A Hunger For The Truth - Strappin' On The Ol' Feedback

Howdy y'all and welcome to the blog...yesterday decided to follow recent advice and not to do a second post for the day...(yay-Ed)...after spending 2hrs first thing finishing the Monday's post, it was almost like having another day off...so I effectively missed another post and yet still the sun rose, the globe spins, the firmament remains firmly, ah, firmamenting...(got a little worried yesterday arvo though when the sun started to disappear-Ed)...hilarious and indeed (there was a partial solar eclipse which I couldn't see because of clouds).

A slightly regressive post today as I deal with some more 'Feedback' and an unpleasant and unexpected attitude adjustment courtesy of the local Lifestyle1 free magazine that comes in the mail...certainly not criticising them for running the relevant article nor the previous one I mentioned in my posts re the sale of the SERDE building to local lawyer Bill DeGaris...and I had been in a 'positively not completely pissed-off' mood when I started out this morning,  full of a sense of empathy even forgiveness...then I read, Variety is the spice of life & spicy is exactly what St Martins is dishing up. 

Kudos Where Due: as I stick to the positive stuff first...and genuine kudos to The Border Watch newspaper for the attached article from TBW Tuesday April 29th 2014, Child porn investigation questioned...as indicated by the article, TBW has allegedly contacted this weeks Labor Police Minister Tony Piccolo and SAPol (police)...and as it's written, TBW has made specific requests for information and has been refused that by both; "Neither Mr Piccolo nor SAPol would provide a response"...taking as a given that this is true, then good on TBW for at least giving it a bit of a go...

Interweb Of Deceits: yesterday went back past where the guys were 'NBN cabling' on Monday, but they weren't there...I spoke briefly to one of them (Monday) and all he knew was "it's something to do with the NBN"...previous reportage has had Mt Gambier not hooked up to the National Broadband Network for at least 5 possibly 7 even 10 years...is the 'cabling conduit stuff' for the Internet connection being established by (I think) Uni SA?...is this just normal cabling related to the new phone tower 3kms down Bay Rd?...unfortunately even the bloke doing it didn't know why exactly, but it seems like a very odd place to be working on the NBN stuff...

My Interweb access issues are a combination of very poor bandwidth availability in Mt Gambier, and my own limited access allowance on my phone plan...when I run out of 'allowance' my service grinds to a halt and the post starts dropping out, etc...it frequently pauses, glitches, and then leaps ahead, so one is constantly making corrections only to have nothing happen, to then do it again and have it happen twice...it can take 50-60 seconds to rectify one spelling error...very frustrating for a very poor typist like moi...apparently those blokes were only there very briefly and appear to have shoved some plastic conduit into the main pipe and then left...no idea sorry. 

Referencing Feedback: and definitely not ignoring it, but I will continue to chuck in random issues and stories and personal anecdotes (as follows) rather than just diatribe relentlessly, particularly as a lot of it I'm using for comparison, eg, whinging about my transport issues because they are specifically symptomatic of the broader issues of City Council discrimination, dysfunction, underfunding...it is a galling hypocrisy for Council to bang on about 'Social Inclusion' and 'Liveable Communities', etc, and then leave people standing in the pissing rain because there's no bus shelter, waiting for a bus that'll never come because it's a weekend or public holiday...(yet we've got $700,000 for a fake pond on the Rail Lands-Ed)...excuse me, ahhhhhhhhhh!

Nature's Wonderland: come for a gentle stroll...(hobble-Ed)...with an old hippy and his dog and we just happened to go a different way yesterday and were admiring the Lorikeets and the Wattlebirds and the Magpies and the Rosellas and the many fine opportunities to pee and pooh everywhere...(yes, but what was the dog doing, ahahahaha-Ed)...and suddenly oh my gord a Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax).circling right over the apartments on Lake Tce West (Old Nurses Quarters)...and good gracious there's two...a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles circling about 200-250m directly above...they flew very closely together tightly turning before the larger (most likely the female) turned into the stiff Southerly, twitched a wing, and slid effortlessly across the wind East toward the Blue Lake...within seconds it was out of sight, covering kilometres at a stunning rate of knots and barely a flutter...a-shreckin-mazing...      

The other went Westish in exactly the same fashion after circling several times right over me and the hound and checking us out...round and round and twitch and gone...I swear they flew together, said 'hey, what the hell's that shambling around just down there?'-WTE1...'mmm, looks vaguely human, I think we should move on'-WTE2...'fair enough...you go East, I'll go West, see you back here in say 10 minutes?'-WTE1...'most excellent idea, catcha'-WTE2...and I'm gonna take a wild guess and suggest that Aquila possibly refers to their wicked curved beak, an 'aqualine' nose to be sure...(indeed, Macquarie Dictionary has it the other way around, being from the Latin aquilinas 'of or like the eagle' or 'curved like an eagle's beak'-Ed)...super.

No Thanks I'm Full: of feedback says Mt Gambier City Council when it comes to their latest Budget processes that don't seem to include any public meetings...in the various TBW ads/notices that Council has run (one attached below), there is nothing about any public meetings...(didn't they have 5 last year, meetings I mean-Ed)...yep, and didn't that work out well for them...(which is why they're not doing it this year?-Ed)...that'd be my guess, yep...don't want to run the risk of that shreckin' bastard Nick Fletcher, amongst others, showing up to be politely questioning and informedly contradicting and generally making a thorough shambles of the whole thing.

I refer to the many previous posts re Council's extraordinary conduct during these 5 meetings...(crap yeah, no wonder Council doesn't want to go through that again...and it really sucks the wind outta' your sails-Ed)...how so?...(well you repeatedly raised questions Council just didn't want to hear let alone answer, then posted the exact nature and conduct of those meetings, including the harassment and bullying attempted by Mayor Steve Perryman...you thoroughly 'tore them a new one' post after post-Ed)...thanks, I'll take that as a compliment.

(Yeah, but what are you gonna' fill ya' blog with if their not providing you with such a profusion of material?-Ed)...fair point, some of those meetings were absolute Blogger Fodder, but I think you'll find that Council can be just as fertile in their production of questionable material without holding any meetings, eg, see tomorrow's post...(fair enough-Ed)...however, this 'no meetings' completely scuppers Councils constant banging-on about how much they listen to ratepayers...they have clearly lost their hunger for to be told the truths...it's a joke.

Having been through my various TBWs, this and last years Budget Papers, etc, I can find no reference to any public meetings for this year...there's a bunch of gold-plated bullshit about 'enhanced consultation' via a website and emails, etc...(file under 'Shredder'?-Ed)...exactly, this is an absolute cop-out avoidance of genuine public scrutiny via a bunch of irrelevant electronic excuses...more tomorrow...but now to what really shrecked-up today for me, the above mentioned article re St Martins.

I have not included a copy because it has a photos of kids and one of a dad with his child doing reader, and that's what the article is about;
     "Recently St Martins Lutheran College held a Blokes Morning for their Foundation students. The
      morning involved Dads coming in to the school to read aloud to the children. The Dads (or special
      people) first assembled for some morning tea and an opportunity to meet other dads. The students
      then arrived at the library eager to select some books and start reading.
      Those children who did not have an adult attending, were included in a small group with a friend and
      their dad. The purpose of the morning was to encourage a love of books and reading. Being read to
      develops literacy in a number of ways.
      Among other things it exposes children to new words and thus expands their vocabulary. It provides
      them with ideas for their own writing and develops their awareness of how language works. It is
      important for children to see their strong male role models reading and enjoying books as it
      encourages them to read also.
      Literacy is embedded into every part of our curriculum so by encouraging a love of books and
      reading we are more likely to develop children who read for pleasure and therefore have more
      competent literacy skills. This in turn will have a flow on effect to all areas of the child's education.
      Judging by the excitement of the children, the smiles on their faces and the enthusiasm of the dads,
      the morning was a great success."   

I spent an hour everyday of Reception (2000) and Grade One (and for some time into Grade 2 before "text-book grooming paedophile" teacher Glyn Dorling hounded parents out of the classroom so he could abuse the children without restriction) doing 'reader' with dozens of kids including obviously my own...there was another father who was also regularly there, and several mothers...we had an unofficial group of parents co-ordinating to make sure there was always some-one there, help the kids who were struggling, etc.

Busted my back time and again for the shreckin' Lutherans at working bees, fundraisers, doing the carpark mural, etc...tip-toed around their condescending self-importance and their bigotry and their drunk wives...(oo oo, do a post about that 'drunk wives' stuff, it's a riot...go on, you know you want to-Ed)...down in the cheap seats...one day, maybe...(maybe one day soon?-Ed)...and then subjected to the hatred and denigration of those same Lutherans as they cover-up the abuse of a class of 7 year olds by their teacher...I ain't gonna bore ya' with it all again, it's all there in previous posts...

The Fountain Of Youth: I often joke that Mt Gambier is my own personal FOY because moving to the Blue Lake City has taken 30 years off my life, only going forward...and St Martins has certainly taken the last 11+ years off me...and they did it again today when I was immediately transported back into the classrooms and the canteen and the carpark and all the time and all the effort and all like it happened to some-one else...I don't begrudge those fathers anything, but it should bring me warm fuzzy memories flushed with fulfilment, not ones of harsh, ugly truths and loss and failure.

Tomorrow: The Three Amigos - Now Mt Gambier Has Three Chief Executive Officers

Bethlehem we ain't, but we apparently have 3 wise men running the show...cryptic I know but a thorough explanation will follow... and it does relate directly to the current Budget process.

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...and I am the stain of conscience that Council rubs so hard to erase but it just keeps comin' back for more...cheers and laters...

RIRHBJCB Part II

Hello Switzerland, China, Indonesia and again Moldova...I've all but given up trying to follow the 'views' statistics for the blog because they fluctuate so much, and there could be a number of 'mis-hits', etc, but if places like Moldova come up regularly in the 'audience' stats it's a fair bet that there's some-one there checking in fairly often...howdy...

Profusest apologies for no post yesterday but was having Interweb problems last night (freezing up, dropping out, and still doing it this morning at 0530hrs), gave up and took a break to watch ABCs QandA show and fell asleep on the couch...(you are just so rock'n'roll-Ed)...so, sorry, 2 posts today...(orrrr nahhhh-Ed)...and it's Interwebbily ironic because yesterday (Monday 28th) there were some blokes working on installing some plastic cable conduit piping up by the Blue Lake, and one of them said it was something to do with the NBN (National Broadband Network)...(I thought we weren't getting the NBN for another 7-10 years-Ed)...exactly, don't know, will try to check...maybe something to do with the new phone tower just 3kms down Bay Rd...dunno, neither did he...

