electricity.

Poonami Screen Shot 2024-02-26 at 10.46.06 am

Just when you thought it was safe to go out in your backyard again, the Wulguru Seeping Sewage Saga returned in all its smelly, hazardous glory.  For those lucky enough to not be familiar with this disgraceful situation, a number of backyards in Wulguru are subject to an invasion of soggy floating Richard The Thirds and associated effluvium when it rains more than just a shower (which is at least every wet season).

But wait, you say, didn’t Jenny eventually (after a couple of years) direct that this matter was to not nice and that it had to be fixed?

Well, yes,  a while back the TCC hi-vis forces ambled out, wandered around peering into pipes and doing smoke tests to pinpoint the problem, before it was decided that a new pump station for the area was the answer and duly built (well duh!) But therein lies another shitty story, according to reliable info coming into the Nest during the week.

The original tender, let to a private firm, was rescinded when the council decided to cut financial corners and do an in-house build. Which they did, but with one small problem:  presumably to save money, they installed cheaper equipment which was not up to the job, and voila! like a walking dead zombie, the problem returned – smelling like a walking dead zombie, too. (Maybe that should better be a Walker Street Dead Zombie).

The funniest view in a very unfunny situation came from Team Hill candidate Ben Fusco,  talking to the Astonisher.

poonami Screen Shot 2024-02-26 at 10.45.42 am

Neither do the resident, Benny boy,  but isn’t this something you should be in the mayor’s face about, if you are a genuine local rep (and a worthy Div 10 successor to Fran O’Callaghan)? And mate, are you expecting a herogram for promising that an immediate follow-up for what you yourself call an unacceptable situation? (Good luck passing that sentiment on to your boss.)

But while this failure was really no surprise to many familiar with madam mayor and her TCC executive,  what did take many, including The ‘Pie, unawares was the impression that Jenny Hill, with her T Hill candidate Ben Fusco in tow, turned up for an inspection and ‘talk to the residents’.  But hang on, why would the mayor turn up at the site that has no upside for her office this time around – no record of her doing so before despite constant requests from residents? Oh damn, that’s right,  she’s in the middle of a re-election campaign.  But in thinking about it, it was in all likelihood just another  phone call from the lavishly appointed, lavender scented mayor’s office with its three hot and cold running mayoral advisors.  Indeed, on-site inspections come with electoral risks,  as Bentley envisioned the scene.

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This is just the latest in a long story of shame and council incompetence over a number of years. And while The ‘Pie and everyone else can make punny jokes about it, this not in the least bit funny.  In a normal community, it would be completely intolerable, an abject failure in responsibility for public health and safety, which would not be tolerated for a day or a week, let alone years, by any other responsible council. There would be an external inquiry for sure.

The Magpie is NOT overstating the case here, because while the filth and accompanying serious health hazards are restricted to a small area,  it is (so far) just good fortune that hasn’t been spread further afield by animals, both wild and domesticated, birds (and the occasional 2-legged feral checking out late night transport options).

But for reasons unfathomable, this doesn’t seem to have cut through with the wider community, who have unwisely decided ‘not my problem’.  If Townsville ever decides to adopt a civic saint, The Magpie suggests St Monica, the patron saint of tolerance and patience. Or better still, this bloke.:

Screen Shot 2024-03-02 at 4.14.14 pm

There is actually a patron saint of Fools. Saint Simeon, the Holy Fool, a sixth-century monk, is revered as the patron saint of “holy fools and puppeteers.”

Perfect.

But Surely The Beatification Of St Jenny Is Just Around The Corner

Beautification might be a bit more than could be expected, but what a well deserved sainthood it would be – and not just because she makes so many people exclaim ‘Jesus Christ!!’ more than anyone else in the city.  It seems she is aiming to become Saint Alice of Wonderland. the patron saint of make-believe. The Hill hallucinations have been on go from the get-go.

For starters,  she tells it,  we owe her another term on her past performance. (Stop laughing, give  ‘er a go.)

According to Jenny’s History Of Townsville (called her campaign launch) wouldn’t have got through Covid without (‘steered Townsville through Covid’ is her claim … no mention of the two deeply demented  women in Brisbane who made all the loopy cowardly decisions that greatly exacerbated that issue with their decisions, and that the TCC had absolutely bugger all to do with managing the epidemic, beyond doing what Brisbane said.  But in this report from Seven News (nary a searching question in sight) she made this statement:  ‘In 2017, we had an unemployment rate of 17% and 25% youth unemployment . Now we’ve got some of the lowest unemployment in the state, if not Australia.’  That’s a truly strange campaigning message, Jenny, since in 2017, you’d been mayor for 5 years – if you claim you’ve fixed things up employment-wise now, (it’s bullshit, but for the sake of argument) then you have to accept that in 2017, you’d been mayor for five years and therefore must – by the same yardstick – take some responsibility for the jobs blow out back then. And just what are the figures, you declined to say, no comparatives.

But it was then that the Hill hokum went into overdrive when it comes to any council role in affordable housing (which it really has no business being in anyway). So what’s St Jenny’s plan?

North Rail Yards 292271779_465829145549267_7350587039276214291_n North Rail Yards 2382b4a0659812929481a9222243193b 5car yard North rail db7d9d5e1a88a1be933c1aee6eefc68

You guessed it, she says she plans to make the (contaminated ) North Rail Yards a hub for affordable  units for families, young people and those who’ve fallen on hard times.’ And you’re going to -haha gasp – approach the  – haha wait for it – state government to fund the project (gasp, wheeze chortle). Ah ha, splutter, Jen, luvvie, your former BFF Anna Alphabet, knowing that the remediation work would be at a stupendous cost, suckered you into buying the rail yards way back when for a price ($20,000) that would make a toddler suspicious.  And making it your baby. You;’ve been trying to squirm out of this massive misjudgement for years,  and still you haven’t a clue what to do with a site that will, until heritage and other nanny state law are changed will remain a white elephant. And an ugly monument to your hubristic stupidity with public money.

Jenny elect final Screen Shot 2024-01-01 at 11.39.14 am

List Lunacy

‘The Bulletin just can’t seem to help itself … we see it every day with idiocy, insult  and laziness ranging over wide variety of subjects.  This weekend’s contribution is a doozy.

Screen Shot 2024-03-02 at 1.42.26 pm

The paper’s annual hole filler of the ‘most influential’ among the city’s Nescafe Society has always been good for a laugh, and seems to meet the expectation nof empty argument and genteel mud slinging. But this list is shielas only, and there’s an unconscious – at least let us hope it’s unconscious – problem – why in the name of St Simeon would you number them as a ranking? All the entries are worthy of inclusion, all strivers, all justifiably successful, a selection range across all fields that make up social fabric of the city.  The ‘Pie says all and includes Gracelyn Smallwood, who, like the others, has written a glowing self-bio about her undoubted achievements and determination, but conveniently leaves out any mention of the virulent racism.

