Howdy dear availees and welcome to TMGI for today, Monday 19th September 2022...today's is a specifically 'local' post, concerning both the rankly corrupt MGCC and the equally problematic District Council of Grant, but the underlying/overarching issues could yet have broader implications for all South Australians...as the title postulates, has MGCC invested so massively in the FARC (Farcical Aquatic Recreation Centre) that they have effectively and/or even actually 'bankrupted' the City of Mt Gambier...(and we use the term 'bankrupted' advisedly just in case there's some other weasel-word cop-out phrase or legalistic/financial term that MGCC/Labor/whoevs will try to employ to avoid that specific reality-Ed)...indeed, but bottom-line, there's a clear push to shove-through this amalgamation plan, suddenly and 'unexpectedly' lobbed onto the table only a fortnight ago by Labor Premier Peter Malinauskis...(and if the MGCC and DCofG Mayors, Lynette Martin and Richard Sage, are to be believed, announced by Malinauskis without having previously canvassed the idea with them or even giving them a heads-up the announcement was a comin'-Ed)...yes, supposedly/allegedly dropped on both Mayors out of the blue, but as you've alluded to, who do you believe in a line-up of people you'd otherwise not trust as far as you could chuck 'em?...
And we'll be doing a lot of '...' this stuff in this post 'cos there's so many murky issues here at play, and the language/wordage of this 'ere post might not align with more specific legal terms, etc, but the main point is simple...(so for example, 'bankrupt' is a cover-all term to address whatevs language might be applied to try and avoid acknowledging such?-Ed)...exactly, so from my personal perspective, the following is a rhetorical question about a reality likely already realised...(and one that explains/motivates the parallel issue of Council Amalgamations-Ed)...yep, I believe that one drives the other...and so I pose the question that is potentially actually an observation...
Is Mt Gambier City Council on the verge of 'bankruptcy' or even already 'technically bankrupt', whatevs?...and is this Boundary Amalgamation all about 'spreading the load' onto District Council of Grant Ratepayers to potentially avoid that bankruptcy, or even keep it hidden from exposure, whatevs?...
Just a very brief background to support my previous statement about how corruptly problematic both Council's are...now there are numerous instances of individual contracts going to family members, personally profitable re-zonings, etc, but it's how the Councils act in unison that is even more concerning...(and what better example of their combined maladministration and/or incompetence than the last partial merger of Boundary Adjustments aways back in 2010-Ed)...exactly where I was going mate, what better example of how Councillors on both Councils acted to benefit themselves, and in the process thoroughly screwed the long-suffering Ratepayers in both MGCC and DCofG...(and if memory serves, that Boundary Adjustment/Re-zoning was actually the final in a series of carefully manipulated Re-zonings that saw specific Councillors profit nicely, and not least of all at everyone else's expense-Ed)...well indeed, and the further one tries to explain it, the deeper goes the well of self-serving corruption that surrounds/motivates these decisions...
So as quickly as I can, leading-up to and/or concurrent with the 2010 Boundary Adjustments vested interests acted to stop hardware store Bunnings building on the Penola Rd site where Bunnings, Woolworths and BigW currently operate...(so, The Market Place complex?-Ed)...yeah, and there were dodgy re-zonings and even dodgier speed limit changes, that were then reversed, and so-on, largely driven by vested interests on DCofG, as they sort to stop any development at the Penola Rd site, and instead have the proposed project(s?) effectively forced onto land then in the DCofG but abutting the Western Mt Gambier boundary...(you mean that big block along the Millicent Rd that was originally zoned Light Industrial?-Ed)...yeah...(where all of Mt Gambier's future Light Industrial development was supposed to be located/catered for?-Ed)...yeah, that land...(land that was wholly or largely owned by then serving DCofG Councillor Brenton James and/or his family?-Ed)...yeah yeah, that self-same land...(land that was re-zoned by the DCofG to Commercial/Retail to facilitate the Bunnings development, and partially to Residential and/or Country Living blocks?-Ed)...yeah, definitely to do the Bunnings stuff, but the other may have occurred later, whatevs, the entire area, however many hectares...(was it about 100h?-Ed)...sounds familiar, but whatevs, a relatively huge estate was re-zoned away from Light Industrial...(and we all know how that ended-up, Bunnings went bust there and moved to the original Penola Rd site-Ed)...exactly, but that's not all...