Also 3 former Country Liberal Party members in the Northern Territory, who only weeks ago quit the CLP as a protest about an alleged failure to support Aboriginal people in the NT, have suddenly signed on to the Palmer United Party...(Clive Palmer is the coal mining billionaire from Queensland who has 'bought' himself several Federal Senate positions at the September 2013 election and now 3 NT Ministers)...(and the good money's on more NT pollies defecting to the PUP as early as today-Ed)... 

Feedback: often conflicting about how I should be sticking to strictly local stuff and not meander off into international issues, whilst elsewhere there is praise for not just grinding through the same old issues and instead mixing it up a bit...and the same advice about Humours Attempted, 'people are too busy to read stupid jokes', whilst others have praised the Jocular Excursionings, the Witty Wordsmithery, and the Japery and Aspersionings dripping satire and sarcasm...(I like the dog poo jokes-Ed)...right...

I have availed myself of the Mt Gambier City Council Budget and it's a fascinating read...and it's that sort of rubbish that's pretty much all I read these days...the last time I tried to read a novel it was some old John Wyndham stuff that I really like and haven't read in 20 years, The Midwich Cuckoos, The Kraken Wakes, etc, but only a few pages in I was drifting and distracted...changed novels but no better...before that it was all of the Lemony Snicket's and Harry Potters and Deltora Quests, etc, stuff that my child was reading...haven't sat down and read a novel cover to cover in years...

I mention it as being symptomatic of other issues...I was never a great reader of fiction but used to chew through Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and a bunch of that sort of gear...but in recent years, not nuthin'...radio, TV, papers, Interweb, that's about it...hardly listen to music anymore either, usually only on weekends when there's sport on the radio and I'm not doing the blog...haven't been to see live music in so long I can't remember...it's all symptomatic of Chronic Depression and Agoraphobia stuff...(and Pariahtisation and isolation-Ed)...sure...you just stop doing things, particularly things you enjoy, bit by bit, until eventually you grind to a halt.

There's an old saying about how a lump of coal submitted to extreme pressure over eons eventually  becomes a diamond...(that or a very gritty smear of crushed coal dust-Ed)...indeed... 

I read 'It' by Stephen King 25 years ago, long before I was overwhelmed by the St Martins Abuse Issue, but even then it struck me that if you took Pennywise the Clown out of 'It' and made that lurking evil paedophilia instead, it's a fair freakin' metaphor...I don't know whether this was Mr King's intent, one of perhaps several, whatevs...'It' critiques perfectly the adult tendency to 'not see' that which the children can see and endure preying on them...   

Connecting The Dot Points:
1) At the Council meeting April 15th 2014 Grant Humphries was 'Acting CEO' due to Mark McShane's absence which I did not hear explained and is not on the Agenda or Minutes, and in February Mr Humphries was 'Acting CEO', in the big comfy chair up the front because Mr McShane was absent on "Compassionate Leave" (Mayor Steve Perryman's statement, not in Minutes) which was 'Minuted' as a 'Leave of Absence', however, according to the Agenda, Mighty Marky Mark McShenanigans was in the chair for the March meeting that I missed...I don't know what's going on here...he's there, he isn't, who knows...

This is the problem with missing the March meeting because I don't know what happened and the Council's Agendas and Minutes are not accurate...not completely wrong, but with enough omissions and errors to render the rest subject to doubt, eg, I refer to the infamous Council meeting September 19th 2013 re the Old Hospital Demolition and associated Old Laundry Redevelopment that were not on the Agenda at all, and the Minutes re Mayor Steve Perryman that refer to his 'Conflict of Interest' and subsequent withdrawal but are not a verbatim reproduction of what he actually said... 


I've just also checked the Agenda and Minutes from February 18th 2014 (that's some mind-numbing boredom right there-Ed)...ah, yes it surely is...I spent my afternoon trying to cross-reference who did and didn't attend various meetings but it makes no mention of Mr McShenanigans absence until the end of the meeting under Motions without Notice, lists Grant Humphries as being 'Director Corporate Services, and has no-one acting as Chief Executive Officer...the vote to indefinitely install Mr Humphries as CEO wasn't held until the end of the meeting but he spent the meeting in the CEO Chair.

2) Regardless, Mr McShane was apparently back in the CEO chair for March and was present at some stage to offer The Border Watch the info that Council will be spending another $700,000 at the Old Hospital site, but the detail of on what exactly was not in the article...(and do other interviews, and sign Council documents, eg, 'Notice of Meeting' paperwork-Ed)...indeed...the Laundry is meant to be only $200k, so $500k on what?...(an artificial lake?-Ed)...that sir, is not funny...it's hilarious...   

This all does seem a bit 'nit-picky' I know, but it is critical minutiae who is in attendance; why exactly has the Mayor left the Chamber with a Conflict of Interest, yet again; who is the CEO and therefore has the keys to the kingdom's purse-strings and can unilaterally distribute ratepayers money without scrutiny; what issues are to be and/or were discussed; etc...I refer back to the posts from September 2013 re the particular Council meeting 19th September 2013 where Mayor Perryman left the Chamber 2 or 3 times, the Old Hospital Demolition wasn't on the Agenda, etc...more tomorrow...

This level of 'diversion from the factual' and/or omission is absolutely critical on supposedly official documents, eg, the major issues of the Demolition Contract and Laundry Restoration weren't even on the Agenda...ironic isn't it?...(what is?-Ed)...from the big comfy seats raised up on high the view is me...(hilarious-Ed)...and from down in the cheap seats I'm just looking at all of them...(priceless-Ed).

Forestry Minister Leon Bignell was on the ABC yesterday (the 28th) stating that the Wirrabra Forest wasn't insured (for $20m?) and that Forestry SA handed back the funds to the government when the SE Forestry Estate was sold and that it will cost $5m to replant...I believe that he said Wirrabra "wasn't worth it to insure"...(charming-Ed)...

Berry Nuts If You Ask Me: Council is offering $250 of Fruit and/or Nut Trees to ratepayers to have planted in their local park, and this 'offer' closes 5pm this Friday 2nd May...I kind of like the idea with this but there are a few potential problems, eg, if people move or lose interest, etc, that will fall to Council to maintain...even if people don't eat the fruit at least the birds and possums and shizzle will get into it, but this could be a vermin issue because it'll be mostly a bunch of Feral Starlings, Sparrows and Rats, not native critters...this program has been running for at least a year...(just running 'ad' again now on ABC 0630hrs 29th)...I support utilising inner-city space for food production, even if it eventually does fall to Council to maintain.

I'm very, very pissed off and deeply concerned by the Nationalistic, militaristic jingoism being ramped up and interwoven with the impending Federal Budget...more later but here's a sampling...get the Royals in for ANZAC Day, ramp up the Nationalistic fervour with gross manipulation of the truth of what ANZAC really is, and then slam lower wage earners with a Budget of class structured bastardry rammed home with sickening calls to stoicism and being like the Diggers...shreck that...

Deloitee Access Economics reckons that the SA economy is going gangbusters off the back of a super season and good prices and mining hasn't completely nosedived, etc, and it's a good global economy which means good spending, and although housing could be better it's still improving due to positive pressure from more immigration and there's been a  big pick-up in the industry backed by very low interest rates...it was all good news for sure about the South Australian economy from a firm that allegedly specialises in the subject...don't really believe it myself but then I ain't an Economist.

Finishing suddenly at 1730hrs Tuesday 29th April 2014 the post for Monday 28th...later today...

Tomorrow: More Budget Bashin'

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...be bloggin' atcha' 'ron...cheers and laters. 

Rubbed It Real Hard But Just Can't Budget

Hello Moldova, Indonesia, Ukraine and the United States of America, and welcome to the blog...and thanks y'all again for the feedback and for reading the post yesterday about the feedback...and a barrel-load of hilarious mixed metaphors and jolly japes today as is always my want re Mt Gambier City Council.

Apologies that this post is late and short..and not constructed with a specific copy of Council's Proposed Budget in front of me, but rather based on general observation, media reportage, etc...and I haven't done my 'research' about specific quotes, etc, either...a thoroughly slack effort all round relying on memory and why I will do RIRHBJCB Part II tomorrow and a further one later in the week.

What I can say is that Council is going through all the motions, makin' all the right moves, emitting the correct noises, eg, a large ad repeatedly in The Border Watch referring to their Budget and their burning desire for the good folk of Mt Gambier to have a genuine and considered input to the decision processes that define the City's future...(bahahaha you crack me up-Ed)...

But First: I always feel uncomfortable discussing how Aboriginal people are affected by issues or what they think about stuff, but it does need to be acknowledged the role of Aboriginal soldiers serving in action in both the World Wars and other campaigns before they were recognised as citizens, and with Terra Nulleus even as people...Aboriginal soldiers received none of the support that other Returned Servicemen were entitled to, eg, soldier settlement land grants, medical benefits, pensions, etc.

In what coverage I've seen there was very little commentary about this, mostly on the ABC/BBC (and then on the radio) and certainly not on commercial TV networks...but again I'm one person and could have easily missed stuff...please Interweb search more info about Terra Nulleus and it's implications...it is yet another issue of Aboriginal Australia that needs to be front and centre of the current debate not waved away as a quaint anomaly of a history rather forgotten...I was alive when Terra Nulleus was still in place...      

Council Meeting Stuff: sorry to have forgotten this...at the April 15th meeting former Councillor Byron Harfield and former CEO Greg Muller were "deleted as authorised signatories" of the Junior Sports Assistance Fund but I'm fairly sure that only a few meetings ago Council changed it's 'Pecuniary Interest ' requirements to (by my estimation) allow Greg Muller to be part of the JSAF...I covered that in previous posts...apols if I've mixed up funds or something...I'll check, again, and post.

