Howdy dear availees, and welcome to TMGI for a post on stuff we've already covered in depth, and that will generate further posts on the same issue...apologies for days without a post but have an actual excuse this time...(what?! not another deeply confronting existential crisis?-Ed)...no Ed, mate, actually an extension cord crisis, where-in I only have one cord which was being used for my li'l mobile air-conditioner and therefore couldn't be used for my computer...and gourd bless it, it does try it's best, but after a coupla' hot days, and even with the bedroom/lounge area closed-off to contain the coolness, etc, my li'l conditioner is next to useless unless you're right next to it...(when, by derogatory definition, it is actually next to useless, ahahaha............it's a joke...where-in you're the 'useless'?...and you're next to it?...yeah?-Ed)...yeah yeah, I get it, it's just not that funny...anyhoos, last evening I was so knackered from the heat and sleepless hights, etc, I fell asleep on the couch right after dinner, and suddenly it's 5 days since the last post...(and nearly a fortnight into 2021 already-Ed)...indeed, but we're here now and here we go...
Regular/previous availees will remember that we've posted a coupla' times about the Definably Deceitful Rancidly Corrupt Fundamental Bastardry of Mt Gambier City Council in their actions of evicting the iconic Aquifer Cafe/Tours business from the premises adjacent the Blue Lake...those posts were on 1st December 2020, Mt Gambier City Council's Latest Act Of Moronic, Corrupt Thuggery - Blue Lake Aquifer Tours Evicted/Closed, and 6th December 2020, Mt Gambier City Council Deceitfully Evicts South East's Premier Tourism Experience...there's so much stuff already covered there-in that I ain't gunna bruise y'all eyeballs with another re-hashed battering...well except for a bit of this...the Aquifer Tours is/was an 'iconic' Tourism business/experience, and socially important Cafe/information site, etc, established 30 years ago and successfully run since by Trish and Gary Turner, with absolutely zero support from MGCC or other alleged 'tourism officials', eg, Biddie Shearing...(well I think it's more than reasonable to say 'successfully despite MGCC and Biddie, etc'-Ed)...well, indeed...and now it is an undeniable reality that MGCC is seeking to destroy the Turners dual businesses, and have sought to justify this commercial assassination with base lies...
As stated before, we here at TMGI try not to engage in 'We Told You So' sortta' stuff, but we're gunna' go very close in covering/referencing the article attached below, from The Border Watch, 24th December 2020...please note where Mr John Darley MLC (Member Legislative Council/SA's Upper House) has 1) apparently initiated the contact with TBW, he contacted them, and then 2) he makes the following statement...
"They (elected Members) may have wished to cancel the lease for some other reason, but they can not use land tenure as a reason because that is not true"
Well I'm loathe to contradict you Mr Darley, but MGCC can and indeed have used exactly that 'reason'...and thusly the first and most obvious 'Told You So' identified here is also the most damning of MGCC and their conduct, "that is not true"...right from the off, TMGI has stated that Council's explanation/justification/excuse is a lie, and that they are motivated by some other agenda...(to put a Councillor's relative/mate in there-Ed)...well potentially and probably, sure...but it's not like I'm some gifted seer on this stuff, many other people have expressed their beliefs about both of these issues, ie, it's a lie and what Council's really up to...we've got another post coming with many of those comments from Social Media covering exactly those concerns/thoughts...anyhoos, here's the article...
So there it is, "that is not true"...but the most glorious thing here, in a purely personally gratifying sense, is the involvement of Mr Darley...and I'll counter/balance my sense of glee and achievement with the qualifier that it is entirely plausible that this 'ere blog had absolutely nuthin' to do with Mr Darley gettin' amongst it...(whaaa?! what are you on about?-Ed)...well, there's many aspects to explaining that, so let me do so in 9 parts...("9"?!-Ed)...joking, just joking, 7 parts at most...but seriously, there's so many issues here that were identified in our previous posts in TMGI, and those posts would seem to pre-date Mr Darley appearing in TBW...(fair enough, but please explain-Ed)...I fully intend to...but another quick qualifier, I have become aware that Mr Darley was likely involved in this issue before I posted stuff mentioning him, etc, but when he became involved and to what degree I cannot say for certain, and I don't know what motivated him to contact TBW...regardless, what he says here is unambiguous and absolutely damning of MGCC...
Qualifying In First Place:...as always is the possibility that it's just a co-incidence of events and/or involvement that TMGI coverage aligns with or precedes other coverage/reportage/whatevs, 'cos it's not unusual for us all to be engaging in or discussing the same issues...point one...point two, as above, Mr Darley was likely involved before we posted, etc...all of that aside, there are some undeniable truths here, namely, that in early December 2020 TMGI encouraged/requested dear availees to contact Mr Darley...and, unless Mr Darley had previously already contacted TBW but for some reason that wasn't printed, etc, TMGI's request to dear availees pre-dates this reportage by 3 weeks...therefore, it's a perfectly reasonable question worth asking, is Mr Darley's contact as a result of someone contacting him in response to TMGI's request?...regardless, the facts remain that 1) TMGI identified Mr Darley as someone who might be able to help with and/or explain what was really happening here, and 2) here he is...and then he's stated in no uncertain terms exactly what TMGI has previously stated, MGCC's excuse is "not valid", their explanation "is not true"...so there's a coupla' sortta' 'We Told You So' moments that are potentially actually just TMGI accurately reporting the reality...(as opposed to what Council is saying-Ed)...well quite...