But ranking them? What better way to cause disappointment, dissension and perhaps bitterness – as said every single one of these woman (you can bet there’s a story behind Jenny Hill being at number 5) deserve the recognition, so why set their individual worth against each other by a 1-50 format? It’s an apple and oranges list, so the real question is: who did the listing? And on what basis and with what knowledge? 

Screen Shot 2024-03-02 at 9.20.03 pm

Ah ha, not just a clue but proof … usual mag editor Bettina Warburton is not in evidence, but Gas Carvey (not a typo, just The ‘Pie’s regular assessment) has taken over for this week, if not permanently. And if anyone wanted to prove the irreparable disconnect between their community and the respected Bulletin of old,  this iditor has found the motherlode of misreading the community. What ever guided these discombobulated choices is a matter for Ms Carvey, but she has made a laughing stock of herself and her credibility by even trying to weirdly to justify her ludicrous number 1 choice. That being Tallisha Harden (that’s her, centre, in the main pic), who is co-captain of the Queensland Cowboys women’s side.  Absolutely a great athlete and by all reports, inspirational talker, so no offence to you, or your blossoming career,  Tallisha,  but not in a million years (well certainly not this year) are you the  MOST influential and/or inspirational woman in Townsville. So as well as silly rankings, Ms Garvey, you also didn’t think about it when you included the word MOST … even a cursory run through the list would’ve seen the silliness of the concept.  BTW with that in mind, ikf Ms Harden is the CO-captain of the Cowpokes,  why didn’t the other co-captain get a guernsey?

Now the gals when they get together will probably metaphorically borrow Jenny’s Magpie dart board and make disparaging remarks about white male dinosaurs etc etc (heard it all gals, heard it all) but The ‘Pie will bet two cents to a Wulguru turd that there’s some interesting pillow talk after lights out about the Ms Garvey’s numbers game.

And hey Gas, The ‘Pie knows you’re just gaggin’ to get some more wisdom from the old bird, so how about checking all the 80% of bullshit that is imported from outside for its headlines?  We all know the childish fascination with bad puns in headlines, but this one really is offensive: 30,000 dead and a million starving is worth a childish pun?Screen Shot 2024-02-28 at 10.19.12 am

That really is offensive.

And for Christ sake, get some to write your editorials, you regularly make  goose of yourself. Or just get a sub to run an eye over them. You do know what a sub is, don’t you?

You really are not up to the job, are you, Gas?

Anyone Going To Mayor Mullet For A Comment On This?Screen Shot 2024-03-02 at 9.53.29 pm

And now they’re suspended from trading.

Welcome To The Faker Gender Wars

This. con job of the first order, and almost wholly driven by the usual suspects among media factions. The data isn’t wrong – it’s meticulous – and the conclusions aren’t necessarily wrong either although debatable. But the reaction to the  Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s(WGEA) latest report on what is misleadingly called the gender pay gap has started a predictable slanging match between the traditional femme foes (In the blue corner, Janet Albrechtsen of the Australian, and in the red corner with a horseshoe in her glove, Val Badham in the Guardian).

So The Magpie dares to tread where it is unwise to do so, but (deep breath) here goes.

As said,  this is a con job of the first order, because what is being purposely obscured is what exactly is being measured, and the skewed way it is being presented, because of the media’s general reluctance to spoil a good rage-farming story.

What is missing is. one obvious fact … this IS NOT about equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.

The Fair Work Commission has long ensured that equal pay for equal work is a given, excluding gender as a consideration, it is a long established and fair law. (For decades, The ‘Pie belonged the Australian Journalists Union (AJA), which pioneered equal pay for equal work, and he always wondered that the rule did not apply universally. Of course, it didn’t take long before EPFEW affected employers hiring and promotion decisions to circumvent fair workplace outcomes.

And that is exactly what the FWC report is all about, it uses data to move the argument further along to show how non-consenting females are still getting the rough end of the pineapple because blokes have more choice. Apparently. The methodology  can be reasonably challenged for its reflection of its conclusions. Albrechtsen  makes an argument for the this in The Australian (no link, paywalled) and Val Badham, ever playing a Bad Girl Boaidica, is more interested in descriptive pyrotechnics of her opponents than coherent argument. Here’s an easy to follow breakdown of what it means and how the information was gathered.

The’Pie’s one and only concern is the mindset of the current government. Because although this issue is resolving itself slowly toward a more acceptable position,  could the loonies insist on a (quite impossible, business shredding) implementation of mandated gender quotas.  What makes this more than remotely possible is that it exactly the sort of election-losing issue Labor always looks around for at this stage of government.  The possibility is not an unreasonable proposition in light of Bowen’s whopping big-vehicle tariff for the faux reason of the environment.

Perhaps the swing towards the Libs in Dunkley last night (which Labor retained) might make them be a little more circumspect.

Just How Gaga Are Maga Folk?

We have a video that will make your tears of laughter bittersweet.

But first, this week’s gallery from the Untied States of America.

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 Finally ….

…. this.

…………………….

Keyboard and some software problems turned up this week,  so if things aren’t up to scratch, please do not blame it on senility or bone spurs. Comments are lively – for some reason, lots of boffins getting excited by whether nuclear power is feasible – but you can nhave your say about anythinmg you like, comments run 24/7.

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The Magpie's Nest is now more than five years old, and remains an independent alternative voice for Townsville. The weekly warble is a labour of love and takes a lot of time to put together. So if you like your weekly load of old cobblers, you can help keep it aloft with a donation, or even a regular voluntary subscription. Paypal is at the ready, it's as easy as ... well, easy as pie. Limited advertising space is also available.

134 Comments

  1. Ben Rumson says:

    Regards St Monica and the Townsville City Council, I asked council to trim a footpath tree, a bloody big one. Was given a job reference number and told it would take about 4 weeks.

    4 weeks latter phoned the council to be told, “4 weeks, no that is wrong. 4 months waiting time, now possibly much longer with the cyclone clean up. “

    • Jeff, Condon says:

      Ergon cut back tree branches overhanging power lines in Condon last week. No, they weren’t a bit late, they’re getting in early before the next cyclone season.

      • Eric at Condon says:

        Why would Ergon ever expect trees to grow in the wet season?
        They do power supply, not tree growing.

        • The Magpie says:

          Then why do they go around lopping trees all year round if they threaten poles or wires? Strange comment.

      • Ben Rumson says:

        Ergon seem to do a good job in that department. In my case this footpath tree has low branches into my front yard and continually setting off my night security lights.