Also CEO Mark McShane was still absent (Compassionate Leave?) on the 15th but I believe he has stated that Council intends to spend another $700,000 at the Old Hospital site...(I thought it was$200k for the Old Laundry revamp-Ed)...and apparently $500k for benches and trees and shizzle I'm sure...it has all the hallmarks of the Main Corner and Library cost blowouts...if you accept as unnecessary all of the massive land works of ripping up rails and digging huge holes then filling them in again, etc, to get flat ground back to being flat ground, which is exactly what Council has done at the Old Rail Lands, then that in itself is already a massive project cost blowout.

But that's only the case if Council genuinely were going to put parkland across the site, which they're not, because it's completely necessary ($2m+) expenditure if you're planning to slap a slab a' shopping centre right across it...and I just cannot believe any part of Council's handling of the Old Hospital project and their figures on budget, etc...and there's still the issue of the legal action against the Receivers, which will inevitably involve Council who made the contentious re-zoning decisions...it just goes round and round...  

I do literally fall about laughing when I hear/read Council bangin' on about 'Financial Plans' and 'Budgets' because they have a proven track record of doing what they individually feel like in the moment and completely ignoring that which doesn't conform, throwing insane amounts of money at equally insane whims and fancies, making up the numbers to suit...and when these decisions are made about benefitting a few choice individuals, that's where that behaviour is by definition rabidly rorting and routinely de-frauding, and generally just rooting Mt Gambier right into the ground...

And I am of course being highly irresponsible when I suggest that Council has some sort of Magic Lamp that they rub when their gross financial mismanagement and gross internal corruption renders the Cities coffers empty and they need more money, because there is no magic involved...in last year's Budget they just doubled their own borrowing capacity to $12million and started throwing ratepayers cash at a new series of ludicrous projects...

(Wouldn't mind so much if it was a rubbing, don't mind a bit of a rub...it's this being hung upside down by the ankles and shaken to see if, after Council' and the bloody government have had there filthy, thievin' mits in ma' pockets all year, what small change I do have left falls out-WPORP)...sorry WPORP, have we met before?...(yes, frequently...I'm the Way Pissed Off Rate Payer...we met at all of those Budget meetings this time last year, walking down the Main St, at the supermarket, pretty much wherever you go really-WPORP)...ah yes of course, I beg your pardon... 

Doesn't matter how hard Council tries to polish the propaganda or paint over the rust there is a stain that won't be denied, constantly seeping toward the surface borne on a tide of rising discontent...and this blog does play some small part in that...for example, no-one who gives half a damn and is reading the blog believes Council's bumf about the Rail Lands Parklands because it's all here...  

Which Stain?: disdain is the appropriate emotional, rational, and practical response to any document presented by Mt Gambier City Council...their numbers cannot and should not be trusted, their intent is ne'er but self-promotion and profit, and they are so mired in their own agendas and nepotism that I don't think they could navigate themselves away from it even if they really wanted to...  

(Well now that's not very appropriate, its a gross exaggeration albeit based on substantive fact...it's like saying that every politician you've ever met is corruptly implicit in the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...well, maybe that's a bad example-Ed)...no, no that's a perfect example...it's all about context...(oh here we bloody go, always with the 'it's about the context'...what's next, 'Crunch time'?-Ed)...steady on...it's the contextual difference between saying the patently ridiculous, eg, all police officers in South Australia and all Lutherans are paedophiles, just because both organisation's hierarchy are clearly involved in the pro-paedophile corruption of the St Martins Cover-up.

I treat any 'average Joe' worker-ant Peeler (British Home Secretary Robert Peel introduced the first official 'Police Force' in London in 1829, who were hence known as 'Bobbies' or 'Peelers') or work-a-day God-botherer with due respect because more often than not they're just people doing people stuff...I'm always respectful and polite...pretty much...

Bottom line: there are people on Council who are working hard with genuine intent, it's just the damage being done at the pointy end by a definable handful that's really stuffing it up for everyone else...that's were my ire resides and my barbs are fired, but this Budget stuff is an exercise in ifs, buts, and maybes, and the idea of genuine public consultation is a patent nonsense.

Not A Word Of A Lie: this morning I was just headed out, loading the dog into the car, etc, when someone prank called the Adelaide ABC Radio Talkback Gardening Show...happened I reckon as last call of the morning so about 1030hrs or 1100hrs....started with something about this young callers neighbour who had this plant that everyone wanted to buy, including this guy's parents, but nobody knew what it was...wasn't really listening at first but was thinking that sounds a bit sus, then 'he's talking about grass and I don't mean lawn' and went back inside to hear him describe it, and he said it's got a spiky hand-like leaf...

(Aaahhhh he was talking about gunja mun, sweet Mary Jane, de' Chronic-Ed)...sorry what?...(a marijuana plant...he was talking about a marijuana plant...his neighbour has one and everybody wants to buy it? spiky hand-like leaves?-Ed)...exactly, that's what I said, 'grass'...(bloody hippy-Ed)...anyhoos, yes I sussed it pretty much straight away, but it took the talkback folk a little longer...I missed the exact moment that the ABC announcers realised, but at some point they clearly did and politely said take it to a nursery and concluded the call, but it went on for maybe 2 minutes...hilarious...

Enough for today and the proper Budget stuff tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Um, The Budget Stuff

And what's not in there again, eg, the covered pool issue, the other $6million for the Rail Lands Concept Plan, etc.

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

100% Grain Fed Feedback

Hello and welcome to the blog...this is a quick bit of an explanation/self-justification post in light of a series of kerbside chats and/or other feedbacks, so I might take some space to acknowledge and respond...Council Budget stuff tomorrow, it ain't goin' nowhere...(yay-Ed)....cheers...

Feedback: I know I've made myself fairly unpopular round about the Shire, and so it has almost floored me to receive some recent unexpected support and advice from equally unexpected sources...obviously I'm not going to say who said what when exactly, but Mt Gambier is a very small town and just walking down the street is fraught with encounter...(ahhh, no, it's people, ooo whoa dude-Ed)...hilarious, are you mocking the Agoraphobia stuff? 'cos if you are I'm gonna...(hey they're still looking-Ed...I'll talk to you later)...so this post is a montage of off-blog comments and there's a general trend toward, as I say, support and understanding...

Ploughing off into the dead joke area now with a statement about this 'inevitable encountering' and how that has impacted on my Agoraphobia, eg, didn't want to go to town because I was almost guaranteed to run into someone from St Martins and possibly get abused in the street or in the supermarket or on the bus...these days when I see these same people who had a go at me, they won't even make eye contact...it's all scurry and run...suits me...Agoraphobia is a very deep pit to crawl out of though, and I still got me sum' crawlin' ta' do...

It's very different to being harangued and attacked and bullied and threatened at public meetings where I know I'm going to run into a bunch of City Councillors, etc, and indeed expect to cop flack for just showing my face...I'm not just being an egomanic nutter...(no indeed, that and so much more-Ed)...when I say that my presence at a function of any description changes the tone and mood in that room...just big enough to stand out in a crowd and just known enough to be intensely disliked...(fair call-Ed)...not that that excuses these alleged professionals totally inappropriate behaviours toward me in public meetings...(again, fair call-Ed)...  

It has been put to me that some people simply can't be seen to attend certain meetings and express certain opinions, etc...(fair enough, small town retribution and all that-Ed)...absolutely...and that it's good to see someone giving it a bit of a go because it does clearly need to be done...and that observation that yes I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed and do have a very limited political experience and/or interest, but again that I've clearly sought to contribute and have a better idea of what's happening than most.

And yes I am relatively happy to talk about the depression, Agoraphobia, etc, and how it's affected me because it is largely as a result of how I have been treated, predominantly off the back of the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...I don't need to justify or explain myself to anyone, here's a reality, that's the way it is, simple as that...(well actually you may well have to explain soon because Prime Minister Abbott has promised to make us all dump a load-Ed)...no, I think you'll find he's talking a load about everyone else having to 'lift the load' which may well mean people being dumped off the Disability Support Pension, etc...(oh-Ed)...

I was flattered that someone called me brave again for talking about this Mental Health stuff, but it's mostly about me owning what is to a large degree just a reality...and real or not, it's been stated repeatedly and specifically to denigrate myself and other parents by people like former Member for Mt Gambier Rory McEwen, not least of all on the front page of The Border Watch...(he's off-Ed)...sorry, I'm off...and when Child Protection Activists contacted him about St Martins...(and away-Ed)...

And when Premier Jay Weatherill's business partner Stephen Lieschke, who had acted for the St Martins teacher Glyn Dorling in the Teachers Registration Board Inquiry, when Mr Lieschke rang those same CPAs and warned them off helping us, he repeatedly stated that we parents had 'psychological problems'...(and the stuff he claimed about 'death threats against Dorling' and how a father, you, had confessed to a plot to throw Dorling off a cliff, etc-Ed)...yeah, the whole box and dice...lies, slander, and manipulation to attack parents to support the cover-up of the abuse of a class of 7 year old kids...(come back to us dude-Ed)...yeah sorry...("so much anger, so much rage"-Jurgen Harborrmaster-The Mighty Boosh-BBC TV)  

It seems that people understand that whilst I continue to make occasional mistakes, it is not a question of deliberate manipulation or propaganda, that I'm trying to be accurate and balanced...(I'd argue that making a few mistakes is even healthy-Ed)...how so?...(well if you're prone to the occasional albeit genuine mistake, it arms the reader with a healthy cynicism-Ed)...sorry, 'healthy cynicism'?...(yeah, ya' don't wanna believe everything ya' read...and for a range of reasons beyond genuine mistakes-Ed)...fair enough...

And that is the positive to be found in that feedback, there is a sense of credibility and even trust in what I'm saying and at least trying to do with the blog...it also apparently doesn't hurt that much of what I "allege and/or complain about" is supported by documentation...there is some small self-satisfaction to be gleaned from this 'credibility' because I'd be a whole bunch happier if most of what I post was absolute bollocks...which segues nicely into...

My repeated apologies for some of the fruitier language in the blog, have been generously waved aside as unnecessary, and my unrepentant ventage even described as 'hardly surprising given what you've been through' (paraphrase)...it was even put to me that I show 'remarkable restraint'...I'm not going to use that as a license to go right off the vitriolic deep end, but it is hugely cathartic to hear others acknowledge both the reality of the shizzle that's going on and the idea that it would clearly be deeply traumatising, and that in that context, I actually handle things pretty well.
    
