From the new Library and the ludicrous Main Corner Project, through the Bunnings/Penola Rd debasco (a debacley fiasco) that destroyed appropriate Light Industry zoning when Bunnings went at Millicent Rd instead, and then that morphed into the Big W/Penola Rd disaster, the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter bastardry, etc, etc...and I call it bastardry because a small group of people who will never, ever catch that bus at 0700 on a Winter's morn, have forced those who have to, to stand under a shreckin' shade sail in the middle of nowhere...(what about a particularly spectacular debacle? is that a debacular?-Ed)...'tís now baby...
Courage In Investigative Journalism: was the title of a workshop at the 2014 Byron Bay Writers Festival, that I just caught a bit of on ABC TV, and featured Joanne McCarthy the Newcastle journalist who helped expose the Catholic Church Child Abuse cases there, and Kate McClymont who has written a book about the Eddie Obeid family and their political corruption in New South Wales...(so they have a little soiree and get together and praise each other up for doing what they want to do and get paid to do?-Ed)...well that's being a tad harsh, but yes these were paid professionals...
(Did they have a workshop for large, angry hippies and/or other parents who have trashed their own lives and/or had it trashed for them, just for trying to get something done about the gross abuse of a class of 7 year old children at St Martins Lutheran School back in 2002? did they have one of those?-Ed)...well no, I don't think they did but that is a very specific workshop you've described...(I know...I am venting a bit of course in that I wouldn't mind getting paid a small fortune for the investigative journalism novel I've lived/written in the past 18 months...don't need the kudos, just the cash-Ed)...you've written? well that's just fine...(just fine-Ed)...just fine...
This following a discussion the other day about just how "piss-poor" Whistleblower Legislation is and how that compromises the exposure of corruption because of the well documented retribution often meted out to the 'Blowers'...(and if that leaves people who are supposedly protected by said legislation still exposed and vulnerable, where does that leave civilians who become aware of corruption and try to get authorities to address it, but instead find themselves effectively lumbered with trying to address the institutionalised corruption of said authorities, particularly South Australian Police?-Ed)...it leaves them with SAPol Anti-Corruption detectives in their loungeroom "seizing" their laptop for "evidence", and casting empty threats, albeit politely, about ludicrous legislation that one cannot even name even though one is not charged with anything...
(Wow that sounds like Fascism bordering on Nazism, which would tie in with the many 'theories' floating about the Interweb that South Australia is run by Lutherans and/or Nazi's, many of whom were apparently welcomed here after the Second World War as they were in South America, etc, and that senior Nazi's were mostly paedophiles, etc, etc...not my theories/allegations/whatevs, I got no idea, but this stuff is all over the Interweb-Ed)...yeah it is, and follows on from other more actually factual discussions about how South Australia is a Sectarian state run by the Lutherans who initially moved here in the 1800s to escape 'persecution' in Europe/Germany, etc, etc...but we digress...
Sound Terribly Familiar?:...thank goodness that PM Tony Abbott can assure the world that whatever the action it is we're going to involve our airforce and potentially ground troops in in Iraq against the ISIS, as per his statements that we are "contemplating" responding to "requests" to support the USofA and others, that that action will be over by Christmas...(that does sound familiar...are you sure that's what he said?-Ed)...deadset, he said only a few months, no problems...(well technically that is by Christmas...but where's that from? I can't quite...-Ed)...it's what was said about WWI when it first kicked off, 'it'll all be over by Christmas'...(well that doesn't sound good then...but again we digress-Ed)...
The Rail Lands Retail Agenda: has dominated and directed many if not all other development/planning issues in Mt Gambier and on it's immediate boundaries....(well a lot of that, eg, the Bunnings site with all it's nice suburb attached, that all belongs to former Grant District Councillor Brenton James, well that all now is in Mt Gambier because of the Boundary Adjustments of 2010-Ed)...fair point...anyhoos, we've covered this thoroughly before, so I'm just going to skip to the attached article from The Border Watch, and the related ABC Local Radio interview also with Council's Micheal Silvy, that is available on the ABC's site under 'Reloaded' for Monday 8th September 2014...