  2. Mike Douglas says:

    Team Hill legacy . An unkept debt ridden City where the Councillors can’t vote on projects due to donations or vote against Councils planning approvals then lose in court . Mayor Hill claiming she achieved record unemployment , what a joke especiallly when most big investors left town with their $ . Hill and Molachinos priorities are Lansdown instead of the families cost of living / housing issues / high rent . Rates are due on the 11/3 a reminder of the highest Council rates Qld .

  3. Dave of Kelso says:

    I want to know what the prospective Councillors are going to do about improving waste collection. Recently I spent a few days disposing of rubbish at the tip. I saw concrete and fibro mixed in with the green waste and I saw old food stuff oil tins mixed in with recyclable material. Surely Council can do better??

    • Billy Bunter says:

      Dave, you’re back!
      I asked the other day where you had gone and someone said theýd put you out to pasture.
      Good to see you are keeping the waste crew honest. Plenty of asbestos in their mulch.
      Relying on you Dave to keep the bastards honest.

    • Inspector Clouseau says:

      Is this really you, DoK? You first spend an inordinate amount of time tracking and reporting on garbage trucks and now you are a stalking horse at the dump? We thought you’d withdrawn to the comfort of a retirement village and were contemplating your navel!

      On another note, Pie:

      Q. What do you say to a one-legged hitchhiker?

      A. Hop in mate! :)

      • The Magpie says:

        What do you say to a three-eyed, ,one-legged hitchhiker with no arms?

        Aye, aye, aye, you look ‘armless, hop in.

        The trouble with this version is how did the hitchhiker indicate he wanted a lift?

        • Inspector Clouseau says:

          Might be related to the man in the surf, with no arms and no legs Pie.

          His name was Bob! :)

          • Achilles says:

            Q: What do you call a bloke with rabbits stuffed up his arse?
            A: Warren.

            Q: What do you call a bloke hiding under autumn leaves?
            A: Rustle.

            Pie! no more I promise!!!

          • The Magpie says:

            Q: What to do call a bloke who sends in weak Dad jokes?
            A: Unpublished.

        • Jatzcrackers says:

          Hitchhikers name was Sophie and she wasn’t wearing a top. I’d probably stop too !

    • I’ll be plucked says:

      That a serious allegation, DoK. Any pictures you can send to The Pies inbox, to support? That would be really interesting to see.

  4. Elusive Butterfly says:

    But what about the garbage trucks David, how are they running at the moment? Any non-compliance issues?

  5. Elusive Butterfly says:

    Bit harsh on poor ole Gas, Mr. Pie?
    And you didn’t mention she’s got a great head for radio!

  6. Bentley says:

    Meg O’Neil (CEO Woodside) said it all on Business Sunday this morning. Asia is taking the lessons learned by Europe and diversifying their energy industry, by building power facilities fueled by nuclear, gas, coal, and renewables. Her inference was clear. Australia, unless it changes its political obsessions with renewables, will be left behind, industrially, culturally, and most importantly, security will be compromised. As if we are not already vulnerable enough.

    • ABS says:

      She was talking her book, that’s her job.

      • Bentley says:

        ABS, talking her book or not, she is one impressive woman who talks the talk AND walks the walk, unlike our weak kneed politicians with no expertise in engineering. I have many friends in the industry who agree that we are being fed BS.

        • ABS says:

          Politicians don’t have to have expertise in everything, they take advice from people who do. People like your friends have been doomsaying about renewable energy for years but the real experts get proven right again and again.

          • The Magpie says:

            They often take advice from people who agree with their political stances and with their faux expertise. Consultancies are full of folks who research the not the subject but the socio/political leanings of those who are calling tenders and make their pitch accordingly. Your beloved Jenny is a very adept hand at this sort of ‘expert stacking’.

          • ABS says:

            They often do, but thankfully in this matter we can see a track record of failed doomsayers about renewable energy while the real experts get proven right again and again.

          • The Magpie says:

            Flannery will be pleased with your endorsement.

          • ABS says:

            Flannery who?

  7. Strategic Defense Initiative says:

    Actually funny enough I visited the church of St Simeon a number of years ago. The only thing left of the pillar is a large rock – in his time Christianity was still a growing religion, as time went by pilgrims chipped away pieces of it until it was just a large rock.

    The gold rolex of religious artefacts in syria is the head of St John the baptist in Damascus ( allegedly), there’s a shrine in the mosque in the old city, the only things I can remember of it is saladins tomb/ grave just outside its walls and some old school pommy with dirty black bare feet propped up against a pillar in the mosque near the shrine.

    • The Magpie says:

      This is one of the older depictions of St S and his rock … actually looks like some fishing mates from Giru. Probably smells like them, too.

  8. Alahazbin says:

    How old is the ‘mullet’? I would say about the same age as Trump with the same mentality.

    • The Magpie says:

      61 or so, at a guess. And I know you won’t believe me saying this – and neither will she – but when it comes to downright dangerous evil, she’s not even in the race with the poisoned Orangeade. Her comedy of incompetence is small time stuff which will be rectified in a few years, but in Trump’s case, he could fuck up the whole world for decades.

      Mind you, still wouldn’t like her to access to nukes. Or, come to think of it, SEAL 6 hit teams to use against critics. heh heh heh.

  9. The Magpie says:

    MAGPIE EDITORIAL NOTE:

    Dave of Kelso has informed The ‘Pie that he has left the Nest some time ago, and no longer makes comments here. So those using that name or DoK will have to think of something else. Nothing will be published in comments under those names.

  10. Alfred E Neuman says:

    OZ, Mad, Private Eye, the Bible?
    Got it now.

  11. Prince Rollmop says:

    Good post this week Magpie. The Wulguru poonami escapade must be becoming a real pain in the locals asses. TCC, under the stewardship of the Mullet and his radiance the Prince, is a clusterfuck. They opted for the cheapest option and the results are plain to see, just ask the locals. Let’s see if team Hill can fix it properly, once and for all, during their next term.

  12. Mike Douglas says:

    Listening to Team Hills radio ad spoken by Jenny Hill she claims Team Hill is aware of cost of living pressures which I gather why they voted themselves a 60 % increase to Councillors expenses . Jenny goes on to say minimal rates increase so is Team Hill saying ” we don’t know how much we will increase rates ” just trust us ? .

    • Not running for Mayor says:

      Gagged on my coffee hearing the ad about crime being their top priority while I sat at a roundabout littered with broken road signs and trash, overgrown and potholed. FFS they can’t even keep their own backyard clean.

      Show Hill the door in ’24!

    • Prince Rollmop says:

      Being ‘aware’ is one thing, actually doing something about it is a completely different matter. ‘Cost of living’ is now a buzz word.

    • White Mouse says:

      MD – the biennial Land Valuations are due out this month (which I’m sure Lands Department will withhold until after LG elections). Once these come out Madam Mullet can say that she needs to increase rates in line with the new valuations. Absolute cop out.