I'm also aware that some blogs tout for donations and it has been suggested that I might do that, but as previously stated I consider that I'm already working as best I can for what support I do already get via the DSP and Housing Trust...not gloating, not bragging, not doing anything but just sayin'...it is genuinely part of why I do the blog and why I take it so seriously...

Advice I Will Take: is that which I've already decided myself, namely, it wouldn't hurt to give myself a bit of a break from the blog once and a while...(sure they weren't saying 'give it a bloody rest will you, we're so sick of your particular brand of bollocks day in day out'-Ed)...fair point and duly taken, but no it was about looking after my health, not burning out, etc...(wasn't ya' mum was it?-Ed)...well yes her go' bless 'er, her amongst others...so I'm going to effectively give myself a day off...(yay-Availees)...once a week...(woohoo-A)...and on that day just post some documents or poetry, etc...(norrrr not fair, not the poetry-A)...  

Don't panic, I gotta' ton a' bad puns, questionable wordsmitheries, and dodgy japes to get through before that 'day off' actually happens...certainly not going to happen,

Tomorrow: Budget Stuff From Council

As promised, but still not really too sure what to say about things fiscal when the numbers are coming from Council, because they're all over the shop...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori

Hello Spain, France, Indonesia and of course Aotearoa (New Zealand)...welcome to the blog and to ANZAC Day 2014...I agree that it is a very important occasion but probably for different reasons to many people and I am deeply concerned with the increased sense of pageantry and jingoism that accompanies ANZAC Day.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's 'speech' didn't do anything to alleviate any of those concerns...the first half sounded like a list of statistics downloaded by an office intern off Wikkity Wikkity Peadia, and then some general platitudes about sacrifice and how super our soldiers are, etc...there's a basic respect to be afforded those who have lost their family or friends, soldiers, etc, and I fully support the right of the individual to express that however they choose, but my concern remains always the way that Mr Abbott and some of his colleagues behave around these sort of events and where the general debate is headed...

Today's post title is a very famous Latin phrase translating roughly as 'It Is Good And Glorious To Die For King And Country'...it is also the title of the famous World War One poem by British soldier Wilfred Owen, 'Dulce Est Decorum Est'...(actually it is a direct quote from Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes, done cha' know?-Ed)...oh yes, and after doing the same Googlage I also read that it translated as "It is sweet and right to die for your country", but I think that sells it well short because if my Latin serves me which it doesn't then my English what is based like loosely on Latin, then that tells me  'Patria' relates specifically to 'the King'...(where?-Ed)...stop saluting...Patriarch for the male, Matriarch for the female, etc...I'm guessing, but under Queen Elizabeth I would suggest that the phrase may be 'Pro Matria Mori'. 

I had the great good fortune to grow up with the privilege of knowing both of my grandfathers and have inevitably inherited their disposition toward ANZAC Day...neither chose to commemorate in any way and never attended any events and I absolutely defer to their beliefs and conduct...my grandfathers were amongst those who had no-one left to gather with and no desire to do it for the sake of doing it...but they both recognised that others really did need to get together because that's what worked for them.

My own scything cynicism of politicians is surely sourced in the deep distrust that my grandfathers taught me, if then honed by a decade of the St Martins Issue...speaking of which...(which we weren't-Ed)...until now...a recent comment on this blog asked why I stay in Mt Gambier...just because stuff isn't particularly going your way as you would have it doesn't mean that you stop trying...in a certain context I do use the memory of my grandfathers to grind through certain days bouyed by the knowledge that I ain't got no frickin' idea and praise the lord if She exists that it may stay that way...

For The Record: both my grandfathers were World War Two veterans and I have covered this in posts from this time last year but why not again a bit differently...one was a decorated Kiwi fighter pilot and the other a 'Rat of Tobruk', either would have been an honoured guest at any ANZAC Day event, particularly Papa who was a Group Captain, combat veteran in the Battle of France and the period immediately prior to the Battle of Britain at which time he served as a test pilot, and he later flew 21 combat missions in the Pacific whilst running the airbase and received the DSO (Distinguished Service Order) for that and a bit later an OBE (Order of the British Empire).

Pops served in Tobruk (possibly El Alamein), Malta and/or Crete, New Guinea, spent time in Gladstone Gaol for going AWOL (Absent Without Leave) and was promoted and demoted several times from Private to Corporal and back again...he was apparently a bit of a larrikin but a fine soldier...a Scottish child immigrant who wound up back in Africa, etc, fighting for Empire and each time his Corporal was killed he was promoted and then I think twice demoted again...sorry I don't know the exact chronology but there was a doco/movie on late a few weeks ago and it had a lot of stuff in it about Australian units in North Africa and it did seem to be very similar to the little bit I do know.

I reckon he was in one of those Australian units that was moved from one debacle to another across North Africa and the Mediterranean either after coming from (Papua) New Guinea or was sent to PNG after...I will do a quick search and maybe give him his own post as an historical document as such...as a child I just assumed everybody's grandpas were a 'Rat of Tobruk' and a 'Spitfire Ace'...I sort of knew what it meant but took it all for granted, as you do when you're a child.

And of course today we welcome to the post Turkey which is where the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp) force was sent in April 1915 to effectively invade their sovereign nation to help support England's Empirical aspirations by distracting Turkish bullets with Aussie, Kiwi, Indian, etc, soldiers landed at Gallipoli, whilst English troops were landed elsewhere, all courtesy of a plan by Winston Churchill...these conflicts were repeated through the Second World War in a continuation of Empirical conflicts that criss-cross that region across centuries, millenia, even dare I say it, across the recorded history of humanity...and much the same with Afghanistan...and the band played Waltzing Mathilda.

And it is a truly gracious and extraordinary thing that Turkey not just allows but supports the ANZAC traditions based on the Gallipoli area and associated ceremonies, etc, and includes fallen Australians, Kiwis, etc, as being like their own sons.

And I know that I went a little off the path late in yesterday's post, but it remains a daily taunt to me that we as a society continue to suffer for the behaviours of people like former Member for Mt Gambier Rory McEwen, key player in the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up, and all his mates in the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, and right across South Australian society who are by definition co-conspirators, whilst these people flourish.

And that they would then roll-out their trite platitudes and confected empathies and deeply felt, carefully practised compassions, blah, blah, blah...it is gut-wrenchingly sickening...the hypocrisy, the self-service and self-importance, the keen need to be seen to be saying the right thing regardless of gross personal indifference...and again with the Mike Rann example because here's a man who would show up at all these events excreting solemn well-rehearsed solidarity and empathy and then go straight back to parliament house for a fresh slice of the canteen lady's pie and a busy afternoon of rampant Fascocracy...

Royals "show respect" at ANZAC Day ceremony at Canberra...I absolutely have nothing personally against Kate and William but who was it repeatedly sent our forefathers to slaughter and be slaughtered in the name of the British Empire...(and foremothers were in the factories, on the farms, etc, and working as nurses, etc, on airfields re-fueling planes and shizzle-Ed)...I don't think they had shizzle in WWII...(rubbish...there's always shizzle, always has been, always will be-Ed)...you sure know a lot about shizzle...(yeah I know a lot of shit about a pile of other crap as well-Ed)...well now that shizzle's uncalled for...

Just For The Record: the British Empire wrote off Australia at the fall of Singapore in February 1942...the only argument is when that decision was officially made, and/or the unavoidable realisation dawned, whatevs...the British Empire made a conscious decision to 'cut it's losses' and not send re-enforcements to Singapore in late 1941 because those troops were needed closer to home...and then continued to use Aussies as 'gap-stoppers and decoys' where and when it suited them...not my story, it's what happened...which segues back beautifully into the Royal visit, particularly their appearance at the Canberra Dawn Service today...

No Charm, All Offensive: as far as I'm concerned, if you want the monarchy so much, move back to England and you can have one...don't send them over here to clog up my media thankyou very much...and they just happen to end their tour of New Zealand and Oz on ANZAC Day morn in Canberra...what a coincidence...and then their outta' here...must admit though that I am having a bit of a lend because I had this discussion with my own English-born mother this morning and she is a WWII child and a staunch Monarchist and a very hard-working Australian for 50 years...I'm a first generation Pomstralian... 

Very unfortunate timing on yesterday's TV news feed on Channel (?) when they moved from a story about several attempted child abductions in the Wallaroo area to footage of William and Kate meeting and greeting some kids at some stroll-by, meaning it had footage of them with the back-voice "...parents are concerned about strangers approaching their children...", before then moving on to the "Kate and Will..." story...deadset true...I always like to try and close with a joke or a jape...

Yes we should always remember and never forget and acknowledge the truths about what we have done and what we have had done to us...

Tomorrow: Rubbed It Hard But Just Can't Budget

More luminary tales about the Magic Lantern that Council rubs everytime they want a casual 1/2 a mill to flick at some indulgent flippancy, the Rail lands, the Old Hospital stuff, etc...and lots of feedback...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog ...cheers and laters...

MGCCM April 15th 2014 - Part III

Hello and welcome to the blog...apols that yesterday's post went a little pear shaped late in the day...today I'll finish this Council meeting first and then fill in some other stuff...

Council continues to drag the Aboriginal flag issue through the mud months after finally declaring that they will consider hanging it in Chambers...have to talk to all the stakeholders and don't want to rush into anything..."Engagement with stakeholders and establishing a process...In Progress...Ongoing planning with Pangula Mannamurna, Burrandies, Aboriginal Corporation and Elders Group. Date to be confirmed for May 2014 Ceremony"...(for May 2014, that's only next month, but no new news on when exactly then-Ed)...nope, not that I'm aware of...

And still nobody at the Umpherston Cave kiosk thingy (vacant since August 2013 approx?) the lease of which is "In Progress...Review of leasing options for this and other Council facilities"...which one assumes includes the Centenary Lookout Tower 'Lease' which I believe is (will be?) again vacant after the most excellent Bob and Viv Peters stepped into the breach just for the holidays...

There was a long report about the Aquatic Centre meeting that marks the end of the season because the pool closes at the end of March...it is an unavoidable irony I guess that this March report should appear at the April Council meeting a fortnight after the pool is closed (until October)...and perfect though I may be, even I can't stroll past this delightful opportunity to lay the boot into Council for their gross failures, deceits, and mismanagement of not only the Covered Pool issue but of that entire sporting precinct...(isn't it called Olympic Park or some such?-Ed)...you know, I reckon you're right...

