‘When The Cat’s Away, The Councillors Will Play: In Mayor Mullet’s Absence, Council Gives Fran O’Callaghan A Resounding Victory….’

… and Mayor Mullet a resounding kick in the coit. The Magpie can exclusively reveal a letter that spells out the deceitful strategy Jenny Hill and her cut price B grade lawyer Tony Bligh(t) employed to try to nobble her mayoral opponent.

Front page fuckwittery: the Bulletin again shows it thinks spelling is for witches and grammar is something Nana make pies out of. And was that a blatant fat shaming joke on their website? The ‘Pie investigates.

Are there some big choices coming up for TCC CEO Prins Ralston? Will we be graced with his occasional presence much longer?  The Magpie tells why it’s a reasonable question.

Albo chokes up when announcing the wording of Voice referendum question, but tells us nothing …. And why wouldn’t he have a blub, he knows full well most Australians aren’t that stupid.

All that and lotsa larfs, including the US politician pranked into reading bout a very interesting roll call.

Any support to help with the costs of producing this weekly alternative voice for Townsville will be greatly appreciated. There’s a donate button on the right of screen, and one at the bottom of the blog.

Now onward.

How Jenny Hill HasWasted Ratepayer Money On A Personal Political Vendetta. And She’s Probably Not Finished Yet.

The Magpie looks behind Mayor Mullet’s demented pursuit of an underdog rival and outspoken critic. And you can bet she hasn’t given up yet, as she tries to protect the lucrative $400k pa income from the mayoralty and external board membership of the LGAQ … $91K, for doing fuck all except being mayor.

But her first foray in her spiteful pursuit of outspoken division 10 councillor and rival mayoral candidate Fran O’Callaghan has backfired spectacularly …. while Hill was away ‘topping the toff’ in Canberra, the council,under the chair of deputy mayor Mark Molachino, delivered the lightest of taps to the wrist for Jenny’s perceived horror at some Facebook peccadillos by Clr O’Callaghan. Was this evidence that some councillors, while no chums of O’Callaghan, are getting a tad fed up with the mayor’s dictatorial ways? Remember, Molachino is the man who would be mayor one day,  so one wonders if …. hmmm.

Here’s a potted snapshot o how things went down.

In the middle of last year, Clr O’Callaghan – maintaining her role as thorn in the mayor’s side – made several mentions on her council FB page of matters technically against regulations.  Jenny Hill seized on these piddling peccadillos, and its certain she no doubt prevailed on a Labor footsoldier to make the necessary but publicly anonymous complaint. Council sent this on to the Office of the Independent Assessor, hoping for draconian reaction, but they looked at it and said ‘Pffft, this is crap’, and told the council to make its own decision.

But instead of quietly letting it die, the mayor decided to spend an unknown amount of ratepayers money on an ‘independent’ assessment’of whether Clr O’Callaghan had behaved inappropriately. But get this: any assessment of this nature would normally go to a legal firm with the expertise to make an informed judgement but in this case, it was mysteriously given to a firm of accountants. (Don’t ask The ’Pie, he has no idea.)

Anyway, they came back with a report late last year, saying indeed, while she fell short of the devil incarnate, Clr O’Callaghan was in breach of minor infarctions.

Jenny sat on this report until a week or two ago, and then listed it for Clr O’Callaghan to face the mighty wrath of the wronged council at last Wednesday’s meeting. BUT what an oversight!!! … Jenny was suddenly booked in for a jolly to Canberra on some spurious context, and wouldn’t be in the chamber to lower the axe. That was left to deputy doo-dah Mark Molachino, who discussed it with council while Fran waited outside. Fran, who is in the middle of a difficult chemotherapy regime and as bad luck would have it, had broken her ankle a few days previously, limped back in to be told that she was a naughty girl, not to do it again, and along with ALL other councillors had to do some media training (at no cost to her).

Observers at the meeting said councillors had looked uncomfortable with the whole process (how could one tell? Margie Ryder snapping her elastic, sounding like a stock whip?) and they certainly showed it by deciding on the least possible penalty which was hardly a penalty at all, and had a group share feel about it.

Perhaps Jenny made sure she wasn’t present for the outcome, it had probably become clear that this whole thing was a non-event, and she would lose even more face if she presided over such a farce.

But If It All Ended Well, It Was More By Good Luck Than Good Management.

The Magpie has come into possession of a letter than spells out the lengths to which Jenny Hill and the bargain basement B grade house lawyer bully-in-chief Tony Bligh tried to railroad Fran when the assessment didn’t reach the desired scope of retaliation.

The ’Pie made what inquiries he could, and is satisfied that the letter is authentic and is what it claims to be. It sent to the relevant officers, including Bligh, by O’Callaghan’s solicitor when only a day or so notice was given of the agenda item at the monthly meeting. It speaks for itself.

“”This correspondence is forwarded on behalf of our client, Councillor O’Callaghan.

Thank you for providing us a copy of the investigation report. We note it is dated 9 December 2022, some three and a half-months ago. It is not clear why the report was not previously provided, especially in circumstances where Council proposes to vote on this matter tomorrow.