      • ABS says:

        They weren’t withheld in 2020, why are you sure they will be this time?

      • Mike Douglas says:

        White Mouse , Mayor Hill and her team gaslighted ratepayers claiming Council were obligated to increase rates inline with land values . Show me a Queensland Council who did that ? . My understanding reading the legislation it says it’s up to Councils . Scott Stewart Minister for Natural resources was complicit as instead of supporting Townsville electorate and questioning the large increases he buckpassed enquiries to the Valuer General . Les and Aaron just went with their Labor mates .

  13. Cluden Axe says:

    Long time lurker, first time commenting.

    I think we have a contender for the most expensive walk way in town even beating out the Flinders Street Fishing Spot. Slugger Walker has announced that the govt will spend $9m on what measures out at under 800m. What the fuck is wrong with this man? Not that long ago you would estimate about $1m for a km of highway now in Queensland it costs that for 100m of bloody footpath.

    • ABS says:

      It looks like several kilometres of new walking paths, crossings and bike lanes on both sides of Stuart Drive from Wulguru to the river.

      https://www.yoursay-projects.tmr.qld.gov.au/townsville-connection-road-university-road-bowen-road-bridge

      • The Magpie says:

        The council has an interesting take on figures like this.

        Take the December release by you ABS (one reasonably assumes you work somewhere in the TCC media dept)
        https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/about-council/news-and-publications/media-releases/2023/december/council-delivers-for-active-transport-network-in-2023
        Perhaps you could tell us how many line marking machines the council has, and at what speed they move when laying down lines. The Magpie is only curious, because his back-of-an-envelope calculations are as follows: 14,000kms of road and pathway markings in a year, (that’s Sydney to Perth three and a half times) but a year in this instance, removing weekends and bad weather is around 200 days. So every single working day, 70kms of markings are laid down. That roughly equivalent to out and back to your beloved Landsdown …. every single working day. Gives the crew a medal!!!

        Hey,let’s add a bit of colour to this work, The ‘Pie just happens to have a plentiful supply and The Magpie is just the fella to liven up such a boring task: because he just so happens to have, and will let you have at a reasonable cost, a plentiful supply of tartan paint.

      • Cluden Axe says:

        ABS obviously stands for Absolute Bull Shit.

        Straight from Les Walkers media release comes: “To address these issues Mr Walker said $5m had been approved to build a pathway along University Road between the Stuart Drive and Lakeside Drive intersections, while an additional $4m had been greenlit for a western pathway connection across University Drive.”

        Stuart Drive and Lakeside Drive intersections measure out at 640m

        Crossing of the two sides of University Drive measures out at 120m.

        Now either Slugger is lying or you are. My money is on you being a snivelling little piece of shit government PR clown. Lucky this discussion is online or I am sure you would receive some percussive maintenance from other readers.

    • Cluden Too says:

      Axeman you must have been lurking for a very long time if you really can recall the time when roads cost a million bucks per kilometre. According to the federal department of Infrastructure the cost PER LANE of highways and byways is way beyond that –
      “Key findings of the road project cost benchmarking component:
      Average road project costs were around $5.1 million per lane kilometre in 2017.
      Road class remains the most significant factor explaining average project costs—average costs of urban and rural freeways/highways were around $5.4 million per lane kilometre, while average costs of rural arterials were around $3.8 million per lane kilometre.”

    • Alahazbin says:

      Cluden Axe, With state government tenders: Calculate your tender estimate then multiply by 10.
      I kid you not. I know of someone who tendered on a multi purpose building they doing in schools. Tendered for $80000k. Got a call from someone in government telling him to add an extra $100000k.
      He withdrew his tender.

      • The Magpie says:

        Seems same rules may have applied to the too-low $2million unsuccessful tender for the Castle Hill cafe. There’s an untold story in there somewhere.

  14. Jenny Wren says:

    Anyone interested in the 3 mayoral candidates views on a range of issues, North Qld Conservation Council held a forum at JCU.
    Transcript and video at
    https://www.nqcc.org.au/townsville_mayoral_candidates_forum

  15. Sergeant Gunney Highway says:

    Airbus Albo has been meeting with his Malaysian equivalent (well, rort of equivalent) and they have committed to closer economic ties, open dialogue, the usual bureaucratic guff and bullshit. When questioned about a new search for MH 370 both wankers stalled and were non-commital. Albo in particular spoke for a few minutes and fluffed his way through the topic without any commitment. Disgusting how our government has allowed Malaysia a feee pass when it comes to seeking the truth about MH 370. Piss weak beta male Albanese.

    • The Magpie says:

      As occasionally happens with you, Popgun, The ‘Pie hasn’t the foggiest what the fuck you’re on about.

  16. Doug K says:

    Does anyone know if any company has actually signed a BINDING agreement to build anything at Jenny Hill’s Landsdown precinct?
    Expressions of interest don’t count, nor does the Magnis Battery Factory, which was supposed to be the anchor project.
    Hill says Landsdown will create 5,000 jobs but the only ones I’m aware of so far are the people providing the infrastructure, and they’re being paid by Townsville ratepayers.
    With her North Railway Yards housing idea on shaky ground due to ground contamination, maybe she can save face by turning Landsdown into a satellite housing suburb.

    • Prince Rollmop says:

      Landsdown is a great precinct with a swag of potential. Having enough land around the Townsville region for big businesses to relocate to isn’t the issue. The issue is a recalctrant, egotistical bully of a Mayor who has done nothing but drive away potential investors for over a decade. Hill does not have a business acumen. All she manages to do is piss off anybody she comes across. Unless Townsville stumps up a decent mayoral candidate, we are in for another 10 years of this incompetent muppet. By then we will be 20 years behind the rest of Australia.
      “SHOW HILL THE DOOR IN 24”

      • The Magpie says:

        Our diplomat after her statesman-like advice to the southern media.

      • Jeff, Condon says:

        I’ve only been here 32 years, so ask the question: Apart from his radiance, Tony Mooney, has a Townsville Mayor ever been voted out of office?

        • The Magpie says:

          Well Wiki will tell you (The ‘Pie couldn’t be bothered) but he does seem to remember that His Radiance himself tossed Mike Capt Snooze Reynolds out. Maybe.

          • Not running for Mayor says:

            After the amalgamation King Les took our His Radiance from memory then The Hill took out King Les.

          • Jeff, Condon says:

            No Mr Pie, Wiki couldn’t help either.

            Geoffrey Barker reported in the Financial times, 14 Oct 00, 11.00 am, that Mooney and Reynolds were bitter enemies when Mooney was Deputy Mayor to Reynolds “… until Reynolds surprising resignation in 1989″.

            Reynolds then trotted off to the CEO position at the Townsville Port Authority (not a job for the boys) until he entered the state circus. He returned to the same job after leaving the circus (again, not a job for the boys).