(And didn't Council lose the International Tennis Tournament from there because they didn't maintain the courts properly?-Ed)...indeed...(and do they still advertise the Mini Golf even though it was removed years ago?-Ed)...well yes they do, and yes it was removed, but maybe they replaced it recently...sorry, just don't know 'bout that one...but for what is supposed to be arguably the South Easts premier sporting facility, there is much work to be done...more tomorrow...  

There was also some reference to a couple of things that I'll cover tomorrow re the Rail Lands, etc, and some shenanigans re Greg Muller and the Junior Sports fund...very odd that one...I certainly didn't miss missing Council's March meeting but it's great to be back...

Not Cruisin' For A Bruisin': applies apparently to all the passengers on the Pacific Pearl Precious Princess Party Cruise ship that slid majestically past Robe on it's way to Melbourne...unfortunately Cruise-by Tourism is not what Robe had planned for yesterday when the PPPPPC (not it's real name) sailed right on by without doing it's scheduled stop there...the original plan was that many hundreds of cashed-up tourists were meant to pour ashore and swell the coffers of local Artisans, shop-keeps, hawkers, traders and operators of every ilk...but apparently the swell was too high and the ship couldn't safely transfer passengers to/from shore in their little 'tenders' (boats)...

I understand that said collective vendors were warned to be conservative in their exuberance because these tourists would have everything catered for onboard the ship and were therefore likely to buy very little in the way of food and drinks, more probably looking at fridge magnets and cheap local trinket stuff, maybe a bottle of wine...still, unfortunate that all those people went to all that effort for it to go relatively unrewarded..and apparently there will be harbour improvements by the time of the next cruise due in February 2015.

A Welcome Return To Pagan Rituals: as Treasurer Joe Hockey selflessly offers himself up for sacrifice to supplicate the angry gods of Fiscal Imbalance and Disproportionate Burden...(yeah, not quite...actually Joe is demanding that everyone else make sacrifices to help him with his Budget-Ed)...yeah I know, I was being sarcastic...just listening to the stone cold tripper now on the ABC/BBC mouth-breathing his way through yet another explanation as to why everybody who isn't a Liberal or a politician or a billionaire has to 'sacrifice' a little to help everyone else...(are you sure we can't just sacrifice Joe and leave it at that?-Ed)...yeah, I think that would be frowned upon...by some...

"Nothing is for free...nothing can remain for free"..."ending the Age of Entitlement"...except of course for the travel entitlements, subsidies for meals, massive Superannuation allowances, etc, on top of the extraordinary wages that our elected officials constantly increase for themselves...and Big Joe's big plan is to target the most vulnerable and disenfranchised, low income earners, etc, with this constant dribble about 'everyone doing the heavy lifting', etc..."here, someone help me punch this old person"...

(I've said it before, but every time I hear that 'heavy lifting' nonsense I think Joe's looking for someone to help him get his massive Super funds into the back of his parliamentary vehicle-Ed)...nice...it really is quite sickening to watch these scumbags grovelling about in their very disturbing obsession with ANZAC whilst openly attacking the fundamental ethics of support and succour that we are supposed to embrace as part of our national identity...

Can't help wondering how Aboriginal Australians feel about Joe Hockey's repeated statements that 1 in 3 people born today will live to 100, given that currently Aboriginal life expectancy is still some 20 years shy of the 'Western' average (approx 80 years) because of endemic, epidemic health issues.  

The Flying Wombat: But at the same time we've apparently got enough spare cash to drop in a Paid Parental Care Scheme that caters to relatively wealthy upper-middle class wannabe mums, an approx $50billion for some submarines, and another $12billion for another 58 of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters on top of the 14 already ordered...(yay-Ed)...and one side reckons the F-35s are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and critics think it's a flying pig that oinks, grunts, and sucks...(so more of a Flying Wombat than the Flying Kangaroo?-Ed)...indeed...

Alleged problems with the F-35s are well documented and it is already years behind schedule and massively over-budget...(didn't we buy $1b worth of second hand USofA helicopters for our Navy, only to find they couldn't fly over water?-Ed)...that was a few years ago under the Liberal's Brendan Nelson, but yes not a particularly great piece of procurement...and we look set to stick to our guns...(well the USofA's guns-Ed)...to our guns by sticking to their guns...and we all here in Oz will apparently be making a bit of the tail bit so that's great...

Proponents and suppliers say no probs mate, $90million each tops, goes like a dream, you can plug your Ipod into the 5 speaker surround sound system, beautiful...the F-35s critics say it's an absolute dog, will cost $200m each 'cos other countries are pulling back if not yet out (less planes sold, each costs more), and flies like a constipated pig, electronically screaming out 'I'm over here, I'm over here'...but we're still buyin'...

I know it sounds terribly Nationalistic...(and the day before ANZAC Day too-Ed)...and in this specific context I really don't care, but I do think about what my grandfather went through as an Australian soldier in World War Two to protect 'our way of life' only to have people like former SA premier Mike Rann swanning about Europe, high on the stench of his own corruption, funded by the public dollar whilst his equally corrupted political mates are flogging off every chunk of our country they can...selling off a country that people like my grandfather's generation, and others since, have fought to defend.

And it ain't a great leap from there to...I saw Rory McEwen today, standing in the Main...and there was a park right there, the traffic was paused at the light and oh yes I thought about it, but decided I had better things to do...(buy bananas-Ed)...and moved on down, moved on down the road...just sayin'...it was just before Christmas 2012 he walked out in front of my car near Cave Garden and I had enough time to think about gently laying him down across the bonnet, cheekily clipping him with the front fender, with japesfully cloths-lining him with the door, or getting right up next to him and tooting loudly to make him jump into the oncoming traffic...(that last one's my favourite and certainly what I was calling for-Ed)...ah, happy days...

Tomorrow: Tails of Rails and Happy Trails

Which could be one and the same thing were a dedicated bike trail to be installed along the disused Rail Easement between Mt Gambier and Bordertown...I know I've covered this before but it's a classic idea...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

Mt Gambier City Council Meeting April 15th 2014 - Honest

Hello Spain, Netherlands, China, and all my homies here in the great land of Oz...word up mofos...mild apologies for straying off topic yesterday but the issue of Violence Against Women unfortunately  but rightly continues to dominate the media with the release of new and bewildering figures...nearly one woman per week in Australia is killed by her partner or ex-partner, and more and more often these 'perpetrators' are attacking the children as 'revenge targets'.

Again I can only express support for any efforts to address this violence, but also my concerns that we talk up a great game not backed quite so thoroughly by actions...and I do apologise because today's post was done late after a day with my child/person...but I digress...

And a special shout-out to blog availees in Ukraine as your country continues to be squeezed between the international agendas of it's immediate neighbour Russia and the Western bloc headed largely by the USofA and the European Community...we do get a somewhat 'Westernised' news service anyway, but it is simply not my place to tell you how to run your own country, and like many others, I truly hope that the tensions can be diffused and a consensus reached.

I am surprised that this here blog has regular availees from Ukraine and I greatly appreciate your patronage, particularly given the immediate issues confronting you as a nation...is there a place for and the possibility of a Ukraine that calls Russia a sibling not a parent, and the 'West' an equal not an ally?...in light of what is happening in places like Egypt, Ukraine, Thailand, etc, in the name of simply exercising a chance at democracy, I was bewildered when the West Australian Senate Election re-run a few weeks ago had a $20 'default fine' ...(deadset?-Ed)...yep...

Sure, it was a bit if a debacle to lose 1300 sumthin' votes forcing the re-election, but it happened...and with the re-run election, if it was all a bit too difficult for you to have to vote again, you could pay a $20 default fine...(is that a special dispensation fine for that specific WA Senate re-run, or the general fine for failing to vote in a federal election?-Ed)...great question, don't know...(I'll check it out and be back in a minute...yeah, looks like it was a specially low fine for that specific election, with Court ordered fines usually up to about $170-Ed)...super...  

Anyway, just jumping straight in, Council's meeting on Tuesday 15th of April 2014 was a relatively uneventful occasion compared to some other meetings I've covered previously in the blog. There was the usual round of reports from Mayor Steve Perryman and various Councillors, including reference to the information session for Main Street retailers which was described as a "good engagement".

This was accompanied by the tabling of a 648 signature petition dated 7th April 2014, requesting they do not remove the 8 car parks as planned by Council who want to have their nodes protruding along the Main... "the CEO advised that the substance of the petition has now been referred to the Operational Services Committee for consideration"...I understand Council has every intention of just plowing ahead with removing those car parks.

The rest of the Main Street and Ferrers Street re-paving works have hit a bit of a hurdle with Council having to apply for tenders for both the supply and laying of concrete pavers. There were four companies invited re supplying concrete pavers, but no tenders were received for laying them, so that work will have to be re-tendered. Build-Pro won the supply contract at a rate of $67.70 per metre squared for a project of 1600 square metres...you do the math.

I still don't understand why Council have done all of the supply and labour thus far on the horrid grey pavers along The Main but are now Tendering for pavers and laying...and I will re-state the many comments I have heard about the terrible 'greyness' along the Main now and the stained planter boxes, cracked seating, etc, because it has been a disastrous waste of money that detracts from the streetscape.   
Council also reports that the Old Hospital demolition has come in almost exactly on budget, leaving them precisely the $100,000 they intend to use from the 2013/14 budget to re-vamp the Old Laundry Building that was saved from the demolition...Budget allocation for the project was "$2.55million", and current expenditure to date is approximately "$2.35", which includes the demolition and additional asbestos removal.

Excuse my cynicism, but as I've described in previous posts I find it fundamentally impossible to believe a single word and/or figure that Council provides, they have a proven capacity for grossly distorting truths and/or simply making shizzle up, pushing costs around the page and/or into other areas of Council expenditure, etc, eg, aspects of the Main Corner Project that were 'billed' under various Council departments...

It is my personal experience that Council just makes shizzle up as they go along, as suits them in the moment...they know they can do this, because there's absolutely nobody holding them to account...again I offer my personal experience which is also an undeniable reality off the front page of The Border Watch, eg, the $350,000 that former CEO Greg Muller misappropriated from the Main Corner project, a misappropriation/defrauding/theft, call it what you like, that has been 1) supposedly scrutinised by Council's Auditor, who either cleared Mr Muller or failed to discover this massive anomaly in Council's accounts, and 2) allegedly investigated by the ICAC, again without any resultant action against Mr Muller.