The report includes conclusions, allegations and imputations that were never put to Councillor O’Callaghan. We made repeated requests to the investigator that he put questions to Councillor O’Callaghan in writing, which were repeatedly refused. We were never provided the majority of the material relied upon by the investigator, including the summaries of interviews with Councillors Molachino, Mooney and Hill. Once again, our client was not given an opportunity to respond to or contradict their comments which were subsequently relied upon to reach conclusions adverse to our client.

The investigator says that “to satisfy principals of natural justice, BDO provided Cr O’Callaghan, via Mr Barker, with a summary of the allegations (as outline in the S150AA Notice)” (see page 6). To be clear, the summary is extracted from the Notice verbatim. The report omits the basis upon which our request for questions in writing was made. It also omits the basis upon which the investigator refused our requests. In the circumstances, it is difficult to see how natural justice was afforded to our client.

Our client’s response of 2 December 2022 could only address the summary of the allegations. Detailed questions in writing, as sought by Councillor O’Callaghan, would undoubtably have allowed her to provide a fully informed and detailed response.

We respectfully suggest Council could not rely on the report, in particular the conclusions set out on page 15, in determining whether Councillor O’Callaghan engaged in inappropriate conduct.

Sent the day before judgement was passed, it’s reasonable to assume no response was made. But the clear evidence of the slipshod and biased manner in which the BDO and the council officers behaved in this disgraceful manner may well have backfired with the more reasonable of the councillors.

We now await the mayor’s next episode in her obsessive hate campaign.

The Cult of Kim Jen Un

Jenny Hill’s love of hobnobbing with her betters on Citizenship days is well known and well established. lesser mortals need not bother.

So when she popped her head out of the Walker Street Hermit Kingdom long enough to bar federal MP for Herbert Phil Thompson from handing out Australian flags at a recent citizenship ceremony, no one was really surprised – least of the Bulletin which has not said a single word on the matter or allowed a single text or letter to be published on it. Ditto Channel Jenny … er, sorry, Channel 7. They didn’t think It worth mentioning that the mayor flat-out lied to a federal local MP about the reason for the arbitrary action, saying it was for protocol reasons, a claim promptly denied by the Labor Minister in Canberra responsible for such events. Bentley thinks it might have been a language misunderstanding.

But it’s come to light she’s got form for using her position for self-promotion. The Magpie recently discovered that item such as these ….

…. are prominently displayed at any and all council sponsored events, the TCC brochures goodies, including a Mayor Jenny Hill notebook, and monogrammed pen are hand delivered to sites by by mayor Mullet’s personal chief-of-staff. That in itself raises the question why such material,is delivered by Mayor Mullet’s personal assistant rather than a council employee. It would be interesting to hear the excuse to ratepayers funds being used in what amounts to a personal campaign material thinly disguised as council information material.

But those bloody notebooks and gimcrack pens? She’s kidding, surely.

Wither The Prince … And His Princess?

You may notice The ‘Pie didn’t mention TCC CEO Prins Ralston much in the reprehensible bullying of Fran O’Callaghan, and not just for the reason that he’s hardly around town long enough to play much of an active role in such skulduggery.

The Prince seems to facing a couple of major decisions soon, possibly caused by an alleged bit of his own extracurricular skulduggery.  The recent sale of the Ralston Sinnamon Park home in Brisbane is about to be settled, and although no price is listed on RP Data yet, it seems it went for around $1.45m in February. This has been lubrication to the local rumour mill – especially around the Walker Street water cooler – that a major decision or two is imminent from our FIFO CEO.

You see, it is understood that his missus isn’t all that keen on Townsville life, and spent most of her time in Brisbane, in the house that was in both their names. But when The Prince occasionally graced us with his presence (gotta make the odd appearance for the $600K + pay packet), he stayed in the Yarrawonga home he bought here a while back … and it is in his name alone. And to use that phrase again, when the cat’s away ….

]So several scenarios arise, some professional, some personal. The Yarrawonga pile is not the market yet, but speculation is out there that our man may be eying of Olympic gold in them thar southern hills.

And on the personal front, that scenario is supported by the widespread belief that The Prince has been slipping a length to a recently sacked senior TCC executive. Now if this is true love – none of the ‘Pie’s business except that it may affect the governance of this city – it would seem that if his domestic arrangements make a quantum shift, his new squeeze is unlikely to want to stick around in a city where she was embarrassingly sacked. Whether perceptions that she tupping the boss had anything to do with her departure from Walker Street is unknown, but certainly no way to make yourself popular with colleagues. Which she wasn’t.

So it could be an interesting personal/professional. double for The Prince … getting the money AND the box.

We Now What We’re To Be Asked, But We STILL Don’t Know What It Involves.

That’s a fact noted by more than just The ‘Pie.

But The Magpie has an idea, what’s going down and remains both opposed and insulted. As an Australian.

In one of the worst B grade movie performances in the Voice issue to date, PM Albanese all but blubbered when he released the wording of the referendum question on the Voice.