            Mooney lost to King Les by a landslide after the amalgamation when, obviously, one of them had to go. Between being Deputy Mayor and Mayor, His Radiance held the positions for 31 years making the positions almost jobs almost permanent.

            History on Townsville Mayors is scant, however, it seems the culture is that the position is one for life, until they either resign or cark it.

            Unfortunately, although she looks like death warmed up, it seems the Mullet is there until a lucrative position is imaginatively created for her. Perhaps CEO of Lansdowne. That wouldn’t be arduous.

          • Div10Dave says:

            Jeff, also the electoral system in TCC has changed. In the 70s there were no divisions, no mayoral election and the Shire of Thuringowa was way out there! Aldermen were elected in a first past the post method and then from amongst themselves (the top ten or twelve) they elected the mayor. When mayor Perc Tucker died unexpectedly about 1980, Mike Reynolds was put forward by his fellow aldermen as mayor. From memory, Tony Mooney had just missed out in the previous first past the post election so he was drafted in to replace Perc Tucker on the council.

        • Ben Rumson says:

          Harold Phillips got voted out replaced by Max Hooper. My uncle was a councillor in the Phillips council.

          As an aside, it was the Phillips council that did the work to get the Ross River Dam. Shortly after Hooper and his labor council took office, the dam was opened. The councillor names on the plaque up at the dam had fuckall to do with it’s construction.

          • Div10Dave says:

            “Hooper and his Labor council”? Christ, Max Hooper was a dyed in the wool National, further to the right than Joh himself.

          • The Magpie says:

            But was his council?

          • Ben Rumson says:

            D,
            My error re labor. It was a long time ago.
            I do recall my Uncle lamenting that party politics had entered Townsville local government. This was in 1974 when I arrived in this fair (or it was then) town.

          • Edify says:

            Interesting observation by your uncle about party politics in local government. I can recall the time when TCC was described as a ‘real estate’ council, when the vice president of the Queensland Nationals was the real estate agent Kel Griffiths, a Joh-toady. During Max Hooper’s time on council, before he went into state politics, his career highlights were listed as “Motel Owner/Operator; Real Estate Agent; Land developer and speculator, Townsville, 1947 to 1972. Mike Reynolds hadn’t arrived on the council scene at that time but there were plenty of crypto-Nationals around (although it was called the Country Party at that stage). Mike Reynolds was elected in 1973 as the sole Labor Party councillor on the TCC and apparently the first Labor councillor for 24 years. He went on to become deputy mayor in 1976 in the first Labor council in the history of Townsville.

        • Charlie Wulguru says:

          Jeff, Condon… Angus Smith was voted out and I think Tom Aitken was also and probably a couple of others around that time as well.

    • Edify says:

      30th January 2024

      “Edify Energy has successfully secured grant funding through the Federal Government’s Regional Hydrogen Hubs program for the development of Townsville’s Green Hydrogen Hub.
      The Federal Government is contributing $48.2million to Edify’s green hydrogen production facility in the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct near Townsville, Queensland creating new energy supply chains and connecting supply and demand.”
      I suppose that is a down payment if not a binding agreement.
      Apart from internal roadworks, all the other infrastructure like highway intersection upgrades, water storage and connection to the Haughton pipeline is being paid for by state and federal government. So far, apart from the Magnis debacle, ratepayers have got off lightly.

      • The Magpie says:

        They shouldn’t have had anything to ‘get off lightly’ from in the first place. And the shortfall for the pipeline that the ratepayers have to pick up also should have happened – $80m was it?- that was Dick Dick’s chest thumping go-it-alone to the then Coalition feds that has saddled the city (i.e ratepayers) with that added debt.

        • Edify says:

          If Council is going to make available public land for future development it most likely has a responsibility to lay on all the necessary infrastructure. I recall TCC employing a cane farming bulldozer contractor from the Burdekin to clear the bush just over the Nathan Street bridge to create Stage 1 of the Douglas subdivision next to the river. And of course JCU and later the hospital is established on land originally ‘donated’ by TCC with all the infrastructure laid on. So it is not surprising that ratepayers are stumping up the cash to create roads and other minor infrastructure inside Lansdown. We can’t expect that potential industrial users should do those preliminary works on ‘our’ property or that state and federal governments should provide every last dollar to progress a local government initiative. The infrastructure that has, and will, come with Lansdown will set up the whole Stuart to Woodstock residential expansion that is the rest of the century. No matter who owns or is rumoured to have owned Rocky Springs.

          • The Magpie says:

            A reasonable argument, but it was this vain glorious mayor’s mantra of build-it-and-they-will-come shallow stupidity. Nothing solid lined up – only early taker a snake oil salesman specialising in duchessessing gullibles like Jenny Hill – and still nothing substantive after years of hot air and fairy floss. Taking a punt on anything any time is questionable but taking a punt with ratepayers money in unforgivable. (Except in Townsville, she’ll be back with battering ram ego for another four years. For Christ sake, vote for the independent council candidates, even if some of them are goof-offs.

          • Edify says:

            Looking into the initiatives of past mayors of Townsville I came across the maiden speech of Mike Reynolds in Parliament in 1998. Of course he extolled the virtues of his time as mayor and dropped this baby into the mix:

            “A number of productive discussions have been held with the mayor [Mooney] and members of the business community to advance a planning and redevelopment model that will address the inner-city decline [of Townsville and other cities like Cairns and Rocky]. The Government has tenure over a range of inner-city sites, including the vacant North Yard railway workshops and Townsville Port Authority land adjacent to Ross Creek.”

            So at least we know that the North Yard railway saga was let loose long ago.

    • Alahazbin says:

      Doug, Jenny May have to seek counsel with ‘His Radiance’ to find out how they got to sell their big dream of Rocky Springs to Lend Lease. Then she might retire.

      • Jatzcrackers says:

        Alahazbin, I’m interested how you came up with the theory that the past Mayor, His Radiance was in any way an owner/part owner in Rocky Springs.
        Close associates of mine have confirmed the Mooney had no ownership/interest in the holding and that the JV with Lend Lease was a prudent step forward in developing the massive project as the original joint owners weren’t land developers.
        Are you hanging on to unsubstantiated rumours or do know for a fact that your comment is ironclad ?

        • The Magpie says:

          Indeed there rumours abounded and were even canvassed (as rumours, not fact) here in the early Nest, although The ‘Pie was at the paper when Rocky Springs first popped up (back then, almost as big surprise as Lansdown years later). One popular theory was that Mooney’s missus was the director of a holding company that had shares … absolutely no evidence whatsoever.

          The ‘Pie has always held the belief that Mooney, no fool, followed the safe and well trodden politico’s path of getting his reward for favourable actions in office once he had retired. This was so transparent in the consequent invented posts he was gifted with at least one mining company.