I am very sorely tempted to drop in here a number of other instances of employees defrauding employers that I am aware of in Mount Gambier that for some strange reason have not been reported to the police or other relevant authorities...again though it is not possible to do so without just dropping some other people right in it...

Council apparently won an award for their 'Lifelong Learning Project' display at the Local Government Association meeting recently...or rather shared first prize for something about 'Best Council Display'...I don't have a problem with the idea that some Council employees put in a half decent effort with some of these things...almost...sometimes...

Council has also won an award for the 'Biomass Furnace at the swimming pool', but I am at a complete loss to explain why this has happened, this medieval burning wood chips technology is a retrograde step that appears more about helping a local mill owner get dollars for their waste product than it is a responsible expenditure of ratepayers money...it's a simple solution really; if the bloody pool had a shrekking roof over it, there would hopefully already be a solar heating unit that does not require any fuel...it is after all, the modern technology.

In fact I reckon the current building probably has the roof space to accommodate a half decent solar heater set-up that has no running costs and is absolutely zero emissions...(don't come here with ya' practical solutions ya' young whipper-snapper-Ed)...yes, anyhoos, enough for today...

Tomorrow: The Rest Of The Meeting Stuff

Just rounding out the stuff that's left from last Tuesday, like the Rail Lands for example...     

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

Mt Gambier City Council Meeting 15th April 2014 (Almost)

Hello USofA, Indonesia, Poland, and Ukraine...howdy y'all and welcome to the blog...and not a whole lot to report really from Council's meeting last week, it was all a bit dull...(well, when compared to meetings like say the one where Mayor Steve Perryman cited a 'Conflict Of Interest' re accommodation just moments before the Old Hospital Demolition was awarded to McMahons from Adelaide?-Ed)...no, not quite...

(Not the sort of meeting that then led to an alleged investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption into the aforementioned 'COI' and related issues of insider trading and/or other corruption?-Ed)...no, not that sort of meeting...(or that time there were so many Councillors excluded from the Chamber with COIs that they were cracking jokes about it until they realised they no longer had a quorum and therefore couldn't vote?-Ed)...ah happy days, happy days indeed but no, not even that sort of meeting...

In fact, I think there wasn't a single COI moment...(you sure you were at the Mt Gambier City Council?-Ed)...oh yeah, quite sure...(so I guess that means 'puffing out' the post with some warming memories and amusing anecdotes of shenanigans past-Ed)...shhh, they won't notice if you don't mention it...(oo sorry-Ed)...

And because I've mouthed off about it before, I happened to run into Councillor Penny Richardson outside pre-meeting and she was quite pleasant, we discussed (and I congratulated her for the part she played in achieving) the Pedestrian Crossing that is soon to be placed at the Andami/Jubilee Hwy site...there was no sense of discomfort or being intimidated or threatened from Cr Richardson which I will grab as an indicator of trust and understanding...(sorry what?-Ed)...

Cr Richardson has seen me in all my inglorious bastardness all up in Rory McEwen's grill and shizzle that day outside the Polling Booth when I put Rory in touch with some of his fundamental realities as a human being...(well, you called him a f***ing paedophile f*** repeatedly and with feeling-Ed)...well yes, yes I did...and 100% the feedback has been thanks, not criticism, thanks...seems people don't mind seeing Rory get a bit of accountability shoved in his face.

Do you think Rory was concerned at all that this might just be the time that Nick Fletcher showed his own version of vaguely human behaviours and finally slapped him one?...(ah yeah he was pretty rattled, you are after all quite a large and demonstrative person, arguably very intimidating, and you were really flensing into the meat of the matter...it took a minute, but he was rattled alright-Ed)...would it be unhealthy to take pride in 'rattling' an old man like that, even if it was Rory?...(yes, that would not be healthy at all-Ed)...then it's a good thing that I don't...far as I'm concerned, it ain't nuthin' but a Thang...(nuthin' but the Thang-Ed)...indeed.

Anyhoos, Cr Richardson unwittingly had a front row seat to that little tete a tete and was herself clearly shaken at the time, and I tried to apologise for swearing, etc...anyhoos, despite that little effort on my behalf the last time I'd seen her, Cr Richardson felt comfortable in approaching me as such and discussing other issues...I believe that as thrown as she was in the moment, with the benefit of review has come the realisation that never at any time was I any threat beyond confrontational. 

Ooooo, Ahhh, Ooo, Aahhhh, Oooo Ahh: across the weekend a man slipped and dislocated his knee and hit his head some 200m underground in the Wet Cave at the world famous Naracoorte Caves...he was apparently okay but it took a dozen CFS volunteers and some cave staff nearly an hour to extricate said injured 'adventure caver'...and followed by less amusing news that a man was trapped between boulders after a rock-climbing accident near Horsham and is apparently extricated but not in a good way suffering hypothermia/exposure, etc...(watch out for having fun, it'll kill ya'-Ed)...   

Feedback: from me to availees re the difficulty I have in discussing some issues because of the fish-bowl nature of things here and round abouts the district, guvna', and there are some really juicy things I'm left unable to share because it'll immediately drop those involved right in it...I can only repeat that I try to be accurate and informed in my postings and there are just some things that I will have to state as fact without offering the supporting evidence...trust me, I'm not a real politician...

I have been asked as to why certain things haven't appeared in the blog at all and I can only repeat that I don't want to drag others into my shizzle where it is absolutely avoidable...in some cases just mentioning the issue drags others in, and I hope that all involved appreciate me not involving them...also please note that whilst a lot of the blog is about me and/or my experience of certain circumstances, I try very hard to not stray into just vindictive and/or malicious behaviour based on my own personal issues... 

Speak Out Against Violence: as a vaguely sane man I find it simply bewildering the extraordinary conduct of men towards women and children, often their own children...and in many respects the apparently contradictory messages that are being presented by authorities like SAPol...on TV, ad after ad about 'men speaking out' and interviews about 'intervening' and 'no sexism' and 'no violence', etc...I don't disagree but it's not my experience of how things play out in reality...

I'm still waiting to hear from SAPol re the incident a few weeks back where I was caught up in someone else's dickheadedness...and I also offer the previous posts re my neighbour beating his children and what I went through to 'force' a SAPol interview and have him charged, etc, as proof that I don't just mouth off about this stuff, I try to get something done...(fair enough...and of course there's the whole St Martins thing-Ed)...indeed.

I don't just say these things for my own amusement, I am an 'avowed pacifist' with absolutely no desire or disposition to engage in any violence...(outside of self-defense of course-Ed)...yeah, fair enough, but even then that's something that doesn't sit well with me...for example on so many levels, the incident some 5 weeks ago where I intervened when a young man was yelling at a terrified young woman in a car outside the Lakes (Centro) Plaza and he then threatened me.

For the sin of giving a damn I was immediately placed in a head space whereby I was thinking about how to really hurt this person in front of me because it looked like he wasn't going to give me a choice...that whole 'world slows down, goes silent, only thinking, only watching, only going to really hurt this person to stop him hurting me'...it affected me for weeks afterwards and I can still feel the vague ripples of that sensation of impending violence...(you big bloody hippy wimp-Ed)...guess so...but I'll explain why you're wrong some other post.   

And I came out of my self-imposed 12 hour media blackout 'holiday' straight into a wall of horrendous stories of men violently abusing their children and/or partners, including a stabbing murder of a mother just near a Court and another at a home, a father stealing his child then crashing the car and abandoning the 3yr old to burn to death, only saved by police, and then the murder of 2 young sisters by their father in the grandmothers home...what in god's name is wrong with us?

Across the ABC/BBC Radio there are regularly articles about violence against women, in particular in Africa, eg, a 'Domestic Violence' murder every 8hrs in South Africa, the targetting of young women in the escalating conflict in Nigeria, not least of all because they're attending school, etc, etc...young women in Australia face outrageous and alarmingly high rates of sexual assault to the degree that it has become almost an accepted part of some sectors of our society...I find it all deeply depressing...

And as this post threatens to sink into a morose dissertation, and yet again I haven't even grazed the Council meeting stuff, I'll finish here and say;

Tomorrow: More City Council Meeting Stuff

Thankyou for your anticipated patience, sympathies, and understandings of the very deeply personal issue that Familial violence is for me and so why I find these many 'Child Abuse' issues so confronting and demanding...tomorrow a dot-pointer re the Council stuff...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...make rumpy-pumpy not war...cheers and laters...    

Short Easter Monday Holiday Post

Hello Moldova, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom and welcome to Easter Monday...and also to the blog and another shortish holiday post...gotta say I thoroughly enjoyed my day off yesterday...did nothing much more than eat, sleep, and potter around the garden...even turned the ABC/BBC Radio off for a couple of hours...it was a bit unsettling in that I kept feeling there was something I had to do (this blog), but so much sleep, so nice...

Slept in, had a nap in the arvo once I'd decided to not do a post...snoozed off on the couch after a big dinner and some chocolate for afters...slept in another hour this morning...(luxury-Ed)...my point exactly, it is luxury...and I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't feel that just doing a blog is any sort of employment, or at least one that you don't get payed for doing...(like this blog?-Ed)...exactly like this one...but for me yesterday was exactly like a day off...

I cannot speak for other bloggers but I put a goodly slice of myself in every little serve of this here blog...been through all this before, but I do have days where 'posting' takes chunks and leaves scars and then other days where it almost seems not a complete waste of time...I'd be fully prepared to participate in a discussion about how I may possibly have transferred from my child who's now basically moved on, that sense of caring and responsibility of parenthood, transferred, to, well everything else...and always fueled by the sense of guilt and failure re the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...

Let's get right down to brass tacks though because this particular post is about celebrating and acknowledging and rejoicing and remembering what it is that we all have that makes it worth getting out of bed...(albeit an hour late-Ed)...that, sir, was an official holiday sleep-in...I don't have much compared to some and so much compared to many others, and whilst my life may not exactly be where I'd planned, despite a perpetual semi-disaster, I've fallen on reasonable times.

And I'm not gloating or bragging or anything stupid like that when it comes to being on the Disability Support Pension and/or having my Housing Trust home, my little car, etc, it's all about being aware and acknowledging and where appropriate, gratitude...for example, how lucky am I that when my car roots up I've got family pushing a 'loan' on me for a new one?...and I gratefully took a small percentage of what was offered and got just what it was I needed, nothing more.        

