Hello Brazil, France, United Kingdom, and of course right 'ere in Straya, particularly Sow Straya, and welcome to the blog...and please excuse this bitsy, jinking post but it's already late and I've been running on the far side of not great again for a few days, before swinging back I'm sure to the elation of vindication...but that's tomorrow's post, so therefore I digress...
Going Off: in Federal parliament when Senator Bill Heffernan pulled out a length of metal pipe as a demonstration of the failings with the Parliament building security system...(security? is he concerned that militant plumbers might try to mount a poohy coup? is someone flogging the copper piping?-Ed)...no, no he was imitating a pipe bomb...(I don't think it's appropriate to bring his marijuana pipe bong into Parliament-Ed)...not bong you idiot, bomb, a pipe bomb...(I reckon that's probably frowned on as well-Ed)...anyway...
It was in some Committee or other...(Senate Estimates-Ed)...ta, that he produced the faux banger (with the knowledge of the Chair) and childhood stories of blowing stumps out of the ground, and more modern tales of security failure re people smuggling bomb bits into Parliament House under the current 'partial screening' system where politicians and staffers are not screened...and he had a fair point in saying that even trusted people like pre-checked senior staffers, etc, were open to coercion, blackmail, etc, and should be checked.
It is apparently an issue of cash or rather a lack of...the budget for the running of the infrastructure and staffing, etc, that is the meat and potatoes of Parliament House, the cogs and wheels, the...(ok, ok, move on-Ed)...well that budget apparently doesn't stretch to scanning all people entering the House...for all I know this is just a stunt to get more money allocated to Parliamentary Maintenance or some shizzle...(not with you-Ed)...it's an old trick...
Cry poor, and here's the drastic proof courtesy of Buffalo Bill, and that justifies more money for da' House the which really just means mahogany and walnut hand-towel warmers in the Members Day Spa, truffles with every course, and a four person humidor for Smokin' Joe Hockey's office...(geez you're a rotten cynic-Ed)...actually I'm quite good at it...
Usually at Mt Gambier City Council meetings there's more than enough room to swing a dead and/or live cat...(Schrodinger's?-Ed)...no thanks, I'm trying to give it up...normally the Public Gallery is full of empty seats, so I was partially surprised to see nearly a dozen people present when I graced the Chamber with the flabbiness of my presence...(all fries please for his Lardship-Ed)...partially surprised because I knew there was a statement due from Council re a Fracking Moratorium so there were likely to be a few bloody hippys there...(a few bloody more-Ed)...
When Councillor Merv White stood to speak to the business of the Operational Services Committee, he wanted to put through in one vote all 12 items, ranging from the Fracking issue, through Solar Panels for the Library...(shouldn't they have done that when they built the damn thing?-Ed)...don't get me started...too late they should have bloody done that when they built the Library, not that they needed to build a new library, but that's another another story...(anyhoos, all 12 items 'en bloc'-Ed)...
However, Mayor Steve Perryman pulled 'Swervin' Merv up re Item 8, itself an Item of 4 parts, being 1) the Solar system, 2) Salvage Yard Expressions of Interest, 3) Environmental Sustainability Program report, and then 4) Unconventional Gas Mining...Mayor Perryman stated that Item 8 would need to be addressed separately because that included the Fracking issue and he had a 'Conflict of Interest'...(oh boy, here we go-Ed)...you betcha...but first...
The Skies The Limit, Not: anyone can go on the Interweb and look up Council's Agendas, Minutes, etc, but just 'cos it's hilarious, here is OSC Item 8 part 1, Mount Gambier Library Solar System; dot point 2 - ''Council proceed to release to open tender for a lease to own solar system for the Mount Gambier Library, and following the tender process a further report is to be presented to Council."
Forget fake lakes and dodgy re-zonings, Council wants to own it's own little corner of the Universe, it's own Solar System...(ahhh I get it-Ed)...when I first saw that I thought they were going to get a ceiling mural/mobile thingy or Solar System projector or whatevs as an educational aid for the Library...anyhoos, where was I?...ah yes, Mayor Perryman's latest 'Conflict of Interest'...
When Item 8 rolled around and duly Part 4, Mayor Perryman excused himself because 'he is the owner of a business that has a commercial agreement with Beach Energy'...(hang on, Beach Energy are the company drilling for Fracking right now at Penola-Ed)...yep...(and what did the anti-frackers in the gallery think of that?-Ed)...ooo yeah, there were some mumblins' and some grumblins' alright, and I reckon that's why it got a mention in The Border Watch article re Council's call for a 2+ year Fracking Moratorium...(sorry?-Ed)...
Well, a couple of people have said they think that this particular COI, the latest of many of Stevos', has been reported where previously others have not, because of this 'ere blog and me constant ridin's of the Council on such matters...plausible, but I think it far more likely that the many witnesses to this COI pretty much demanded a public acknowledgement...(fair enough-Ed)...
So many COIs, so little time...Mayor Perryman also had a COI with Green Triangle Electronics who are contracting to Council for Tech support and hardware supply, etc...no foul as far as I'm concerned as far as GTE are concerned...and like I say, just another in a long list of Mayor Perryuman's COIs...(only 2 COIs for the evening? that is a slow night for our illustrious leader-Ed)...it's just ridiculous...
Absolutely Better Than Nothing: is what just happened (earlier-1830hrs approx) on the Channel 9 (WIN Network) state news service when they cut to "Win News Local", with stories about the Bliss 'n Eso concert, Mt Gambier police find some hydroponic marijuana plants in a room (12?), an Indecent Assault on Boandik Tce, the Penola Coonawarra festival, a story about the dish-lickers (greyhounds), and some local footy, and the weather...all apparently presented by The Border Watch.
It only lasted maybe 90 seconds...(I think maybe TBW has bought an ad space between Channel 9 News stories-Ed)...possibly...and it's a very poor replacement for the dedicated Mt Gambier News Service of only a few years ago or even the MG/Riverland mixed service that was axed early last year 2013...but sweet baby cheeses it's better than nothing...
Tomorrow: The Last Of The SAPol Raid Stuff
Probably...and maybe a little clarification but probably not...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
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