        • Alahazbin says:

          That is bullshit crackers. It was well known in Council circles that Mooney had a slice of the pie that was Rocky Springs. It was called Mooney’s Super Fund. They hid it pretty well though.

          • The Magpie says:

            But didn’t hide it well enough that you didn’t pounce on it, backed up by the rock solid phrase ‘it was well known’. But do you have any evidence.

          • Alahazbin says:

            Pie, Two of them have now passed. Ferry & Pascoe. It’s now up to Mooney & Taylor to come clean, but don’t hold your breath.

          • The Magpie says:

            RichardFerry? When was this? I said hello to him at Coles North Ward a fortnight or so ago, and he looked OK. You sure?

    • Mike Douglas says:

      Doug , MOU Qld Pacific Metals Lansdown categorised Qld Govt ” prescribed project ” 200 hectares Polysilicon manufacture Townsville Council provide roads + water ( recent Council blowout $55 mil Lansdown + Haughton stage 2 ) . QPM share price 7 cents . Access Driveit NQ ? Is there an issue Mayors previous commitments Driveit vs QPM MOU ? . MOU Solarquartz 64 hectares metallurgical process plant . March 2023 giggles Miles claimed 15,000 jobs , Mayor Hill now 5,000 . Feds have coughed up $34 mil City deal end date June 2025 .

  17. Elusive Butterfly says:

    God help us Mr. Pie, Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz are back in Australia for more pantomime!
    Sharaz has got one of those smug faces you just wanna slap!

  18. Pat Coleman says:

    I refer to what I said in last weeks comments . I had another look at the donations for this election and don’t know how I missed this. In the option of picking between state and local donations , and in groups , scroll through the names . There is well over half mil $ in Clive’s “its time for Townsville” declaration over time . But for the Jenny Hill gang there is a donation from Gabrielli Constructions from 8/2/24 of $500. Developer donations are banned They are a previous donor . Liam Mooney has donated $10k to the team . Fusco has put in $5k twice.

    There is $3K from Catherine Cronin to Erica Keam (Div 9) . Brodie Phillips is donating to himself it seems $2499 since Nov 2023. Brady Eliss has $1250 this year but $2545 since 2020 . Thompson and Jobs have about $50 each declared.

    Its best to go to https://event.elections.qld.gov.au/Events/VoteCardsView?EventID=622&EventType=2 and pick the Townsville Election and get the candidate names and go to https://disclosures.ecq.qld.gov.au/Map , pick the local option and type the last names in the sear box individually and hit apply. Also, go to the groups option and scroll the group names.

    • The Magpie says:

      If ever anyone doubted that you could buy a ticket on the lG gravy train, they shouldn’t be doubtful anymore. Public spirited my cloaca!
      The reward is so high for most of these grifters who would never see such cushy conditions in the real world, for so much lack of work or substance, they are will to buy in to the game in the hopes of winning.

      There is a very real case for a major overhaul of councillor remuneration – downwards. Those who argue councils would then never be able to attract the best and brightest …. just have a look at what we’ve mainly got. What we might get is real selfless care and community concern, and those who say councillor salaries need to be high to avoid the temptation of bribery and dishonesty are judging others by their own standards. And the old saw that councils are really billion dollar businesses that deserve highly paid ‘board members’ to help guide its fortunes – who are hahahaha elected by the public – is also palpable bullshit – by again just looking at who we’ve got. Disheartening, isn’t it? And anyway, it is the bureaucracy that run cities, not councillors, who in this neck of the woods, are governed by consultant reports that offer the results desired by one person who is a deeply embedded political operative.

      • Div10Dave says:

        An exception might prove the rule. Fran O’Callaghan would have needed to spend thousands to get anywhere in her quest for the mayoralty. No amount of good intentions, public spirit or raucous campaigning would have overwhelmed the inertia of incumbency like a good old fashioned war chest. Fran didn’t stand a chance because she wouldn’t stomach the reality that you have to buy at least some of the influence you need to win political office. You can pay a tithe to your party or ‘group’, you can get your mates and sponsors to put up for you or you can reach into your own pocket. There’s no shame involved, it’s just a political reality.

  19. The Magpie says:

    It’s not only Trump and Biden who have trouble with simple words … this is the TV blooper of the year to date …. and the image of it is stomach-churning.
    https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1764760389361775087

  20. Prickster says:

    Anyone got any links to social media posts from Latrell Mitchell and Nico Hynes supporting the police officer allegedly racially harassed by Sam Kerr?

  21. Pat Coleman says:

    Typo . That’s Jacobs. Jacobs is key to knowing how much Maidment donated under various names , but with the same agent as contact details in 2016 to the Hill gang. It wasn’t declared by them but by the other side. BUT, they all declared an interest because he HAD donated and got the legally blonde CEO at the to extend the sanctum mt low residential development despite over 25 planning objections from the internal planning department. Remember, they failed to declare the Wingate and focus Pacific stadium hotel money too that election. The ECQ doesn’t look beyond the first donors name. That’s why lobbyists were able to donate for developers and Adani and such and every few years they wipe the info on who the lobbyists were representing at the time from the lobbyists register every few years.

    • Death-breath Gerry says:

      Pat. pretty much every Councillor is a crook or a snake oil salesperson. They rort, manipulate, skim and fudge the system. They are in it for themselves and will stop at nothing to feather their own nest. I wouldn’t piss on the lot of them if they were on fire. All levels of government are crims.

      • The Magpie says:

        Crikey, bit comprehensive, no?

        • Pat Coleman says:

          Fkn typos on stupid mobile phone sorry for that

          Here I’m referring to s13-19, s21 and s37-38 of the CCC Act https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2001-069

          Because the minutes of the meeting in which the Hill Gang declared an interest because of the Maidment donations is still on the website , and it hasn’t been been refuted last times the magpie published it , and there was no declaration to the ECQ, there always was an ongoing duty to disclose this to the CCC by anyone who was on the team and subsequently was a member, or by any public servant who read it. The Sanctum development got extended. Then there was the approvals for the breakwater development. Walker also has a duty to notify the commission. https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/26106/OC-mins-22.11.16.pdf

          To check the donations declaration from 2016 go to https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/disclosurereturnarchives pick election returns, local elections then Townsville for 2016 . There is a reason I can’t give you a direct link. The ECQs has intentionally made it difficult. Meeting minutes declaration of conflict of interest, no donations from Maidment declared to ECQs. Approvals for Maidment. Not my fault that stands out like dogs balls.

      • Achilles says:

        Great to see a contributor who doesn’t resort to all-inclusive generalizations.

      • I’ll be plucked says:

        Hey DBJ, you can’t tar everyone with the same brush. One definitely is NOT the type of TCC council person you ‘subscribe to’!