Then yesterday went to the shops in my little car and bought enough food to get me through a couple of days from the vast reservoir of fresh, preserved, tinned, local, imported food stuffs available in that cavernous warehouse of consumerables, then trundled home, spent several hours tidying-up round the backyard, did some laundry in my little washing machine and dried it in front of the heater, had chicken for lunch, played Xbox for 1/2 hour, had not one but 2 hot showers, threw the excess water on the garden...

Today washed the dog, before doing a slab of Roast Lamb and associated vegies with beautiful smells wafting through the house, whilst blogging, and all to the delicate sound of light rainfall with just a hint of gunfire over the back fence...(sorry, what?-Ed)...there's a couple of people just over at the Mt Gambier Gun Club blazing away madly...

(Just One Of Those Clays?-Ed):...yeah, just a casual bit-piece bangin' today...not the usual day long bangathon that occasionally falls on a public holiday, just the odd random "pull" and Bang!, sometimes Bang! Bang!...ah, gunfire in a vaguely appropriate context...not my idea of a quiet weekends entertainment but there you go...and I digress because I was just talking about all of the great things that I've been doing across my day off...and it was great...(great-Ed)...things to be celebrated I'm sure... 

Fundraisers In Da' House: In a previous post I was somewhat sceptical if not actually critical of the 'Homelessness Fundraiser' recently held at the Barn Palais, and in the spirit of the season, I might possibly have been less than gushing about this particular event and I still have my reservations, but maybe it did achieve something along the lines of that which it claimed, namely, to raise money for services for 'the homeless'...more tomorrow...(trying to be nice 2 days in a row?...careful, you'll hurt something-Ed)...indeed.

Buckets Of Cash On Tap: And I can't mention the Barn Palais without being drawn to recent news that Regional Development Australia will only receive $3million funding from the Weatherill Labor government per annum, to be shared amongst it's 7 offices in SA...but that this is up $1.6m from the $1.4m currently available...and that this $3m is in part mimicking a Liberal promise (of I think $15m) from the March 2014 state election that has apparently been secured by the new Regional Minister Geoff Brock...(sure, but how does that relate to The Barn?-Ed)...

Well it wasn't that long ago that RDA Tourism officer Biddie Tietz (now Shearing) gave The Barn $140,000 for new taps as part of a multi-million dollar expansion, and whilst I think RDA funding was slightly larger at the time ($4.4m approx) that is still only $600k per annum per office across the state, which makes the huge tap amount a fair chunk of the RDAs yearly funding...anyhoos...

I must admit that it's difficult to keep up with what is really happening when it's reported in so many different ways, including from the man himself Independent Geoff Brock who was spruiking the new funding and jumped from the $3m per year to $15m and back again with quotes like;
     "My agreement with the premier confirms the State Government's commitment to increasing
      support for regional communities in South Australia, with an additional $39m package of
      measures from a combination of new and existing funding."   (The Border Watch Wednesday 16th April 2014) 

(Additional $39m from existing funding?...isn't that therefore not 'additional' if it comes from 'existing'?-Ed)...yeah, a tad pedantic but it is a fair point...and in the same article back and forwards between a $15m a year RDA fund and the $3m a year...no wonder I get confused...there's also the promise of an one-off $10m "to support job creation" but no detail as to what those jobs might be...(oo, I've just thought of a number-Ed)...ah well then you can play too...

Enough for a holiday post today, moving on to;

Tomorrow: The Council Meeting 15th April 2014

Back to the grind tomorrow...as promised the stuff about the Council shenanigans again...hope you've enjoyed this brief 'holiday' reposte re these brief holiday posts.

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...and I ain't no Messiah, but I've most assuredly had my fair share of being crucified...cheers and laters...
   

Happy Easter Sunday Holiday - No Post Today, Back Tomorrow

Short Holiday Post Re Bus Shelter

Hello and welcome to a very short holiday post in this here blog...I have wanted to print the attached article from The Border Watch Friday 6th January 2011since I 're-discovered' it a few weeks ago...it is a long way from getting this sort of letter printed, let alone in the manner it was presented, to getting myself 'banned' from TBW.

When published, I nearly missed my own letter because it looks like an actual article, and said presentation contributes to the credibility of the letter, ie, it looks like it's meant to be part of the paper and that gives it more gravitas and believability, particularly the addition of the picture...and because I'm a stupid ol' hippy who doesn't bear grudges well, I use this perfect opportunity to state...

I may not have handled things quite perfectly when it comes to dealing with some people over some of the issues that I've covered in this blog...(and some stuff that'll never be in the blog-Ed)...indeed, all of all that stuff...it is conceivable that I may occasionally not have handled things as well as I might...it is just possible that I may plausibly have erred in my manner and/or conduct...(wow, way to almost take responsibility for one's own faults and failings-Ed)...thankyou...

In My Own Defense Again: I can only say again that 1) I'm trying, and 2) passion is not always beautiful...I'll continue to try and try to continue improving...what's already been said and/or written cannot easily be retracted and much of it I wouldn't wish to, but I do understand that sometimes I expect way too much and then sometimes out of naivety and sometimes out of hope...(and often hope and naivety are one and the same thing-Ed)...indeed Ed, indeed...   

Forestry Losses: the numbers have been all over the place re the potential job losses planned for Forestry SA over the next 2 years...from 300 down to 150 to 100 then 70-80 and now according to The Border Watch Wednesday 16th April 2014 it's 150 statewide and approx 100 of those in the South East...even people like Brad Coates of the CFMEU (the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union)...(soon to be the CMEU apparently-Ed)...indeed...say they struggle to ascertain the exact employee numbers at Forestry SA, but the loss forecasts are fairly accurate. 

Hang On A Minute: from Mt Gambier City Council's meeting May 17th 2011 and you'll find reference to a Mr Nick Fletcher standing up at the end, when Council kicks the 'public' out of it's meetings to conduct 'Super Secret Business', and Mr Fletcher apparently wasn't too impressed about a Councillor coming to his home with a threatening letter...(the deuce you say-Ed)...

Just Googled my own name the other day...(as one does-Ed)...and this came up on the menu...and I offer it as yet another example of 2 things...1) most obviously the practice of 'Excluding the Public' from public meetings to hide decisions made re the expenditure of ratepayers money, but also 2) that even though I was technically 'outta line' by standing up and speaking in the meeting, that's all that happened...I was being 'excluded' so I said my piece very briefly, handed over my correspondence, and went about my business...

And with Council possibly considering employing a person solely to manage social media, eg, Facebook, Twitter, as per some large Adelaide based Councils surely they could organise to pod-cast their meetings...nobody's allowed to say and/or do anything at meetings unless pre-organised and Council is always bangin' on about 'liaising with the citizenry' and 'Social Inclusion', etc, so here's a way to get Council's message right into people's homes, their phones, etc...

Anyhoos, if you've had a gutful of my Rail Lands lambasting and/or Lady Nelson Bus Shelter patter no need to read further,

Tomorrow: The Council Meeting As Promised

Hope your Easter Saturday is going (has gone) just swimmingly...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters

Have A Good Short Friday Post

Hello Bulgaria, France, Spain, and Aotearoa (New Zealand)...and welcome to the blog...and I've never really understood why the day that, according to legend, Jesus was crucified and died, why that day would be called 'Good'...but there you go...apparently it's something about the good things that we get because Jesus died, to rise again, etc...(so it's all about what's in it for us then?-Ed)...well not quite like that...I think it's more about the sacrifice that he allegedly made...

And I say 'alleged' because there are plenty of people who believe it's all piffle and/or montages of Ancient and/or Pagan tales and/or Festivals used to assimilate pagan tribes, etc, etc, eg, Christmas is on the Winter Solstice, Easter is the Anglo-Saxon festival around the end of Winter, something about the Dawn Goddess...and some who belief Jesus did exist but was just a bloke who was actually preaching a form of Buddhism that he learned during his Uni gap year in Asia Minor, Nepal, et al...(fascinating...get on with it-Ed).

(And don't you mean the sacrifice that his father allegedly made-Ed)...well no it was the Romans and/or other persons who were responsible for the physical act of torturing and crucifying Jesus...(yes, but his father allowed it to happen-Ed)...well yeah allegedly...(seems unlikely if you ask me-Ed)...but that's religion for ya', it doesn't necessarily make sense all the time...(ya' gotta' have faith, right-Ed)... 

It seems trite to give it one paragraph but wrong to not mention it at all, the Indian Election could lose our entire electoral roll worth of votes and not even notice...800million registered voters...180m voters aged under 25...I understand that the Bharatiya Janata Party are considered front runners, with the recently successful Aam Aadmi continuing to do well with their 'Anti-Corruption' platform...however, the general observation is that regardless of which party wins, life for the vast majority of Indians will not change at all...

It seems equally trite to just mention the violent attacks by Muslim gangs right cross Nigeria, attacks that are becoming a daily occurrence with bombings, murders, and kidnappings...I really don't know what to say about this, yet more Sectarian based violence that in many respects defies basic societal norms...in this campaign children are deliberately being targetted, particularly with attacks on schools and the recent kidnapping of over 100 girls from a boarding school...sorry, moving on... 
    
Feedback: following the recent short 'Comment' that was a question, I have really gone through that whole issue of 'why do I stay here?'...(but you already do that everyday anyway-Ed)...not everyday, just most days...(fair enough-Ed)...and a big part of it for me is that now Mt Gambier is my home, for what ever reason...(whether anyone likes it or not, yourself included-Ed)...exactly...my little house is my home...and after that comes being responsible and not turning away just because things get a little unpleasant...("a little unpleasant"?...whatta' ya' call that?...anti-hyperbole-Ed).

Sometimes one just has to accept that life isn't all beer and skittles and fully appreciate that whilst one may have undoubtedly had a wee bitta' shizzle goin' down in one's immediate vicinity, one still has the globally extraordinary level of comfort that one experiences compared to 95%+ of the planets population...one...I don't want that Flouride bullshit in my water but I still have technically potable water on tap, hot water only 5 seconds away, my little TV and Xbox, a cheapy laptop...(hey, who you callin' cheap?...come here when it suits you and start punchin' my buttons...takin' liberties...it's an outrage-CLT).