In that ABC interview Mr Silvy made two comments of particular note, namely 1) that the sculptures were/are part of the 'Public Art' clause of the Labor state government's 2x$1m grants...(but in other interviews he has said that everything is on budget so the sculptures will not be scrapped..if they're 'requisite' to getting the grant, how can they ever be in danger of being cancelled due to cost?-Ed)...well exactly...but he also said, and you may want to sit down for this one...(I am sitting down, I always sit down-Ed)...but I'd heard that you are an imagined literary device of some standing in the community...(get on with it-Ed)...alright, you asked for it...
Back Trackin': is what they're gunna' do...(whaaa?-Ed)...Council's going to put the rail tracks back along the exact old Easement that they just ripped up...(that's not funny...that's not even close to funny-Ed)...no it ain't, but it's true...(so 'Rail' is returning to Mt Gambier?-Ed)...no idea...(then what are you talking about?-Ed)...as an homage to the history of the Rail Lands, apparently, Council plans to re-lay some rails back in their original position and then do paving so that it looks like sleepers, etc...(you're shreckin' kiddin' me?-Ed)...wish I was, wish I was...more pointless expense...
Getting back to this article as Council clarifies it's revamped impression...(clarify what they said the day before?-Ed)...indeed...a clarification that there's no 'sound shell' in any current plans, maybe in the future, and that the '$140,000 amphitheatre' is a small paved area, with no shelter...this is expected to be unusable in winter and the heat of summer...(it looks good for a pseudo-skatepark though-Ed)...good call Ed...and then of course there's the $1m of paving...(lunacy-Ed)...and those tricky ol' sculptures again, and the completely superfluous $300,000 platform extension but no mention of and/or money for the actual Old Rail Station building...(and more bloody solar lights-Ed)...I know, I know...
Mr Silvy then identifies the $2m state government funding and appears to drop Council right in it by identifying that 1) nearly half the money spent on the site thus far was unexpectedly received (according to Council's Grant Humphries) via 2 state government grants, and 2) if it's true that "The $2m saved in capital works also means an interest bill saving to the community of approximately $100,000 per annum.", then I reckon that means "the community" is paying at least $100,000 on the $2.3m that Council borrowed for this project..
(Oh yeah, I meant to ask you about that, because I thought that Council borrowed that $2.3m as part of their now famous/infamous/notorious/whatevs 2013/14 Budget Process with associated 5 Public meetings and 2-3? Special Council meetings, etc, arguing the need for these Rail Lands funds as one of 3 main justifications for doubling their own borrowing capacity-Ed)...yeah, yeah they did...(so ratepayers, "the community", we're all paying for the interest on that $2.3m?-Ed)...yep...(and by Mr Silvy's calculation, that's at least $100kpa?-Ed)...yep...(shreck me-Ed)...yep...
(Hang on a second...if Council unexpectedly received $2m in grants and had to borrow the other $2.3m as part of last year's Blow-out Budget, then that's the entire $4.3m that they've spent on the ridiculous things that they have done-Ed)...yesss, which means???...(well, when Council did their $10m Parklands Concept Plan launch thingy in November 2011, that was, well that was $10m-Ed)...yeah, nearly there, $10m thaaat???...($10m that Council didn't have...didn't have any of...they've done a $10m launch with not one cent to back it up-Ed)...bingo...I wondered how long it would take...
(They've done a big song and dance launch at the Civic Centre about an alleged $10m plan, with not one cent to back it up...that doesn't look very genuine-Ed)...no it doesn't, does it...(in fact, I'd call that a deceit, a massive deceit-Ed)...a $10m deceit...(and only one in a litany of deceits from Council re the Rail Lands quite frankly-Ed)...indeed...(the bloody contamination, bollocks...the Easement and/or Deed are insurmountable problems until Council just rips it all up anyway, bollocks...we've got no bread man but here's our$10m plan, bollocks-Ed)...why Ed, your application of genital adjectival quantification is to be remarked upon and admired...(bollocks-Ed)...exactly...
Enough for today but I reckon we're up to date with the Rail Lands stuff...(what about the Graham Greenwood propaganda piece on behalf of Council in last week's TBW?-Ed)...damn you Ed, yeah, I'll get onto that...(but there's all that Banana Lord stuff to do-Ed)...ok, ok...(and then there's the Local Government Elections-Ed)...yeah yeah, alright...
Tomorrow: Roll The Dice, Whatevs Comes Up
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
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