  22. Pat Coleman says:

    $10k AWU, $5k from Paul Rissman from parcorp who runs McDonald’s outlets, 2.6k from Harraj Pty Ltd also seems food related and Peter Bradshaw who may or may not be at Aurizon that transports coal $2k to the Hill Gang.

  23. Not running for Mayor says:

    Good intel. If only someone would put that stuff in the mainstream media.

    • Jeff, Condon says:

      NrfM, if the information is accurate and verifiable, is there a reason it can’t be distributed through social media? Just asking.

  24. Maggie Moggie says:

    Well the quote of this LG election campaign comes from our Madam Mayor.

    At Saturday’s MIRRA meeting here on the island, the Mayor was hit with a barage of complaints regarding the lack of basic services, unfinished projects and outstanding issues some for over 10 years.
    Her reply to the audience was “Trying to do business here is like having to saw a baby in half”.

    This is the contempt she has for the residents on Maggie, comparing us to Soloman’s child.

    Well Jen, you and your team should have gotten off their arses years ago.

    • The Magpie says:

      Shit, anyone got a video or some sort of record of that? There’s no logic in that, it is no clever riff on King Solomon’s wisdom,it is just ‘sounds good’ sound bite from this deeply divisive woman.

      When this bully has to face voters, she is hopeless unless in a sycophantic situation (like a drink or three at the Patriots Bikie Club)… this has been proved time and time again. At a recent candidates breakfast, she stuck to statements from her notes, didn’t take questions and then left before the other two candidates had spoken, leaving poor old Ma Greaney to stop feeding her face and field questions.

      • Maggie Moggie says:

        Yes Pie, there an audio of the meeting. Whats your email address?
        After she spoke she pickup her bag and left the meeting.
        She didn’t even have the courtesy to listen to Mayoral candidate Troy Thompson. Seems to had to dash off to a sausage sizzle in Wulguru, where I hear there is a bad smell???

      • Tarot reader says:

        Why is of little surprise. Hill is a vicious and nasty piece of work. She is the reason for our town being left behind in the dark ages. Hill is a vitriol spewing out of touch idiot and needs to work in an industry that does require collaboration and human contact.

  25. Longtime Lurker says:

    Pie your old friend Adel has popped up again…

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/pets-cleared-for-virgin-takeoff-alcohol-bodys-got-the-hiccups/news-
    story/2fad40c137326abfb68cddaebdf350a4
    Industry lobby group Alcohol Beverages Australia has fallen off the wagon again, even after a sobering period of attempted renewal these past 18 months.

    Dysfunction was rife at the ABA towards the end of 2021. Critical members Coles, Endeavour and Asahi dropped their membership only to reconsider and give the ABA one more chance. That was on a promise from the association that it would shake up its board and reset the organisation and basically stop being an embarrassment. Diageo left last year, too (for the same reasons, and for real) but they’re still listed on the ABA website, confusingly.

    Adele Young was appointed executive director during this transitional period, beating out former ACT Liberal leader Alistair Coe to the role. And look at him now! Coe went on to work for David Gazard and the chaps at DPG Advisory, but we hear his services might be needed back at the ABA soon, if he can be bothered. Knowing how desperate they are he could probably shake them down for a massive bump in coin.

    So what’s gone wrong? A few things. First, the ABA has lost another critical member in Retail Drinks Australia, representing outfits such as Endeavour and Coles on the executive committee, with CEO Michael Waters signalling their intention to step away. The RDA’s still sitting there for the moment but basically serving out a 12-month notice period, so you won’t hear it slag off the ABA or its board (at least publicly) for a little while longer.

    But even more serious is that Young, the ABA’s executive director, is said to be no longer providing her services to the lobby group, as of Monday, having served just 18 months in the role. No response from the ABA when we contacted, to be sure.

    The question now is who might be brought in to replace her. On Wednesday the ABA held an extraordinary general meeting to consider that, with much discussion over whether its people could go back on bended knee to their No.2 man – Coe – and offer it to him.

    • The Magpie says:

      Interesting position to be held by someone known to enjoy nightly libations in search of horizontal activity. Last 18 months must’ve been exhausting.

  26. Ralph says:

    Pie, I hope this Sam Kerr racial slurs saga doesn’t turn into a them and us ruling, it must be seen as a racial abuse on her part, which it was.

    • Back Row Bob says:

      Here’s an intellectual twist for you Ralph:

      “The ‘reverse racism’ card is often pulled by white people when people of color call out racism and discrimination, or create spaces for themselves … that white people aren’t a part of. The impulse behind the reverse racism argument seems to be a desire to prove that people of color don’t have it that bad, they’re not the only ones that are put at a disadvantage or targeted because of their race. It’s like the Racism Olympics. And it’s patently untrue” (Blay, 2015).

      REVERSE RACISM IS A MYTH

      While assumptions and stereotypes about white people do exist, this is considered racial prejudice, not racism. Racial prejudice refers to a set of discriminatory or derogatory attitudes based on assumptions derived from perceptions about race and/or skin colour. Thus, racial prejudice can indeed be directed at white people (e.g., “White people can’t dance”) but is not considered racism because of the systemic relationship to power. When backed with power, prejudice results in acts of discrimination and oppression against groups or individuals. In Canada, white people hold this cultural power due to Eurocentric modes of thinking, rooted in colonialism, that continue to reproduce and privilege whiteness. It is whiteness that has the power to define the terms of racialized others’ existence. Tim Wise explains how, for white individuals,

      “When a group of people [such as racialized individuals] has little or no power over you institutionally, they don’t get to define the terms of your existence, they can’t limit your opportunities, and you needn’t worry much about the use of a slur to describe you and yours, since, in all likelihood, the slur is as far as it’s going to go. What are they going to do next: deny you a bank loan? Yeah, right. … White perceptions are what end up counting in a white-dominated society. If whites say [Indigenous people] are savages (be they of the “noble” or vicious type), then by God, they’ll be seen as savages. If [Indigenous people] say whites are mayonnaise-eating Amway salespeople, who the hell is going to care? If anything, whites will simply turn it into a marketing opportunity. When you have the power, you can afford to be self-deprecating, after all” (2002).

      • The Magpie says:

        A very convenient argument, the imbalance in power is certainly well established, but the missing considerations in the equation make it mostly twaddle. Haven’t the time to fall for your sidetracking and engage in obvious refutations of a biased intellectual’s point of view (not even your own, FFS) … all of which is far from proven beyond a cohort of like minded experts saying it is so.