I also completely denounce and dismiss as deceitful blather the deeply disingenuous bleating comin' outta' MGCC along the lines of how "disgraceful" their deliberate conduct has been...'oh gee whiz, if only we'd handled it better'...bollocks!...this is MGCC trying to distract and distance themselves from their own deliberate bastardry...(well exactly, they've done this deliberately, no excuses-Ed)...indeed, and surely Council has already 'been in contact with relevant bodies'...(well I understand that the Turners were notified of their eviction possibly as far back as August 2020, at least 3 months before getting chucked-out literally into the street, 30th November 2020, and 4 months before 'the lease' supposedly/allegedly 'expired' on 31st December 2020-Ed)...and the issue has been a live one for long before that...and then we circle back to the fact that Council's explanation is untrue/deceitful...
Mt Gambier City Council Are Corrupt Thugs And Liars:...said it once, said it twice, said it many times, and I'm saying it again...and in this article is the proof that MGCC is out to destroy the Turner's businesses and take them over...and again it goes awfully close to being a 'Told You So' scenario 'cos TMGI clearly identified/stated that this eviction/closure was about taking the Turner's highly successful businesses off them and then handing it to one of Councils' mates/relatives/whatevs...(and Council's not even trying to hide it!-Ed)...nope, they are not...(Council is straight-out admitting that they're trying to get "joint custodianship', which is bureaucratic babble for 'control of both businesses'-Ed)...spot on...(and unless their planning to leave the Cafe empty until June 2022, that means forcing the Turners out of their long-held lease arrangement-Ed)...absolutely it does...(and the Liberal Party stoogefest that is MGCC is going to go to their Liberal government mates to try to achieve that control-Ed)...yes, yes, and yes...(and even if Council can't organise that 'theft', the Turners will be left literally standing in the street to sell tickets for the Aquifer Tours-Ed)...yes they will, and what a great look that'll be for Mt Gambier and tourism in general...
We've also identified that there has been a definable animosity from Council towards the Turners, further underpinning the reality that Council's actions are not based on best practice management principles that best serve the community and tourism, etc, but are rather driven by vindictiveness and self-interest...
As this article presents it, and ignoring for the moment that it's an abject lie as identified by Mr Darley, the reason that Council has not managed to organise is apparently 'cos they're trying to get that "joint custodianship"...(so effectively, the pseudo-reason that Council has used to throw the Turners out of their Cafe business is one of their (MGCC's) own construct, connected as it is to Council trying to get control of that Tours 'lease/contract'?-Ed)...spot on again mate, even if MGCC weren't lying through their teeth about this, their 'excuse' for failing to resolve this relates directly to their own conduct...and beyond that, Council have known for literally years that the 21 year lease was due to expire and should have organised/finalised a new 'lease' many months before supposedly having to evict the Turners...
And as for the farcical carry-on between Cr Bruin and Acting CEO Barbara Cernovskis about 'ensuring "activation of the Blue Lake area", at best it's a pathetic attempt to address the obvious catastrophic repercussions for Tourism in the area, and by application it's a farcical and disingenuous joke...how does a QR code and glossy posters and part-time info booths and random drive-by vendors replace a fully functioning cafe and info point that is/was open 8-9hrs a day, 7 days a week across the peak tourism period?...(well it doesn't, none of it comes even close to providing the service/facilities that Council has shut-down-Ed)...yeah I know, it was a rhetorical question mate...(oh right, fair enough-Ed)...it's a ludicrously unworkable nonsense...I've made a point of going past the Cafe everyday, sometimes several times a day, eg, on the way to and from gym, and/or walking the doggo, etc, and I've seen Council's info van there once, and it was gone less than an hour later, and only a coupla' times seen the icecream man van..and whilst my attendance has been infrequent, the undeniable reality is that on each and every occasion I've been up there, the Cafe would have been open...(and what about all the tourists with their faces pressed up against the windows looking in-Ed)...yep, and that, tourists clearly wondering what the heck is going on...
