Howdy dear availees...long story short, was gunna' take a few weeks break but then, in the grips of a chronic depressive episode, I decided to quit this 'ere blog for good...but reality, vanity and sheer bloody minded stubbornness sees me back here again...(and me-Ed)...yes, and you...so here's the thing...
For months, maybe a year, rumours have been swirling about Council trying to sub-divide land along the Western section of the Old Rail Corridor for housing...(has this got anything to do with Councils' farcically corrupt and incompetent handling of the Farcical Aquatic Recreation Centre?-Ed)...well duh, of course it does...'Council' has effectively/actually bankrupted the city with their appalling misconduct, multiple deliberate deceits, and mind-numbing fiscal incompetence re the FARC...(well it's only incompetence really when it's not a deliberate construct to corruptly syphon $millions of Ratepayers' hard-earned into Councillors' mates' and/or relatives' pockets-Ed)...good point...so let's just call it what it really is, Mt Gambier City Council Corruption...
So anyhoos, this deliberate MGCC Corruption has delivered unto Ratepayers a massive white elephant FARC that tries to be all things to all comers and is ultimately successful at none of it...(and that elephant has a sting in the trunk-Ed)...yes, yes it does, a $60million sting...from MGCC's own Budget figures, they've borrowed at least $55m...(sorry, did you say "at least"?-Ed)...indeed I did, 'cos I've had numerous conversations with multiple people directly associated with the FARC, eg, family of contractors, local business owners, etc, etc, and they've all assured me that $80m is well below the actual cost...(dare I ask, which is?-Ed)...straddling $100m...(oh strewth, FARC me dead-Ed)...that's what I said sir...and 'straddling' 'cos some have said $100m and several others say it's gone a bit past that even...(and Council and their complicit lapdogs at The Border Watch and the ABC South East Radio, they're still toeing Councils' line about how it's only "$62M"?-Ed)...indeed they are mate...(and I'm assuming that the Rail Lands stuff is related to that massive debt?-Ed)...bingo...
But it gets better...(it always does with you-Ed)...'cos now that 'housing land' rumour has gathered a head of steam and leapt from the tracks, and ploughed right into Hastings Cunningham Reserve...just today I heard that MGCC have been refused re-zoning/access/whatevs of that vacant rail corridor land, and have therefore set their corrupt li'l sights on the entire Hastings Cunningham Reserve for subdivision...(what? the whole parkland bit?-Ed)...yep, and not just that...(what else is there?-Ed)...the entire precinct...(what do you mean the entire precinct?-Ed)...well, apparently/allegedly every square inch of it, starting with all the land adjacent the rail corridor, eg, where the historic Round House was demolished, etc, and then the entire HC Reserve...(when you say "entire" do you mean...?-Ed)...yep, the soccer ground and the tennis courts at the Eastern end, right through the dog park area, across the parkland, right to the Western boundary...(what, you mean including all the community group sheds like The Men's Shed and the Auto Club and Lions, etc?-Ed)...yep, all a' that lot...(and the BMX and Pump tracks?-Ed)..and the bike tracks, yep, the whole lot of it...(and where's all this gunna' be replaced?-Ed)...one of many questions Ed, one of many...
So the first critical issue is to establish the veracity of this 'rumour'...I certainly believe my sources, and there was apparently going to be some sort of Council gathering thereabouts at HCR today with The Border Watch and whoevs else...I'm not sure when and even if this happened...(didn't Council boot the tennis club out last year, refusing to renew their lease-Ed)...yes they did Ed...(and didn't Council start a major addition/improvement to the Pump Track at least 12 months ago but then nuthin's happened with it since?-Ed)...yep, so there's several indicators there that the 'rumour' is in fact, fact...
Bottomline, MGCCs' institutionalised corruption, often masquerading as wholesale incompetence, has dug the City/Ratepayers into a massive pit of death, sorry, pit of debt, and it appears that burying HCR under houses is their stop-gap partial solution...(and will itself be yet another raft of profitable corruption for Councillors and/or their mates and/or relatives-Ed)..of course it will...
From what I've heard, and from whom I've heard it, I believe that this not a rumour, but I don't know to what degree it's been advanced...for all I know Council has already applied for and received from the State government approval to proceed with this bastardry...(well the government would be mad-keen to not have to save Mt Gambier from bankruptcy, so they'd approve this bastardry in a heartbeat-Ed)...indeed they would...but I for one am gunna' have a red-hot go at stopping it, not least of all 'cos Council ain't gunna have the funds to replace any of the infrastructure, eg, dog park...(well the extensive BMX track alone is a major site and would cost a small fortune to relocate-Ed)...so here's the go...
Tell whoever will listen that Council is 'allegedly' going to sell-off Hastings Cunningham Reserve, and if this is true, it's gotta' be stopped...(and hey, wasn't that land originally bequeathed to the people of Mt Gambier, to be saved as open space and for public utility like the community group sheds-Ed)...well yeah, I had heard that too, but I'm not sure, but it is another relevant question worth resolving...but back to my original point, Mt Gambier City Council cannot be trusted, with anything and/or about anything, and if this is true it must be stopped...
Tomorrow: Further Explaining The $100m FARC Corruption/Incompetence
I am Nick Fletcher and I was just kidding myself if I genuinely thought I was ever gunna' stop doin' this 'ere blog...cheers and laters...
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