This self-interested re-zoning has forever fundamentally screwed 'appropriate' development right around Mt Gambier...(well that land originally designated specifically Light Industrial, that's gotta' be made-up elsewhere around Mt Gambier or even in the DCofG-Ed)...exactly, and so we see random half-arsed hodge-podge development, eg, along Mt Gambier's Northern entrance road, Penola Rd...(and didn't the same players, DCofG and James also re-zone nearly 200acres of land originally zoned Heavy Industrial, at Cafpirco Rd and immediately adjacent to the rail line there?-Ed)...well apparently, re-zoned from Heavy Industry to 'Country Living' (whatevs) blocks...(and wasn't that after there was a specific independent assessment involving both Councils and independent accessor Access Planning?-Ed)...yep, and Heavy Industrial development on that land could have very likely motivated the return of rail...(sure, one supports/promotes the other-Ed)...and I don't know what the exact re-zoning processes are related to the State Government, but there are various hoops to jump through that can only be done with the relevant Ministers approvals, etc, etc...
To cut a very complicated quid pro quo story short, there were a number/series of re-zonings, several of which directly involved serving Councillors on both Councils, upto and including former MGCC Councillor and current Federal Liberal Member for Barker, Tony Pasin...(ah yeah, didn't he have some land in the DCofG re-zoned to like 'Country Living Residential' or some such?-Ed)...yeah, can't remember the exact terminology, but suffice to say, he was one of several whom directly profitted from the re-zonings and/or the 2010 Boundary Adjustment that saw 1) the Millicent Rd site brought within the City of Mt Gambier, and 2) several other small DCofG areas included in MGCC and/or re-zoned...bottomline, at least 2 serving Councillors from different Councils benefitted/profitted from those Council actions...(and of course there's likely others, eg, some Councillor's relative or neighbour, etc-Ed)...I'd find it hard to believe that there wasn't...
Mt Gambier media has been awash with various local luminaries holding-forth on their 'expert' opinions about the pros and cons of Amalgamation...(for example, some dude from, was it the Business Council, some industry-type group, whatevs, he was on the ABC South East Radio all enthusiastic about the positive opportunities the Amalgamation might provide-Ed)...yeah, and in any other circumstance, with all things being equal, some of his reasoning was, well, quite reasonable...(but he failed to take into account the massive FARC Debt-Ed)...indeed, and likely wasn't even aware of it, but the result is the same...his commentary/position/opinion was irretrievably undermined by the failure to include the massive financial burden that DCofG Ratepayers would be agreeing to be responsible for...
And this whole exercise has led us into the dark, dank bizarro world of agreeing with DCofG Mayor Richard 'Mumbles' Sage...he was the first person I heard interviewed and he was straight into it, and dare I say it, right on the money...(the huge smokin' hole in the ground pile a' money that is the MGCC debt associated with the FARC?-Ed)...exactly...Richard didn't beat around the bush, he straight-out stated that he was advising DCofG Ratepayers to vote 'No' to any form of Amalgamation (or related discussion)...(and he specifically identified the FARC debt?-Ed)...yep, that was his first and main point...he also said something about MGCC being 'at 100% of their borrowing capacity' (or words to that effect), and that this was nearly as much as a Council can borrow...(sorry? 100% is 'nearly the maximum'?-Ed)...I know, but that's what he said...regardless, he was adamant that DCofG Ratepayers should be acutely aware of the FARC debt, and accordingly vote 'No'...