      • Grumpy says:

        BRB – mealy-mouthed pap. (2024)

      • Tropical Cyclone says:

        Umm so a person paid 3.3 million to play football is allowed to insult a bobby paid 31000. The said Bobby is in full uniform and doing his duty. The bobby is attending a dispute between said footballer and a taxi driver. The self-untitled footballer feels the right to racially slur him and (in parts of Britain) question his mother’s sexual decisions outside of marriage. Do you think this in this context is ok? For me, the punishment should be her visa revoked and sent back to where she comes from. He is stupid to take abuse and serve the public for 31000 a year and take abuse from a footballer.

        • The Magpie says:

          Cry me a river, sweetpea. Surprised you didn’t call for the death penalty. And you’re not paying attention, are you? Clearly … read carefully now … Kerr HAS NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO INSULT A POLICEMAN. She’s been charged and will face court, which will decide the outcome withoutthe benefit of your false narrative.

          A drunken female footballer gets into an early morning argument with a taxi driver and calls a copper a racist name. In a country far far away. And suddenly the world has stopped, and we hold our collective breath – whereas some should be holding their tongues.

          Get a grip, people, or you’ll be thrown off the media carnival’s merry-go-round.

    • Achilles says:

      I can recall an incident at the Adelaide Oval during one of the first “pajama” cricket games between Oz and West Indies,

      A loud mouth a couple of rows from the fence yelled out black bastard at Malcolm Marshall.

      Marshall came over stepped over the pickets and fronted the “mouth” saying, “Yes! black I am, now call me a bastard to my face”.

      As soon as Marshall headed back to the game the “mouth” departed accompanied with our jeers,.

      That’s a balanced approach, no further need to escalate it!

    • Alahazbin says:

      Ralph , Apparently if a white person calls a dark person a ‘black bastard’ it’s racist, but if a person of indigenous or other ethnic race call a white person a ‘white c’ or words to that effect, it is not racist. Go figure.

      • The Magpie says:

        Well, hang on a sec Ala, we need a bit of context here. If Marcia Langton, Megan Davy, Linda Burney or even Gracelyn Smallwood called The ‘Pie a white cunt, it would be a very different matter than if some drunken vagrant in Dean Park did so. For a Dean Parker, it is the smallest bit of power to call names, the last vestige of a person who has beaten his or her self into submission, but with the others, it would be an unforgivable slur that would attract legal retribution. (None has called The Magpie such names, although one has implied it. One imagines if The ‘Pie took legal issue with it, they would use the ‘truth’ defence. And might succeed.)

  27. Alahazbin says:

    Those pathetic ECQ adverts on TV advising people to vote because councils provide valuable services such as bin collection and building public swimming pools.
    Well! Seems one old dear in today’s Astonisher is going to vote for Jenny because she gets her rubbish bin collected every week. FFS. That is the sort of intelligence the mullet relies on.

  28. Pat Coleman says:

    Parcorp was also a previous donor. The councils have inspection powers as well as approval powers just saying

    So, why the issue of non disclosure in 2016 is important is that the developers donated to both sides before a donor ban. The Hill gang had polling. They knew they would win. The developers didn’t kick in for altruistic reasons. They didn’t care who won a long as they were going to get what they wanted. It was for this reason they didn’t disclose it upfront. It was too obvious . Didn’t hurt just to name your donation like “rocky springs rural or Oonoonbah Rd” or something hey? Some of the donors get streets named after them. This means it won’t matter if any prosecutorial time limit expires for any decision making matter, it’s the failure to notify and covering it up dishonestly that continue to be offences that could trigger a disqualification. Maidment also had the Harris Crossing development too.

    I got a mind to write it up for the CCC on how THEY could knock out the councilor complaints and assessor tribunal laws for being unconstitutional so they can have exclusive rights to prosecute. It’s simple like I said previously:

    (1) The assesment of what someone said, or for refusing to follow council policy because they were elected to appose them, not be conscripted by them, involves the constitutional freedom of communication. This can only be done with the exercise of judicial power.

    (2) Only a chapter 3 court exercising judicial power from which an appeal lies to the high court can adjudicate constitutional issues. This been restated.

    (3) A tribunal cannot legally be invested with judicial power. This has been restated.

    (4) The assesor and tribunal laws purport to allow a councillor to lose rights for political actions against the majority. Handing out fines, gag orders, and suspensions and expulsions for things no state or federal mp can be done for- in closed rooms with or without a person present. Giving no detailed written published reasons or only a summary from which no appeal lies to the high court. It’s already unconstitutional to invest tribunals with judicial power.

    (5)It’s illegal to not set out reasons for an appeal court or to deny an appeal to the high court Kable v DPP

    (6) The offending parts of the councilor complaints assesor and tribunal laws can’t be severed in a way that keeps that system working. That means the whole lot is bad like in Brown v Tasmania.

    (7) The state hires top lawyers to write laws they want and give advice. If there are also lawyers at the assessor and tribunal they also know these bread and butter issues but are staying schtuum to get the money while it’s going. The laws are set up to fail so the real crooks go to the tribunal to have no decision anyone can see and walk like lawyer X Gobbo’s clients when it all falls down. They should all have to pay back everything they siphoned from the people.

    The fundamental legislative principles are on the site if the people tasked with writing laws.

    • Alhazbin says:

      For fucks sake Pat, why is it that everything you write is like war and peace? Obsessed much?

      • I’ll be plucked says:

        You forgot the ‘a’, after the ‘l’, Ala. If it’s really you…???…

        • The Magpie says:

          So let’s see, an anonymous person asks another anonymous person if they really are that anonymous person or are they actually another anonymous person, and if they answer, they in fact may be replying to anonymous person who actually not that anonymous person. If that who they really are.

          Anyone getting a clue why The Magpie couldn’t care less about names, and if those who care greatly about this issue aren’t smart enough to work out why some names aren’t hi-jacked, then The ‘Pie isn’t going to waste his time on disruptors.

        • Alahazbin says:

          Your correct ‘plucks’. It’s not me. Pie, can these gutless fuckers be blocked.

  29. The Magpie says:

    Virgin and pets. Bentley sees a problem or two.

  30. Achilles says:

    As reported here some time ago by The Pie, a new fiancee for Rupert Murdoch will be in bed “feeling old age creeping up on her”.

  31. old tradesman says:

    Interesting how Private Cupcake Stewart is suddenly attacking the council about the state of the CBD, he even mentions how his Giggling state government has done so much for Townsville, he even mentions the nowhere to nowhere fishing platform that won’t go past the great Labor man’s properties, that being the great Bazza, will he tell us how much the Wagners made out of this debacle and were there any other tenderers for the pie in the sky project?

  32. Teabagger says:

    I see that the pickled walnut, Ruprecht Murdoch, is engaged again. At 92 years of age you would suspect his old fella doesn’t work unless injected with a potion that helps him rise to the occasion.

  33. Tropical Cyclone says:

    “Get a grip, people, or you’ll be thrown off the media carnival’s merry-go-round.”
    I hate threats just ask anyone, ill step off myself.

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