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Putting aside his presumptuous suggestion that anyone voting no is an ‘unprincipled person’ – bit rich coming from a politician – the alarm comes in the amendment to be debated in parliament next month.

There are two show stoppers in there.

In (2) that the Voice can ‘make representations to the Executive Government of the Commonwealth’ has a big red flag hanging over vit. It means that a government – a cabinet – that decides not to heed whatever the Voice offers on an issue could then be challenged in court. Endless delay by self-intrested and malicious grouping of the un elected Voice could cause economic and social disruption, a right that an unelected body representing 3% of the population has no right to able to do.

And (3) means politically motivated and manipulated factions could pass laws giving the Voice powers never intended by those who voted yes.

Here is one of the better and balanced summaries of the Voice issue to date from the BRisbane Times. usually paywalled and may not open for some (sorry).

Lot more shouting is guaranteed before the Voice matter is settled.

Another Stellar Week For Connoisseurs Of The Daily Astonisher.

Saturday:

The Magpy thiks todays Buletin front page story is reely schocking … these kids who fite in skoolyards should do more clas werk and lern to spel beter … how else can thy hope to get a job on the Buletin.

I mean, front page … and a sub head. Reallk, Bulletin. Really?

The schoolyard fighting story is from Charters Towers, 112kms from Townsville and therefore of marginal if any to 98% of readers …. while the secondary front page story about the mayoral manoeuvrings delaying the DriveIt centre at Lansdown would perhaps be of more interest to motoring-mad Townsville? But The ‘Pie should not whinge … it’s not their falt they dunno beter.

And from the same front page. There was only one of them.

And Wednesday’s Astonisher, tells us that works start today on the Becks Rd / Gouldian Avenue intersection. Works actually were programmed and started on 6 March. Talk about Yesterdays news tomorrow – they’ve set a new record.

Also Page 6 has a great picture of a person labelled as Scott Stewart. Boy has he changed – for the worse.

Then from the Bulletin website, a Nest reader asks: Are they taking the piss, being cruel, trying to be funny or just no fucking idea?

The latter is, as always, The ‘Pie’s guess.

Certainly is,  now it’s mostly slipped down amidships.

And Just returning To Our Other Pudgy Friend

How long before the Labor backroom boys ban Harpic from using FB. He is a certifiably thought-disordered idiot.

h’s talking bto the ‘publicly’?  The last two sentences make absolutely no sense at all. And by making this boast, a government MP is praising a raise in unemployment in another city. Every time he just proves his a not very funny imbecile.  A lot of folks would like to drive around and thump him …. only their cars have been stolen.

When Anti-Gender Troll Meets Bikie’s Mole

For those who believed they would never see a greater public embarrassment than pommy pot stirrer and anti-trans shouter Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull aka Posie Parker, watch this.

Classy stuff from Lidia Thorpe, the senator and former bikie’s mole who has called for all out war on white Australia. Drunken bimbo’s after the sixth race at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day demonstrate more decorum.

But while Posie Parker and her hate message is to be reviled, spare a compassionate thought for this woman.

That is – no joke – the unfortunately named American actress Parker Posey, who looks a better proposition all round than the pommy Posie. But then, who wouldn’t?

Even Posie sympathiser Pauline Hanson has been known to stir the odd bib and braces banjo players. But don’t let’s not be too smug … if Pauline could speak English, didn’t have a voice like a squeaky Bunnings trolley and a permanent expression usually only seen on chronic haemorrhoid suffers, those currently held back by fear of association might not be so shy.

There’s Gotta Be A Disney Stick Movie In It: The Lady And The Trump.

As the Stormy Daniels hush money scandal continues to rain on Donald Trump’s parade, he has one comforting thought. By telling just one more outrageous lie which was not supported by a single fact, he made more money from the gullible in 48 hours than he ever had to pay the porn star for their infamous roll in the hay while his missus was home with their newborn. At last count, aided by an equally gullible media, Trump received more than $2million in donations. Meanwhile his self-appointed arrest date came and went without anything of note happening, a fact that New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz nailed in his usual style, That heads up this week’s US gallery.

And Finally … Whale Oil Beef Hooked

… we stay in the States for one of the better pranks played on a public figures. This Florida senator perhaps has never seen the Simpsons,  or he would know how barkeep Moe felt when Bart made his famous phone calls for interestly named customers (most famous: Amanda Hugenkiss).  But then, Anita Dick and Holden Hiscock never featured on the show.

And that started a tsunami of name jokes, most of which have been trotted out in playgrounds and around water coolers for years.  but some people revel in the sheer unforgettableness of their names.  Obviously got this bloke elected at least once.

So here’s one for you to work on.  this bird’s first name is Drew.

……..

That’s the week that gone for forever, but we’ve survived to do it all again next week. Now here’s something different …. Because The Magpie loathes bullies, if you would like to help Fran O’Callaghan in her bid for the mayoralty, you can donate directly to her campaign here

If you wish to remain anonymous, keep it under the legal non-disclosure limit of $499.

And just so you know, The Magpie doesn’t believe in limits on donations to The Nest heh heh heh ….