Tony Pasin was also on the ABC SER and being slickly faux-apologetic and regretful that he'd 'tried to force an Amalgamation debate (20?) years ago, which was the wrong way to go about it' when he was a MGC Councillor...he apparently remains supportive of a 'proper Amalgamation debate' (paraphrase), but also tried to play down the FARC debt issue...he compared it to the DCofG running the Mt Gambier Airport, located in the DCofG, 12kms North of The Mount...(how are they in any way comparable?-Ed)...well he reckons DCofG Ratepayers use facilities in Mt Gambier, eg, the FARC, and MGCC Ratepayers use the airport...(but that's a completely false equivalence-Ed)...indeed it is...(firstly, anyone coming into Mt Gambier pays for anything/everything they access/use, there's literally nothing other than Tourism info points that Council operates for free-Ed)...exactly, as anyone from Mt Gambier pays to use the airport...(yeah, and the recent renovations at the airport cost only a fraction of what the FARC has-Ed)...roughly only 15%, and the residual debt load is only a fraction of that...(as I said, the 2 issues are simply not comparable-Ed)...but that didn't stop Tony...
And then our old mate, that ever Pro-Paedophile corrupt stain on South Australian politics, our very own Rory McEwen was also trotted-out on the ABC last week...true to form, Rory set-sail on a blistering word-salad of obfuscation and deliberate gas-lighting, desperately trying to maintain a veneer of impartiality, but all the whilst clearly steering the discourse toward accepting the proposed Amalgamation...(exactly what I thought about his very specific use of certain language, eg, repeatedly identifying opposition to the Amalgamation as being 'a lack of information and/or debate' and as 'misinformation'-Ed)...yep, and he went to great lengths to highlight that this proposed vote was 'simply about investigating the possibility of Amalgamations'...his language deliberately and clearly infers 3 things...1) if you oppose this discussion then you're just ignorant of the facts...(and you don't wanna' be ignorant, now does ya'?-Ed)...exactly...2) if you look at the 'facts' it makes good sense...and 3) if you are opposed to this 'Amalgamation vote' you're making the wrong decision...(and doing so out of ignorance-Ed)...yeah, he went round and round for a full 15 shreckin' minutes, but always ended-up in the same place, as above...
(What was that stuff Rory was bangin'-on about that only 10% of Ratepayers can call for their Council to consider an Amalgamation?-Ed)...yeahhh, I reckon that relates to triggering s debate within the relevant Council, not a vote forced on other Councils that may be potentially involved...(so 10% of MGCC Ratepayers could petition their/our Council to have a gander at possible mergers, but we can't force anyone else into anything?-Ed)...that's how I understood it, yeah...but it was the specific and repeated "misinformation" language that Rory used that less than subtley sought to direct listeners toward accepting the whole process..."misinformation" is a key term I've heard used by numerous commentators involved, and it's usually related to the issues of MGCC debt...(yeah, that certainly looks/sounds like an agenda to play-down or even dismiss the debt issue as either being relevant or even untrue-Ed)...I hope we've explained that clearly enough 'cos there's a distinct move to support this Amalgamation process, and that move must be opposed...(well unless you're a MGCC Ratepayer, then you probably want Amalgamation 'cos you're about to cop the full brunt of MGCC's incompetence/corruption and that bewilderingly huge FARC debt-Ed)...fair call...
To make light of a deeply concerning situation, 'selfish' MGCC Ratepayers 1) do want this Amalgamation, 2) for that exact reason...DCofG Ratepayers want to avoid both at all costs, namely, avoid the looming debt burden hiding right behind the Amalgamation debate...
And Saturday morning ABC SER host Rod Sparks upped the ante with this gem, and I'm sortta' paraphrasing, but he said 'I ain't been following the debate much, but I ain't fallin' for the misinformation (about the debt stuff?)...(so he said he hasn't been following it, but he was effectively dismissing opposition/negativity as being based on "misinformation"?-Ed)...spot on...(but if he hasn't been following it, how could he know what's correct from what's "misinformation"?-Ed)...yeah, that's exactly the point I'm making, and in that self-contradictory sentence, the key term is again "misinformation"...it infers/states that opposition is incorrect because it is a position taken/based on untrue/inaccurate facts...