I've managed to 'borrow' the $1500 for my 'new' little car and that's a luxury many cannot afford...and I ain't sleepin' in it...I could go on about everything I do or don't have but the point is I'm genuinely grateful for what I have and that pushes me to try to improve things for people who can't necessarily do it for themselves...it's why I'm so rabid about all things public transport, because I consider it a basic public service...which segues nicely into the Old Rail Lands stuff.

Went past there yesterday and was greeted with yet another large hole but this time it's going to be filled with cement as part of a fake lake/pond/creek thingy with a drainage pond attachment...and I've had the same conversation with several people about the Old Station where they have commented that nothing seems to be getting done on the building itself...please review previous posts for the broader issues re the Rail Lands Retail Agenda, an agenda that finds the Old Station surplus to requirements...(well actually it's right in the road of the RLRA-Ed)...fair enough...

Furthermore, I have been wanting to get stuck into Mt Gambier City Council about the current closure of the Tourist Hut thingy at the Umpherston Cave site and of the Centenary Tower...it's a shocking look for Mt Gambier that two of our major 'touristy things' are shut...the Cave Hut thing is the first 'Tourism' spot that visitors on the road from Melbourne encounter, and the Tower is the premium viewing point for the entire area.

But I'm going to take this opportunity to segue into a big positive finish to this shortish holiday post, because the people who were until recently operating the Centenary Tower have stepped into the breach for the Easter break...(and good on them I say-Ed)...indeed, massive kudos to Bob and Vivian Peters for coming forward to go back up there and open the Tower for tourists...(well done thems peoples-Ed)...indeed...  

Tomorrow: Just Another Post of Extraordinary Quality

(Copying something off Wikipedia then?-Ed)...probably...that or make some shizzle up...(how's about 'everybody's corrupt and it's not good enough'-Ed)...yeah, done that...('I'm not happy don't ya' know'?-Ed)...yeah, done that one too...anyhoos...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

 

TFTITFC Part III - All Stuff About Stuff All

Hello USofA, China, Indonesia, and Chile and welcome to the blog...and if my Anglican Sunday schoolboy upbringing serves me, to Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday...apparently derived from the Latin mandatum or 'commandment'...(isn't the Liberal Party always banging on about having a mandatum?-Ed)...indeed they are Ed, well a 'mandate' at least...and welcome to Easter which is of course yet another Pagan Festival assimilated by the early Christian Church.

Over the last couple of posts I've covered some of the Liberal Party shenanigans re the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption and Australian Water Holdings, and yesterday those shenanigans claimed the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell...(who's nickname used to be Furry O'Barrell, honest-Ed)...quite ironic given the AWH Hearing started with corruption in the NSW Labor Party, and more than one commentator has suggested that Mr O'Farrell was 'set-up' by his own side or at least elements within. 

Ironic also that the NSW ICAC was established in 1989 by former Liberal Premier Nick Greiner who himself fell foul of it back in 1992...I agree with the sense of frustration that proven corruption such as Eddie Obeid's goes apparently unpunished whilst Mr O'Farrell goes down, but also with the observation that Mr O'Farrell's alleged forgetfulness is actually indicative of how unremarkable it is for this sort of 'exchange of gifts' to take place...(thank goodness you declared that booze you were given at Christmas-Ed)...hey yeah, so I did... 

The general tenet of these posts is that when it comes to the collusion, corruption, and self-interest of politics there are no genuine party divides...and the Tony Abbott Liberal government have been crowing about their own infallibility and highlighting, constantly referencing the dishonesty of Labor, but 6 months in and there's Fiona Nash interfering in Health Dept business, Arthur Sinodinos's career going pear-shaped, Barry O'Farrell's spectacular disintegration, and Mr Abbott's own deceits re not touching the ABC or Pensions...(and Alexander Downer disappearing off to London-Ed)...indeed...

(And of course you're going to link that directly to the cross-party bipartisanship re the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up-Ed)...and with St Martins, not just at a state level, it's a Federal cover-up involving Federal politicians...like AWH, the St Martins Issue has tentacles that reach out to contaminate all involved...and in Victoria there's plenty of people calling for their version of ICAC to get some actual powers...and that that isn't likely to happen because of the NSW experience, so Victorian politicians are hardly likely to empower an authority that might turn around and bite them.

What is there to say about the South Australian ICAC?...it is a Victorian clone, largely ornamental and wholly compromised...I re-offer as evidence the shenanigans from the ICAC re the Old Hospital Demolition, the $350,000 that former City Council CEO Greg Muller 'misappropriated' from the Main Corner Project, and/or the rank corruption of the entire Main Corner fiasco, culminating in a brand new commercial facility initially given gratis to Councillor Des Muttons' son....rank corruption, nepotism, insider trading...all right there large as life plain as day...and the ICAC says?...

(Nick Fletcher is a complainer and an allegor and everything he says is wrong, wrong, wrong-Ed)...ahh there you go putting their words in my blog, but exactly, I'm the problem, yet again, surprise surprise...'only problem to see here is that fat hippy'...and I know this local stuff is hardly corruption on the Eddie Obeid 'slip me a quick $100mill will ya' scale, but it's still gross malfeasance from public officials and should be dealt with in that context...

I'm not aware of any allegations re AWH, "corrupt" former Labor NSW Minister Eddie Obeid, etc, outside of the collusion, dodgy contracts, lobbying, and so on...none of it's particularly great, but which would you prefer?...politicians engaged in greed, graft, and grubbiness driven by a desire for personal financial gain, or what we have in South Australia which is a political system completely mired in pro-paedophile corruption.

And this stuff doesn't just happen in SA or the South East, but a charming detail from a local case that, well, I'll let you read it for yourselves (from The Border Watch Tuesday 15th April 2014);
     "Bail refused over sexual exploitation -Police did not arrest a mother for more than two
       years after seizing sexually explicit photos that allegedly depict her engaging in bestiality
       and a "threesome type situation" with her four-year-old child.
       Police seized the incriminating material in February 2012, but the mother and her partner
       were not arrested until last Monday."  

The closest thing to an explanation from SAPol for this 2 year delay is that they apparently didn't realise that there was a victim until their experts viewed the material, which then goes to detectives, who then arrested the couple...I'm a little lost with this one because it seems like SAPol just doesn't care, but maybe their processes are so ramshackle, haphazard and disorganised that it does take 2 years to do basic work...either way it's miles from acceptable.

How is it that a couple is 'not arrested' for Child Pornography offences nor have any action taken about the children in their care?...how can the official line be that police weren't aware there was a victim?...
     "Had SAPol known there was (an alleged) victim...it might have been sped up." (SAPol-TBW)
I have met police who seem genuine and half reasonable, and on any given day I'm sure it can be a prick of a job, but this is just beyond belief, beyond the pale...I got nuthin'...

Now in the Sow East of Sow Straya we are about to lose another 50-100 full-time positions, this time from Forestry SA...and I could just spit when I hear that sanctimonious junket junkie Labor Forestry Minister Leon Bignell distancing himself from the multiple promises of job security re Forestry SA, as made by Premier Jay Weatherill and 'last weeks' Forestry Minister Jack 'The Rat' Snelling...'I've only been the Minister for 2 weeks and I didn't make those promises'...forget that.

You are the Labor Minister in the Labor government that sold the SE Forestry Estate, it's your problem champ, not ours...not our problem how long you've been there, your excuses are irrelevant...I remind availees that Mr Bignell was directly involved in the 'Fake Family First' T-shirts and How-to-vote cards fraud of the 2010 state election, an endeavour he was joined in by his wife who herself makes a fortune sub-contracting to WorkCover...(yay-Ed)...     

Better News: there are some great stories that do come out of Adelaide and maybe I don't give enough time to them, but here's one...Adelaide University's  Dr Brendan Coventry and his crew have developed a vaccine to treat Melanoma, arguably Australia's most common cancer...one patient had been operated on 24 times to remove returning tumours, but after repeated vaccine treatments, was still alive 14 years after a prognosis of 12 months to live...this vaccine given fortnightly, then monthly, then every 6 months has been proven to remove all tunours in approx 17% of patients...

This sort of story always puts me in the gratitudinal disposition, being as I am a person who survived Lymphoma largely due to the many clinicians, scientists, lab workers, etc, whom worked to develop the Chemo regime (CHOP) that saved my life and build the various 'scanners' I was shoved through, etc, all people I'll ne'er likely meet...and grateful to all the staff who operated and/or applied those technologies, people I met maybe once or twice but played a critical role in my survival...thankyou...

Let's Be Manure: is the SA Labor state government's typically dismissive and derogatory take on issues re the economy, industrial relations, and pretty much anything else they disagree with...(actually it's 'mature', they keep saying 'let's have a mature discussion'-Ed)...ah right, that makes slightly more sense...Premier Weatherill had a go at Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine re the Holden closure, Attorney General John Rau re the (now avoided) Bus strike set for next week, Tom Koutsontonis re Fracking and/or Nuclear Energy, and Leon Bignell re the Forestry debate.

It's an absolute crock, an absolutely derogatory dismissal of opposing or dissenting opinion designed to belittle the other party...if you don't agree with me then you're 'immature'...'manure' is however an appropriate descriptor for the state of the state's economy...(and we're all in it together-Ed)...thankyou Ed for wittily referencing the famous Mike Rann era Labor TV ad 'We're all in this together'...unless of course you live in Regional SA then "You're on your bloody own"...

Kudos to Liberal Member Troy Bell for his highly diplomatic approach on the ABC Local Radio this morning when he used the 'mature' line to praise Leon Bignell and the conduct of their various exchanges thus far re the Forestry SA job losses...I'd call him a lying bastard amongst lying bastards (Bignell not Bell)...I don't think that Mr Bell realised the context of that simple word 'mature', used so often by Labor to denigrate others, when he used it to praise them up...(an unintended classic-Ed)...well quite.

Excuse me but I've got a blinder so's I'm gonna finish up here;

Tomorrow: Council Meeting and Rail Lands Pondage

Dig a hole, fill it in, dig another hole, move that crap round in circles, bury it again, move the Rail Easement, dig another hole, it's only bloody money...and still not one word about the Old Rail Station itself.

I am Nick Fletcher and I put my name to everything I do, everything I say...and here t'is...cheers and laters.