***As an extreme example, just this morning on the way to doggo park around 0900hrs, I did a slight detour past the Cafe and down to the Southern carpark where the info van and/or vendors sometimes set-up, and nuthin', no info, no vendors...then again on the way home, no info, no vendors...then I gave someone a lift to an appointment, so I went right 'round the lake to pass the time, no info, no vendor...then they got delayed so I went again, nuthin', no-one...and one last time after dropping them home, I did one final lap, no info, no vendors...now that is a lot more than I have been on any other day, and it wasn't planned, eg, so I could blog about it, but that's how it happened...I was at the Cafe and carpark 6 times between 0900 and noon, and no info van and no vendors...and on any given day, every day of the year bar Xmas, the Cafe would have been open for coffee/tea/icecream/whatevs, and/or to provide info...and today? diddly squat...***
Unless I've somehow missed it or not noticed or forgotten, whatevs, I don't recall hearing/seeing the Aquifer Cafe referred to as the "Blue Lake Welcome Centre"...(because that's not what it is-Ed)...sure, but that nomenclature perfectly encapsulates the reality of the service that the Turners were providing to tourists and the Mt Gambier community...given that many tourist's first stop in Mt Gambier is the Blue Lake, the Cafe was usually the first contact point where they would go for info about local attractions and/or directions, etc...in my infrequent visits up there, eg, walking the dog or my once-a-month cafe coffee experience, it would not be an exaggeration to say that literally every time I saw/heard tourists seeking info, and on many occasions those tourists wouldn't get a coffee or do a tour or whatevs, they'd just get their info and go...and the point being, the Turners were not being paid for providing this service, it was not part of their actual business and they were doing it gratis...(and other info points in town, namely the Lady Nelson and Main Corner are run by Council and all involved get paid for what they're doing-Ed)...exactly, and I'd reckon it would be fair to say that the Turners saw just as many tourists and provided just as much info, etc, but with zero support from Council...
And that last bit of this article looks like some carefully worded propaganda on behalf of Council, that clearly seeks to distract from the incredible damage that MGCC has done...(and not least of all by describing exactly the business/service that the Turners were providing, "a contemporary visitor experience that champions and adds value to the local area, capitalising on its natural beauty, cultural heritage and important role in water supply"-Ed)...right on, that describes exactly what the popular Cafe did, including providing an outlet for 30+local artists, sculptors, etc...(giving them daily exposure to often international tourists, whilst providing a venue for various social groups to gather for a coffee, etc-Ed)...yep, and Gary's Aquifer Tour spiel covered local history, from the geological, through Indigenous culture and legend, etc, and onto recent 'European' occupation, and included the history of water supply, etc, with a portion of the tour spent in the Old Pumping Station...(and the glass lift ride down the old well shaft, etc-Ed)...yep, everything that the 'spokesperson' identifies as desirable is exactly what was already happening...and now it's gone, and it's MGCC's fault and it's not just incompetence or poor planning or whatevs, it's absolutely deliberate...
This whole situation is 100% about MGCC deliberately and vindictively and viciously setting-out to destroy the Turner's businesses...everything that MGCC says that is not an admission of this is an abject lie, and Mr Darley has hit the nail right on the head without identifying it as such when he says "cancel the lease for some other reason"...given MGCC's well established record of Institutionalised Corruption around issues of Insider Trading and/or Nepotism, TMGI is absolutely convinced that the genuine intent, the only genuine reason is that Council plans to hand that highly successful iconic business to a Councillor's relative/mate...and we ain't Robinson Crusoe in that belief...
I see where people keep commenting that this fake/fraudulent 'lease' situation should be referred to the State Ombudsman's office, which is directly attached to the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, etc...(and that Council's lies and fakery/fraud with the Farcical Aquatic Recreation Centre should also get referred-Ed)...absolutely it should...and whilst I do agree with the sentiment, I also remind dear availees of the rancidly corrupt 2013/14 ICAC pseudo-investigation of MGCC that was in actuality ICAC protecting Council...(and the Ombudsman's ludicrous exoneration of former Mayor Andrew Lee, which we also covered in this 'ere blog-Ed)...yeah, all that stuff...and the ridiculous set of circumstances where-in I wrote an official complaint (September 2017) about the direct abuse and threats I repeatedly copped from Councillors and former CEO Mark 'Mighty Marky Mark McShenanigans' McShane, and that the (then) Minister Geoff Brock sent my complaint back to McShenanigans for him to resolve, even though the complaint was about him...and that that complaint remains unresolved/unanswered and my mate McShenanigans has shot-through like a rat out of an aqueduct...
I have absolutely no faith in the Ombudsman/ICAC, and believe that any 'complaint' process would likely be buried under years of the same farcically undefinable ICAC Section 56 Confidentiality legislation that I've been 'Convicted' of supposedly breaching...so good luck with that...(and I reckon that Council knows they're protected and that's a big part of what enables and motivates them in acting so corruptly-Ed)...well it goes without saying, but well said anyways...Tomorrow: MGCC's Fascist Attempt To Silence Critics
As also covered in recent posts, MGCC's introduction of 'Unreasonable Conduct' pseudo-legislation is definably about protecting themselves from any accountability for their rampant Institutionalised Corruption, and to shut down and hopefully silence 'Whistleblowers' and genuine complainants and litigants, etc...it's all the same animal as the lease corruption evidenced above and as relates to MGCC's relentless and ongoing deceits about the FARC...(and gourd knows what all else-Ed)...indeed, although this is more than enough corruption, even for a Council as corrupt as MGCC, there's inevitably more that we don't know about and likely more to come...(what about that super-dodgy re-zoning issue in Wehl St?-Ed)...as a further example, sure, and whatevs else we don't know about...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
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