Not surprisingly the Local Government Association of SA is reportedly against any forced Amalgamation...(well less Councils could potentially reduce their power-base and/or revenues, whatevs, 'cos it certainly guarantees less actual Members-Ed)...sure, but officially they are referencing other instances where 'forced amalgamations' resulted in costly 'de-amalgamations'...I'm sure their position is more involved/nuanced that just straight-out opposition, but that's how I've seen/heard it reported, so, there we go...
I'm also very dubious about attaching the 'Amalgamation Referendum' vote to the Local Government Election ballots this November 2022, for 2 reasons...(that the issue will get confused with the actual LG Election stuff and misinterpreted or even just missed altogether?-Ed)...sure, but it's more the issue that LGEs are a voluntary vote not compulsory voting like Federal and State elections, and also done by postal vote...(ah yes, which combined means a very limited response/return, usually below 40% of eligible voters-Ed)...exactly, it's closer to 30%...so we could have the same horribly skewed result as we had with the farcical FARC vote, where-in just approx 70% of the 42-ish% returns voted 'Yes', equivalent to an actual 30% 'Yes' overall, meaning that 'No' votes and 'default No' non-returns totalled around 70% of the Ratepayers...
So that's pretty much wheres we're at with this...I've undoubtedly missed some of the discourse, interviews, whatevs, eg, I've not heard MGCC Mayor Martin express an opinion, other than she wasn't informed...but the agenda seems fairly self-evident...(absolutely, Labor and it's various pet stooges like Rory are obviously very keen to see this Amalgamation proceed-Ed)...and their various reasonings/arguments are very skewed in supporting that decision...critical issues about the MGCC debt are being played-down or dismissed outright or even plain ignored, but what remains to be clarified is exactly that...(namely, exactly what is that debt? how much did the FARC really cost? how much have MGCC actually borrowed? what are the terms on that loan(s?)?-Ed)...all very valid questions...
There is very clearly only one appropriate way forward with this 'plebiscite' proposed for November, and that is for Mt Gambier City Council to publicly explain exactly how much debt they have accrued re the FARC/Wulanda...(their recent 'admission' that the cost has "blown-out" to $62.5million is in reality yet another crass deceit of Ratepayers-Ed)...indeed, and only the latest crass deceit in a litany of such untruths...(well, we've said it before and are saying it again, MGCC's own Budget costings across the last 4 financial years show an 'investment' of minimum $80m, and likely as high as $85m and possibly even higher-Ed)...MGCC must lay bare their costings and also explain why their 'admissions' don't match their own official paperwork/figures...
And just for the record, I find it a huge coincidence that this story was dropped approximately 30 mins after it was revealed/reported that the FARC had blown-out to the alleged $62.5m...(why, it's almost like MGCC and their media stooge mates deliberately conspired to try and bury the FARC story under the highly contentious Amalgamation story-Ed)...and in a context where I genuinely believe that the FARC debt is what's driving/motivating this sudden Amalgamation push...I believe that all involved, the Labor State government and Liberal Opposition, both Mayors, etc, they all know exactly what's happening, and it's only Sage who is prepared to call it for what it is, albeit by noting the reality but not making the direct link as that motivation...
Tomorrow: My ICAC Inquiry Evidence
I'm going to do several consecutive posts about my actual personal testimony to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Harm and Adverse Outcomes of ICAC Investigations, from October 2021...as recently discussed, I went to a great deal of time and effort to politely force myself onto the witness list, provide a submission, then attend in person to present my experience/testimony and supporting documentation...(and as it turns out, a very truncated appearance allowing only partial discussion/presentation-Ed)...indeed, and we'll cover that in those upcoming posts...we'll cut-'n'-paste the actual testimony and provide some explanatory commentary to explain it, etc...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
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